May 24, 2004 - Tour of CT Final

Milne Finishes 3rd Overall at Tour of Connecticut, May 16-23

In our last update we covered Milne’s 2nd place effort in the opening stage of the Tour of CT on Sunday May 16th. Through the remaining four stages Milne and team were able to hold on to 3rd place overall as well as the leader’s jersey for best amateur. Cyclingnews.com has a great shot of Milne on the podium here.

Thursday saw the team lapping the race car circuit at Lime Rock Park in Northern Connecticut, and Milne was able to sprint to 12th place in the downhill finish. Friday’s stage in New Haven saw Curt Davis, Jon Hamblen, Josh Gewirtz, and Mike Dietrich put in fantastic rides to help pull back breakaways that threatened Milne’s placing. Milne delivered a strong 10th place in the field sprint, beating out overall leader Mark McCormack who was 12th.

On Saturday, the city of Waterbury welcomed the riders for one of the hardest circuit races on the US calendar. Only 35 of the 130 starters finished the race, and Milne climbed well to finish 14th with support from climbers Dietrich, Hamblen, and Peck.

Sunday’s final stage ended in dramatic fashion as Milne flatted just as the race returned to Danbury for 20 miles of finishing circuits. The team had kept Milne in great position and well-hydrated for the first 80 miles of the event, and the untimely flat tire threatened Milne’s podium chances. But with help from the team, Milne was able to rejoin the small front group and go on to a 5th place finish on the day! This was good enough to hold onto 3rd place in the overall results, and keep the leader’s jersey for top amateur.

You can see free video samples of the races on Aria TV, one of the newest providers of on-line video content.