Mexico's Moises Aldape (Team Type 1) took his first victory on American soil in a tactical sprint finish at the top Mt Bachelor Ski Resorts. Aldape took the Stage 5 victory ahead of mid-race break away companions Chad Beyer (USA) and Bradley White (Successful Living).
"This was my first win here and a very important one because of that," said Aldape. "The finish was very tactical between the other riders in the break so all I had to do was remain very patient."
United States Champion Levi Leipheimer (Astana) continued to increase his overall lead, which now stands at 2'30" over Jeff Louder (BMC). Louder's team-mate Darren Lill moved into third place after finishing only three seconds behind Leipheimer on the day's climb.
A significant 12-rider breakaway forced Leipheimer's team-mate Chris Horner to face the wind for over half the race. Horner's effort held the front group at a non-threatening 2'30", before Leipheimer shaved another 90 seconds off the gap on the final ascent.
"We needed to have help somewhere and luckily I've got some good friends," admitted Horner, who recruited some valuable help from the California Giant-Specialized team. "I've been in the business a long time, I've been on a lot of different teams and got a lot of friends to help out. Levi's got a good size gap so we don't need to win the stages, just the overall."
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