Atlanta, GA - Kirk O'Bee of the Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis had his long moment in the spotlight in Stage 7 of the Tour de Georgia, spending much of the 107 km circuit race in downtown Atlanta off the front as part of the main break of the day.

"We were in every break that mattered this week," noted Jeff Corbett, directeur sportif for Health Net Presented by Maxxis. "We were in every break that had a chance to succeed, and the two that actually made it, we had guys driving it."

Those two breaks included the opening stage, in which Doug Ollerenshaw finished second on the day, and the race-defining third stage, when a group of 13 riders rolled off the front and ended up putting 29 minutes on the peloton. Jeff Louder of Health Net Presented by Maxxis came away from that stage with the King of the Mountains Jersey, while team captain Tim Johnson earned the Most Aggressive Rider jersey for the stage after continually driving the break up the stage's four rated climbs and helping Louder into the KoM jersey.

The entire team rode strong all week, Corbett noted. "The one thing that maybe didn't get enough mention this week is that Health Net Presented by Maxxis finished second on Team GC this week," he added.

A quick look at the top 20 on the individual classification explains how Health Net Presented by Maxxis finished 2nd on Team GC. Louder and Johnson finished 7th and 8th respectively, while Nathan O'Neill and Ryder Hesjedal finished 14th and 17th overall respectively.

Only Discovery Channel finished ahead of Health Net Presented by Maxxis on Team GC, while the U.S.-based Continental Professional team finished ahead of notable Pro Tour Teams Saunier Duval-Prodir and last year's overall Pro Tour team classification winner, CSC.

"Our guys rode great all week," Corbett said. "The guys did a great job either covering or getting into breaks the entire race."

In all, six of the team's riders made visits to the podium in Georgia. In addition to Ollerenshaw, Louder and Johnson, O'Neill ripped off a typically strong time trial in Stage 4 to finish third. He narrowly missed the podium in Stage 5 up to Brasstown Bald, finishing just a few meters behind Anthony Colby (Colavita-Sutter Home), who had a two-minute head start at the base of Brasstown after being in the day's main break.

Another member of that break, Ryder Hesjedal, earned a trip to the podium after overtaking the lead in the King of the Mountains competition from his teammate Louder, and holding it until the race's end Sunday.

Karl Menzies of Health Net Presented by Maxxis also made an appearance on the Tour de Georgia podium after Stage 6 to collect a ceremonial check after winning a $2,000 intermediate sprint.

The only rider from Health Net Presented by Maxxis who toiled in anonymity this week was Rory Sutherland. However, Corbett noted, "Rory worked tirelessly for everyone this week. He covered a million moves, he helped Jeff and Karl. He rode selflessly the entire race.

"We brought a very deep team to Georgia," Corbett said, "and every one of our riders had an impact this week."

Official Results