Vogels Keeps Team Mercury Rising

Philadelphia, USA, June 4, 2000

2000 Champion: Henk Vogels (Aus) Mercury-Viatel 251 kms (156 miles) in 5h52’11” (42.76 km/h) Record Time
2000 US National Champion: (2nd) Fred Rodriguez (USA)

Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, welcomed the sixteenth edition of the USPRO Championships. The start of the race was greeted by sunshine as the peloton rolled off onto the grueling 10 large laps of 23.2 kms (14.4 miles) and 3 short finishing laps of 5 kms (3 miles) over Lemon Hill (known as Lemon Loops).

An aggressive breakaway escaped early on lap 1. US Postal’s Levi Leipheimer bided his time in the break and as the group started to fade Leipheimer jumped away with two large laps to go.  He was quickly joined by Floyd Landis (Mercury) and Poland’s Piotr Chmielewski (Mroz-Supradyn). The trio worked well together but the chase behind was fierce.  The break was caught just before last climb of the Manayunk Wall. 

The early Leipheimer / Landis breakaway

The chase had weakened the peloton as splits began to appear. On the final time up the Wall Mercury’s Henk Vogels pressed the pace and went over the top with Steffan Kjaergaard, and Alessandro Guerra of Saeco. Arkadiusz Wojtas, George Hincapie, John Lieswyn and Fred Rodriguez bridge to the group on the descent.  By the time the breakaway hit the finishing circuits the time gap was almost a minute. 

Vogels continued to have the strongest legs with an attack coming off Lemon Hill, followed by another counter-attack with a kilometer to go. The others could only watch as Vogels powered away. Aussie Henk Vogels rolled across the finish line for the victory. 

Seven seconds later Fast Freddy Rodriguez took the field sprint for second place.  As the best placed American Rodriguez donned the Stars and Stripes jersey as US National champion.

Mercury's Henk Vogels alone for the victory

"Fast" Freddy Rodriguez 2000 USPRO Champion

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