Leipheimer sat på plads af High Road

nullSidste år var Levi Leipheimer fuldstændig suveræn, da etapen sluttede med de 14 kilometer opad Brasstown Bald, og selvom amerikaneren forsøgte at gentage triumfen i dag, så måtte han se sig slået på den sidste kilometer. Først angreb Kanstantin Siutsou (Team High Road) med 500 meter til mål, hvilket Leipheimer ikke kunne reagere på. Den gule trøje, Trent Lowe (Slipstream), blev siddende på Leipheimers hjul, så dermed kunne Siutsou slå hullet og dermed tage etapesejren.

På de sidste 100 meter sagde også Trent Lowe farvel til Levi Leipheimer, så han kunne tage andenpladsen på etapen og samtidigt første at forsvare den gule førertrøje. Andenpladsen fik han, men Kanstantin Siutsou er ny mand i førertrøjen i Tour de Georgia med få sekunder ned til Lowe.

Team CSC vidste godt, at de ikke havde rytteren, som kunne slå Leipheimer i dag, så derfor prøvede de at køre aggressivt med angreb langt ude fra. Anders Lund var den første, som røg af sted i et udbrud, og da hans gruppe blev indhentet, så var det Jason McCartney tur til efter små 50 kilometers kørsel at forsøge sig. Han fik selskab af Ivan Stevic (Toyota - United), Andrey Mizurov (Astana), Craig Lewis (Team High Road), Stephan Schreck (Gerolsteiner), Neil Shirley (Jittery Joe's), Svein Tuft (Symmetrics) og Michael Creed (Rock Racing) og sammen fik de oparbejdet et forspring på 2½ minutter ned til feltet.

Efter små 90 kilometers kørsel skulle rytterne opad en kategori et stigning. Jason McCartney satte et så hårdt tempo, at kun Andrey Mizurov (Astana), Svein Tuft (Symmetrics) og Neil Shirley (Jittery Joe's) kunne følge med. Forspringet var dog helt nede på kun et minut på toppen af stigningen. Men CSC var åbenbart ikke tilfredse med kun at have McCartney fremme, så da en udbrydergruppe prøvede at lukke hullet op til frontgruppen, så var Bradley McGee vågen og satte sig med på hjul.

Kort før rytterne skulle opad Brasstown Blad, så lykkedes det Bradley McGee (Team CSC), Thomas Lövkvist (Team High Road), Santiago Botero Echeverry (Rock Racing) og José Luis Rubiera Vigil (Astana) at lukke hullet op til McCartney gruppen, så der dermed var otte mand med et lille minut ned til feltet.

I starten af stigningen angreb Neil Shirley (Jittery Joe's) og fik et åbnet et hul på 15 sekunder ned til de syv resterende ryttere. Jo mere stigningen tog til, jeg mere besværet så Shirley ud og pludselig kom José Luis Rubiera Vigil (Astana) og Bradley McGee (Team CSC) blæsende forbi, så de nu sad forrest på etapen. Det var dog tydeligt, at McGee ikke havde meget at skyde med, så med fem kilometer satte Rubiera en træt CSC rytter fra front.

Selvom Rubiera sad i front på stigningen, så var der dog ikke meget hjælp at hente fra holdkammeraterne. De sad nemlig og jagtede ham nede i feltet, så de kunne skyde Leipheimer af. Så med fire kilometer til mål var Rubieras drøm og sejr overstået og han kunne nu sidde og føre i feltet for sin holdkaptajn, som altså ikke indfriede forventningerne. 

Team CSC kan være tilfredse med deres indsats, selvom det bliver svært at tage den samlede sejr nu.

