Hood River, OR - Nathan O'Neill of the Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis continued his domination in races against the clock by taking his second individual time trial win of the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic.

After opening the six-day race by winning the three-mile prologue and taking the first leader's jersey, he re-took the race lead with a solid performance in the hilly, 18-mile Scenic Gorge TT.

While it was no surprise that the eight-time and current Australian national time trial champion won the race against the clock, it was a bit of a surprise that his margin of victory of second-place Phil Zajicek (Navigators) was so narrow; a mere nine seconds.

Ben Jaques-Maynes (Priority Health), the race leader coming into the stage, struggled a bit on the undulating course, but still put in a solid ride to come in third on the stage, 0:43 behind O'Neill.

The tight finish on the stage leaves the race for the overall classification even tighter. O'Neill leads Zajicek by just five seconds, while Jacques-Maynes is sitting just 0:26 behind, making this a three-horse race for the title.

Most of the fireworks should happen in Saturday's decisive stage, the brutal Wy'East Road Race, covering 87 miles and over 9,000 feet of climbing, finishing at the Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Area following a 35-mile, 4,500-foot ascent with an average 10% grade fore the final two miles. The riders will also climb a Category 1 and Category 2 climb on the way to the finale.