HINCAPIE SETTLES FOR SECOND PLACE IN HOMETOWN EVENT

TRAVELERS REST, S.C. (September 2, 2007) – Levi Leipheimer (Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) took the lead in the final three finishing circuits and won in a solo break to claim the Stars and Stripes Jersey at the 2007 USA Cycling Professional Road Race Championship.  Leipheimer won in a time of 4 hours 22 minutes 19 seconds. Teammate George Hincapie, who won the road race championship here in his hometown last year, finished second, one minute and 11 seconds behind. Third place was taken by Neil Shirley (Jittery Joe’s), 1’14” behind the winner, edging out three-time USA Cycling pro road race champion Fred Rodriguez (Predictor-Lotto).  

“2007 has been a dream come true for me. And to stand on the podium in Paris and win a stage in the Tour (de France), that was a dream for me since I was 13. And to come here to Greenville and be the U.S. champion, that’s more than I ever dreamed of,” said Leipheimer, who kissed his Discovery jersey when he crossed the finish line of the 110-mile road race all alone. Leipheimer took third place at the 2007 Tour de France.

Greenville resident and defending road race champion Hincapie was the favorite for the huge crowds that gathered along the course, which were close to 50% larger than last year. Total attendance for the weekend was estimated to be 85,000, for both the individual time trial and road race. 

Shirley, a 29-year-old from San Diego, California, has been consistently strong throughout 2007. He won the King of the Mountain award jersey at this year’s Philadelphia International. Danny Pate, who finished third last year, was fifth this year.  And the winner of Saturday’s USA Cycling Professional Individual Time Trial Championship presented by The Cliffs, David Zabriskie, did not finish the road race. Thirty riders finished the race, similar numbers to last year.

Sunny skies and mid-80 degree temperatures greeted the field of 114 cyclists for the 23rd edition of the USA Cycling Professional Road Race Championship, held for a second consecutive year in Greenville.  Race fans in downtown Greenville were treated to seeing the pro peloton pass 10 times, including three new start circuits to start the race.  Four of those laps, 21.85 miles each in length, included the climb over the 2000-foot Paris Mountain, one of the most prominent ridges in the area south of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  It was on the second pass over Paris Mountain that the field began to break apart. By the final lap riders were clocked at average speeds of 40 miles per hour in downtown Greenville.  

The Road Race was part of the Greenville Hospital System USA Cycling Professional Championships and a full weekend of activities for Labor Day weekend in Greenville. On Saturday the USA Cycling Professional Individual Time Trial Championship presented by The Cliffs was contested from The Cliffs at Mountain Park to The Cliffs Valley.  Sunday morning, prior to the Road Race Championship, 600 recreational cyclists raised $86,000 in the Palmetto Peloton Project in a non-competitive ride to benefit the Greenville Hospital System Oncology Research Institute and the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

This group started just three years ago. Today we had 600 riders who came from 21 states which makes this a real national event.  This is just fabulous to present a check for $86,000 for cancer research,” said Kevin Dunn, president of the Palmetto Peloton Project.

Information about these events and sponsors will be archived at the official event website, www.usacyclingchampionships.com.

ABOUT MEDALIST SPORTS

Medalist Sports is a full-service international sports marketing company.  Medalist Sports specializes in the planning, promotion and management of multi-day, multi-jurisdiction sports and special events.  The Medalist Sports team has experience in all facets of the successful management and promotion of world-class sporting and cycling events in the United States, England, Australia and China.  Clients and event experience include the Tour DuPont, Tour de Georgia, Amgen Tour of California, Tour of Missouri, USA Cycling, Inc. and the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s LIVESTRONG Challenge Series.  Medalist Sports’ headquarters are located south of metro Atlanta at P.O. Box 415, Tyrone, GA  30290. The company website is www.medalistsports.com.

ABOUT GREENVILLE HOSPITAL SYSTEM

Greenville Hospital System is one of the Southeast’s leading healthcare providers, nationally recognized for advanced technology, innovative research and teaching excellence. The system's five campuses include a Level I trauma center, three acute-care hospitals and numerous outpatient facilities. Greenville Hospital System Cancer Center offers the region’s broadest array of cancer specialists, many working through the Oncology Multidisciplinary Center.  This multidisciplinary approach to the effective management of cancer allows patients to meet with a medical oncologist, radiation oncologist and surgical oncologist to receive a comprehensive treatment plan all in one day.  More information is available at www.ghs.org.

ABOUT THE CLIFFS

Founded in 1991 by Jim Anthony, The Cliffs Communities is devoted to the sensible development of residential communities and other properties, within the United States and around the world. The Cliffs' domestic properties include seven premier, private master-planned residential communities located in the heart of the Carolina Preserve between Asheville, NC, and Greenville, SC, collectively bordered by hundreds of thousands of acres of national forests and state parks in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  The Cliffs offers homesites from $300,000 to over $3,000,000 and custom homes from $700,000 to over $5,000,000. To discover panoramic living at The Cliffs, call (877) 254-3371 or visit www.cliffscommunities.com.