Levi Leipheimer (Discovery Channel) capped off the best year of his professional career on Sunday with a victory in the 109-mile road race at the 2007 USA Cycling Professional Championships.
Leipheimer held off a three-man chase group to claim his first-ever national road race title ahead of teammate and defending champion George Hincapie and Neil Shirley (Jittery Joe's). Leipheimer, whose 2007 accomplishments also include an overall victory at the Amgen Tour of California in February, as well as a stage win and third-place overall finish at the Tour de France, finished one minute, 11 seconds ahead of a three-man chase group that also contained three-time U.S. professional champion Fred Rodriguez (Predictor-Lotto).
"2007 has been a dream come true for me," Leipheimer said. "The Tour of California ... I dreamed about that all winter and trained harder than I ever have before. Then, to go to Europe, stand on the podium in Paris and win a stage of the Tour de France, and then to come here to Greenville and be the U.S. champion, it was much more than I ever dreamed of."
The victory all but assures Leipheimer the overall 2007 USA Cycling Professional Tour title with two events remaining - the inaugural Tour of Missouri, September 11-16 and the Tour de Leelanau in Traverse City, Michigan on July 16.
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