Resultat af 6. etape
1 Kanstantin Siutsou - Team High Road 3.47.16 (37.568 km/t)
2 Trent Lowe - Slipstream Chipotle p/b H30 0.10
3 Levi Leipheimer - Astana 0.16
4 Rory Sutherland - Health Net p/b Maxxis 0.33
5 Oscar Sevilla - Rock Racing 0.38
6 Moises Aldape Chavez - Team Type 1 0.54
7 Iñigo Cuesta Lopez De Castro - Team CSC 1.04
8 Antonio Colom Mas - Astana
9 Christian Vande Velde - Slipstream Chipotle p/b H30 1.38
10 Glen Chadwick - Team Type 1 2.20
11 Scott Nydam - BMC Racing Team 2.24
12 Bobby Julich - Team CSC
13 José Luis Rubiera Vigil - Astana
14 Jai Crawford - GE Trek - Marco Polo Cycling Team
15 Christopher Jones - Team Type 1 2.33
16 Darren Lill - BMC Racing Team 2.39
17 Valery Kobzarenko - Team Type 1
18 Francios Parisien - Symmetrics Cycling Team 2.44
19 Matt Cooke - Health Net p/b Maxxis 2.52
20 Michael Lange - Jelly Belly Cycling Team
21 Christian Meier - Symmetrics Cycling Team 3.00
22 Trent Wilson - Jittery Joe's Pro Cycling Team
23 Andrey Mizurov - Astana 3.14
24 George Hincapie - Team High Road 3.19
25 Michael Blaudzun - Team CSC
26 Jacob Erker - Symmetrics Cycling Team 3.26
27 Matthias Russ - Gerolsteiner 3.53
28 Bradley McGee - Team CSC 4.02
29 Christopher Baldwin - Toyota - United Pro Cycling Team 4.06
30 Justin England - Toyota - United Pro Cycling Team
31 Jeremy Vennell - Bissell Pro Cycling 4.28
32 Anders Lund - Team CSC 4.44
33 Ian MacGregor - Team Type 1 5.03
34 Cameron Evans - Symmetrics Cycling Team 5.21
35 Chris Horner - Astana 5.35
36 Jonathan Garcia - BMC Racing Team 5.48
37 Victor Hugo Pena - Rock Racing 6.15
38 Doug Ollerenshaw - Rock Racing
39 Thomas Lövkvist - Team High Road
40 Volker Ordowski - Gerolsteiner 6.49
41 Ben Jacques-Maynes - Bissell Pro Cycling
42 Svein Tuft - Symmetrics Cycling Team 7.35
43 Sebastian Lang - Gerolsteiner 7.51
44 Roman Kireyev - Astana 8.13
45 Santiago Botero Echeverry - Rock Racing 8.20
46 Aaron Olson - Bissell Pro Cycling 8.25
47 David Zabriskie - Slipstream Chipotle p/b H30 8.57
48 Matthew Crane - Health Net p/b Maxxis 9.07
49 Thomas Fothen - Gerolsteiner 9.28
50 Jason McCartney - Team CSC 9.38
51 Neil Shirley - Jittery Joe's Pro Cycling Team 10.08
52 Tyler Hamilton - Rock Racing 11.02
53 Richard England - Bissell Pro Cycling 11.15
54 Stephan Schreck - Gerolsteiner 11.27
55 Thomas Danielson - Slipstream Chipotle p/b H30
56 Yilin Liu - GE Trek - Marco Polo Cycling Team 11.59
57 Gregory Henderson - Team High Road 12.30
58 Craig Lewis - Team High Road 13.18
59 Tom Zirbel - Bissell Pro Cycling 14.37
60 Bernard Van Ulden - Jelly Belly Cycling Team 21.17
61 Fred Rodriguez - Rock Racing 21.25
62 Jackson Stewart - BMC Racing Team
63 Jared Barrilleaux - Jittery Joe's Pro Cycling Team
64 Frank Pipp - Health Net p/b Maxxis
65 Edward King - Bissell Pro Cycling
66 Jonathan Cantwell - Jittery Joe's Pro Cycling Team
67 Fabio Calabria - Team Type 1
68 André Greipel - Team High Road
69 Bert Grabsch - Team High Road
70 Garrett Peltonen - Bissell Pro Cycling
71 Dominique Rollin - Toyota - United Pro Cycling Team 21.37
72 Andrew Pinfold - Symmetrics Cycling Team
73 Taylor Tolleson - BMC Racing Team
74 David Galvin - BMC Racing Team
75 Matthew Shriver - Jittery Joe's Pro Cycling Team
76 Scott Zwizanski - Bissell Pro Cycling 21.43
77 Lucas Euser - Slipstream Chipotle p/b H30
78 Eric Wohlberg - Symmetrics Cycling Team
79 Tim Johnson - Health Net p/b Maxxis 21.48
80 Evan Elken - Jittery Joe's Pro Cycling Team
81 Aaron Kemps - Astana
82 Robert Förster - Gerolsteiner
83 Sven Krauss - Gerolsteiner
84 Corey Collier - Health Net p/b Maxxis
85 Nicholas Reistad - Jelly Belly Cycling Team
86 Oscar Gatto - Gerolsteiner
87 Aaron Tuckerman - Jelly Belly Cycling Team
88 Ryan Sullivan - Jittery Joe's Pro Cycling Team 21.55
89 Andrew Randell - Symmetrics Cycling Team
90 Fuyu Li - GE Trek - Marco Polo Cycling Team 22.11
91 Tyler Farrar - Slipstream Chipotle p/b H30 22.16
92 Juan José Haedo - Team CSC
93 Kari Menzies - Health Net p/b Maxxis 22.24
94 Nicholas Sanderson - Jelly Belly Cycling Team
95 Leon Van Bon - GE Trek - Marco Polo Cycling Team 22.36
96 Kayle Leogrande - Rock Racing 22.41
97 Rhys Pollock - GE Trek - Marco Polo Cycling Team 22.57
98 Mike Sayers - BMC Racing Team 23.03
99 Ivan Stevic - Toyota - United Pro Cycling Team 23.08
100 Hilton Clarke - Toyota - United Pro Cycling Team 23.15
101 Jeremy Powers - Jelly Belly Cycling Team
102 Bryce Mead - Jelly Belly Cycling Team 23.19
103 Ivan Dominguez - Toyota - United Pro Cycling Team
104 Cody Stevenson - Jittery Joe's Pro Cycling Team 23.32
105 Matt Rice - Jelly Belly Cycling Team 24.03
106 Danny Pate - Slipstream Chipotle p/b H30

