Chattanooga, TN - Nathan O'Neill of the Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis knew the course for the stage 3 individual time trial of the Ford Tour de Georgia suited his immense TT skills. And living not too far away in neighboring Georgia gave him the opportunity to pre-ride the course several times.

The seven-time and current Australian national time trial champion also knew the undulating and technical 24.8-mile course would be the first stage to re-shape the general classification standings to look something like how the race might end. He put his skills to good work, placing 4th in today's time trial with a time of 55:09, to move from 26th to 4th overall.

"All in all it wasn't a bad day, but it wasn't a great day," O'Neill said. "I am a bit disappointed to not have finished on the podium. I didn't feel great on the bike. I couldn't find my rhythm. This was a hard course to do that on. I felt like I was fighting the course the whole time."

The challenging route from Chickamauga, Georgia to Chattanooga, Tennessee featured a steep climb over Lookout Mountain and a harrowing descent toward the finish, flattening out inside of 10 Km from the line.

Stage winner Floyd Landis (Phonak) blew through the course to a time of 54:14, beating greatly improved time trialist Tom Danielson (Discovery) by just four seconds. Another time trial specialist, David Zabriskie (CSC), finished third at 54:38.

While Friday's stage 4 is a long and notoriously difficult climbing stage featuring four categorized climbs, O'Neill expects stage 5, which ends atop the infamous hors categorie Brasstown Bald, to be where any final reshuffling of the top of the GC occurs.

With Landis in the lead, "Phonak will probably ride tempo and control things," O'Neill said. "We shouldn't have too much responsibility. The team just needs to keep me in good position, and if a split occurs, be ready to chase if necessary. But it should be the top three battling it out, and I'll have a box seat. Maybe I can capitalize on those three beating each other up," he added.

Official Results