Altoona, PA - This year, on the queen stage of the International Tour de 'Toona, there were no major breaks to chase down, no misdirections off course. There was only Karl Menzies of the Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis standing on the podium after a hard-earned third place on the stage, still in the yellow jersey of the race leader, poised to win the final overall title on Sunday.

As team directeur sportif Jeff Corbett noted, "The team rode their butts off" to get him there.

>From the opening gun of the 159 km Blair County Road Race, Health Net Presented by Maxxis took over the front of the peloton and stayed there. Shawn Milne and John Murphy did much of the early work to keep the bunch together over the first 50 miles, with Tim Johnson policing the early break.

The only danger moment occurred going over the top of Blue Knob, the biggest of the three main climbs in the stage. A small group with the main contenders for the overall got a gap on Menzies on the ascent. However, with 2nd overall Rory Sutherland of Health Net Presented by Maxxis sitting on the small lead group, Menzies was able to chase back on with powerful help from teammates Nathan O'Neill and Frank Pipp.

"I knew there would be a bit of drama on Blue Knob because the climb is so long and I can only go so fast uphill," Menzies said. "But we had Rory up there as an insurance policy, and they never got that far ahead. I was never concerned that we weren't going to catch back on. I was fine for the other climbs."

On the way down, the two front groups came together with a third that had Johnson and Matt Crane, who immediately went to the front to ride to ride tempo.

"Crane was unbelievable," Menzies said. "He had the ride of the day. He just kept coming back and working. (Frank) Pipp was strong. All the guys have been riding hard all week, but everyone just stepped it up to another level today. "

On the second climb, the team set tempo up front and squelched any attacks. On the final climb, Pipp lead the bunch up the first half, with O'Neill taking over toward the top, while Menzies and Sutherland kept an eye out for any attacks.

"Nathan went to the front on the plateau at the top of the last climb and pinned everyone," Menzies said. "Nathan was an animal today. No one could attack. Tim got back on after the climb and he and Nathan led it for the last 10 miles into town."

The final climb had further whittled down the field, so that a group of only 35-40 made the descent back into Altoona at the front of the race.

In the finish, Menzies said he wanted to set up Sutherland for a podium finish and a time bonus to help secure his 2nd place overall. "I can be a bit hard to follow in the bunch," Menzies explained. "I lost Rory, then got him back at about 400 meters to go. I think he was a bit tired so he ended up leading me out. He took me to about 200 meters, but I was maybe 20 riders back at that point and that was a bit too far for me today."

Instead, Taylor Tolleson (Slipstream) came off Menzies' wheel to take the win, with Charles Dionne (Colavita-Sutter Home) coming 2nd just ahead of Menzies.

"The win would've been nice," Menzies, "but our main objective was to hold the lead. Everyone rode out of their skins today. They've been riding like that since day one, but today was another level altogether. Rory and I had to cover one or two moves, but with the way everyone has worked, you have no choice but to do it for them.

"This week has definitely proved that Altoona is a team race," he continued. "There's no way Rory and I are one-two without everyone else riding the way they are. Navigators has raced really aggressively this week, but we've been the strongest team here."

Menzies is now one 30-lap criterium in downtown Altoona away from claiming the title he narrowly missed out on in 2006.

"Criteriums are never easy," Pipp noted. "But no way after the work we've done this week is anyone going to take it easy. We just need to get Karl to the line. The time bonuses don't matter."

Menzies echoed those thoughts. "We only have one more day," he said. "Until I cross the line, none of us will relax."

Notes

The two-second time bonus further solidified Menzies' hold on the overall lead. He now leads teammate Sutherland by 0:15, while Chris Baldwin (Toyota-United) sits in 3rd at 0:26. With a total of 16 seconds in time bonuses available tomorrow on the road and at the finish, Menzies and Sutherland need only to finish with the leaders to secure 1st and 2nd overall.

For the final stage, because of the tight nature of the one-mile course, race regulations limit the size of the field to the top 100 riders in the general classification after Stage 6. This likely will mean that John Murphy will not start the criterium. "It's really a shame for Big John," Menzies said. "He's been working from the start every day. He works until he blows, then he has to ride into the finish. He earned a spot in the final stage because of his work, but rules are rules."