Udgået
DNF Loh Sea Keong - GE Trek - Marco Polo Cycling Team
DNF Yan Dong Xing - GE Trek - Marco Polo Cycling Team
DNF Matthew Wilson - Team Type 1
DSQ Michael Creed - Rock Racing

Samlet stilling efter 6. etape
1 Kanstantin Siutsou - Team High Road 20.20.51
2 Trent Lowe - Slipstream Chipotle p/b H30 0.04
3 Levi Leipheimer - Astana 0.14
4 Antonio Colom Mas - Astana 1.02
5 Iñigo Cuesta Lopez De Castro - Team CSC 1.11
6 Oscar Sevilla - Rock Racing 1.25
7 Christian Vande Velde - Slipstream Chipotle p/b H30 1.32
8 Moises Aldape Chavez - Team Type 1 1.37
9 Rory Sutherland - Health Net p/b Maxxis 2.08
10 Bobby Julich - Team CSC 2.31
11 José Luis Rubiera Vigil - Astana 2.39
12 Scott Nydam - BMC Racing Team 2.49
13 George Hincapie - Team High Road 3.19
14 Michael Blaudzun - Team CSC 3.26
15 Valery Kobzarenko - Team Type 1 3.29
16 Darren Lill - BMC Racing Team
17 Christopher Jones - Team Type 1 3.40
18 Christian Meier - Symmetrics Cycling Team 3.44
19 Francios Parisien - Symmetrics Cycling Team 3.48
20 Glen Chadwick - Team Type 1 4.13
21 Trent Wilson - Jittery Joe's Pro Cycling Team 4.15
22 Matt Cooke - Health Net p/b Maxxis 4.25
23 Bradley McGee - Team CSC 4.26
24 Christopher Baldwin - Toyota - United Pro Cycling Team 4.28
25 Jacob Erker - Symmetrics Cycling Team 4.30
26 Michael Lange - Jelly Belly Cycling Team 4.34
27 Jai Crawford - GE Trek - Marco Polo Cycling Team 5.02
28 Jeremy Vennell - Bissell Pro Cycling 5.21
29 Chris Horner - Astana 5.33
30 Matthias Russ - Gerolsteiner 6.02
31 Ian MacGregor - Team Type 1 6.51
32 Jonathan Garcia - BMC Racing Team
33 Victor Hugo Pena - Rock Racing 7.19
34 Andrey Mizurov - Astana 7.20
35 Volker Ordowski - Gerolsteiner 7.33
36 Cameron Evans - Symmetrics Cycling Team 7.40
37 Ben Jacques-Maynes - Bissell Pro Cycling 8.31
38 Sebastian Lang - Gerolsteiner 8.35
39 Svein Tuft - Symmetrics Cycling Team 8.39
40 David Zabriskie - Slipstream Chipotle p/b H30 8.51
41 Doug Ollerenshaw - Rock Racing 10.00
42 Jason McCartney - Team CSC 10.02
43 Aaron Olson - Bissell Pro Cycling 10.28
44 Anders Lund - Team CSC 10.45
45 Thomas Danielson - Slipstream Chipotle p/b H30 11.38
46 Santiago Botero Echeverry - Rock Racing 11.45
47 Richard England - Bissell Pro Cycling 11.51
48 Thomas Lövkvist - Team High Road 12.31
49 Stephan Schreck - Gerolsteiner 12.52
50 Neil Shirley - Jittery Joe's Pro Cycling Team 13.09
51 Matthew Crane - Health Net p/b Maxxis 13.10
52 Tom Zirbel - Bissell Pro Cycling 17.32
53 Thomas Fothen - Gerolsteiner 18.10
54 Justin England - Toyota - United Pro Cycling Team 19.07
55 Yilin Liu - GE Trek - Marco Polo Cycling Team 19.43
56 Craig Lewis - Team High Road 20.36
57 André Greipel - Team High Road 21.36
58 Edward King - Bissell Pro Cycling 22.01
59 Andrew Pinfold - Symmetrics Cycling Team 22.24
60 Dominique Rollin - Toyota - United Pro Cycling Team 22.32
61 Taylor Tolleson - BMC Racing Team 22.40
62 Tim Johnson - Health Net p/b Maxxis 22.47
63 Fabio Calabria - Team Type 1 23.13
64 Eric Wohlberg - Symmetrics Cycling Team 23.28
65 Matthew Shriver - Jittery Joe's Pro Cycling Team 23.50
66 Nicholas Reistad - Jelly Belly Cycling Team 23.51
67 Jonathan Cantwell - Jittery Joe's Pro Cycling Team 24.03
68 Ivan Stevic - Toyota - United Pro Cycling Team 24.08
69 Jared Barrilleaux - Jittery Joe's Pro Cycling Team 24.17
70 Fred Rodriguez - Rock Racing 24.21
71 Garrett Peltonen - Bissell Pro Cycling 24.29
72 Danny Pate - Slipstream Chipotle p/b H30 24.56
73 Andrew Randell - Symmetrics Cycling Team 25.18
74 Roman Kireyev - Astana 25.24
75 Nicholas Sanderson - Jelly Belly Cycling Team 26.02
76 Kari Menzies - Health Net p/b Maxxis
77 Oscar Gatto - Gerolsteiner 26.15
78 Sven Krauss - Gerolsteiner 26.38
79 Gregory Henderson - Team High Road 27.21
80 Fuyu Li - GE Trek - Marco Polo Cycling Team 27.28
81 Ryan Sullivan - Jittery Joe's Pro Cycling Team 28.01
82 Jackson Stewart - BMC Racing Team 28.34
83 Leon Van Bon - GE Trek - Marco Polo Cycling Team 28.39
84 Bernard Van Ulden - Jelly Belly Cycling Team 29.20
85 Frank Pipp - Health Net p/b Maxxis
86 Bert Grabsch - Team High Road 29.26
87 Mike Sayers - BMC Racing Team 29.33
88 Evan Elken - Jittery Joe's Pro Cycling Team 29.39
89 Hilton Clarke - Toyota - United Pro Cycling Team 29.41
90 Juan José Haedo - Team CSC 29.50
91 Robert Förster - Gerolsteiner 30.58
92 Rhys Pollock - GE Trek - Marco Polo Cycling Team 31.52
93 Scott Zwizanski - Bissell Pro Cycling 34.42
94 Aaron Kemps - Astana 36.58
95 Tyler Farrar - Slipstream Chipotle p/b H30 39.05
96 Aaron Tuckerman - Jelly Belly Cycling Team 39.30
97 Jeremy Powers - Jelly Belly Cycling Team 39.38
98 Tyler Hamilton - Rock Racing 41.32
99 Lucas Euser - Slipstream Chipotle p/b H30 41.58
100 Ivan Dominguez - Toyota - United Pro Cycling Team 45.44
101 Matt Rice - Jelly Belly Cycling Team 49.05
102 Corey Collier - Health Net p/b Maxxis 59.12
103 David Galvin - BMC Racing Team 1.05.58
104 Kayle Leogrande - Rock Racing 1.06.41
105 Cody Stevenson - Jittery Joe's Pro Cycling Team 1.10.15
106 Bryce Mead - Jelly Belly Cycling Team 1.14.44

Pointkonkurrencen efter 6. etape
1 Gregory Henderson - Team High Road 38 pts
2 Tyler Farrar - Slipstream Chipotle p/b H30 30
3 Ivan Dominguez - Toyota - United Pro Cycling Team 25
4 Richard England - Bissell Pro Cycling 25
5 Andrew Pinfold - Symmetrics Cycling Team 18
6 Juan José Haedo - Team CSC 15
7 Nicholas Sanderson - Jelly Belly Cycling Team 15
8 Robert Förster - Gerolsteiner 15
9 Moises Aldape Chavez - Team Type 1 15
10 André Greipel - Team High Road 13
11 Frank Pipp - Health Net p/b Maxxis 13
12 Rory Sutherland - Health Net p/b Maxxis 12
13 George Hincapie - Team High Road 10
14 Ivan Stevic - Toyota - United Pro Cycling Team 10
15 Fred Rodriguez - Rock Racing 9
16 Antonio Colom Mas - Astana 7
17 Oscar Sevilla - Rock Racing 6
18 Levi Leipheimer - Astana 5
19 Bradley McGee - Team CSC 5
20 Christian Meier - Symmetrics Cycling Team 5
21 Justin England - Toyota - United Pro Cycling Team 5
22 Jeremy Powers - Jelly Belly Cycling Team 5
23 Neil Shirley - Jittery Joe's Pro Cycling Team 5
24 Dominique Rollin - Toyota - United Pro Cycling Team 4
25 Bobby Julich - Team CSC 3
26 Tom Zirbel - Bissell Pro Cycling 3
27 Rhys Pollock - GE Trek - Marco Polo Cycling Team 3
28 Bryce Mead - Jelly Belly Cycling Team 3
29 Trent Lowe - Slipstream Chipotle p/b H30 2
30 Aaron Kemps - Astana 2
31 Jonathan Cantwell - Jittery Joe's Pro Cycling Team 2
32 Kari Menzies - Health Net p/b Maxxis 1
33 Trent Wilson - Jittery Joe's Pro Cycling Team 1
34 Scott Nydam - BMC Racing Team 1
35 Andrey Mizurov - Astana 1
36 Stephan Schreck - Gerolsteiner 1
37 Scott Zwizanski - Bissell Pro Cycling 1

Bjergkonkurrencen efter 6. etape
1 Jason McCartney - Team CSC 18 pts
2 Neil Shirley - Jittery Joe's Pro Cycling Team 16
3 Svein Tuft - Symmetrics Cycling Team 13
4 Edward King - Bissell Pro Cycling 13
5 Andrey Mizurov - Astana 12
6 Valery Kobzarenko - Team Type 1 10
7 Cameron Evans - Symmetrics Cycling Team 10
8 Moises Aldape Chavez - Team Type 1 6
9 Tim Johnson - Health Net p/b Maxxis 6
10 Craig Lewis - Team High Road 5
11 Bobby Julich - Team CSC 5
12 Levi Leipheimer - Astana 4
13 Oscar Sevilla - Rock Racing 4
14 Stephan Schreck - Gerolsteiner 4
15 Frank Pipp - Health Net p/b Maxxis 4
16 José Luis Rubiera Vigil - Astana 3
17 Rory Sutherland - Health Net p/b Maxxis 2
18 Thomas Lövkvist - Team High Road 2
19 George Hincapie - Team High Road 1
20 Lucas Euser - Slipstream Chipotle p/b H30 1 

Ungdomskonkurrencen efter 6. etape
1 Trent Lowe - Slipstream Chipotle p/b H30 20.20.55
2 Christian Meier - Symmetrics Cycling Team 3.40
3 Cameron Evans - Symmetrics Cycling Team 7.36
4 Anders Lund - Team CSC 10.41
5 Thomas Lövkvist - Team High Road 12.27
6 Matthew Crane - Health Net p/b Maxxis 13.06
7 Yilin Liu - GE Trek - Marco Polo Cycling Team 19.39
8 Craig Lewis - Team High Road 20.32
9 Taylor Tolleson - BMC Racing Team 22.36
10 Fabio Calabria - Team Type 1 23.09
11 Jared Barrilleaux - Jittery Joe's Pro Cycling Team 24.13
12 Roman Kireyev - Astana 25.20
13 Nicholas Sanderson - Jelly Belly Cycling Team 25.58
14 Oscar Gatto - Gerolsteiner 26.11
15 Ryan Sullivan - Jittery Joe's Pro Cycling Team 27.57
16 Tyler Farrar - Slipstream Chipotle p/b H30 39.01

Holdkonkurrencen efter 6. etape
1 Astana 61.06.11
2 Team CSC 3.30
3 Team Type 1 4.56
4 High Road 6.13
5 Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30 6.49
6 Symmetrics Cycling Team 8.10
7 BMC Racing Team 9.32
8 Health Net Presented by Maxxis 12.01
9 Rock Racing 12.25
10 Gerolsteiner 17.07
11 Bissell Pro Cycling 18.09
12 Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team 28.24
13 The Jittery Joe's Pro Cycling Team 36.36
14 Trek-Marco Polo Cycling Team 43.18
15 Jelly Belly Cycling Team 49.50