BRASSTOWN BALD, GA. — In an epic battle on an epic mountain, Astana’s Levi Leipheimer tried again and again to drop Trent Lowe of Slipstream-Chipotle on Saturday in Stage 6 of the Tour de Georgia.

Try as he might, Leipheimer couldn’t shake the plucky Australian on the 3-mile beast of a climb known as Brasstown Bald, which the locals refer to as “The Wall,” with inclines of up to 22-25 percent.

But while Leipheimer and Lowe marked each other and duked it out in their quest for the yellow jersey and the race lead, another rider lurked in the shadows …

High Road’s Kanstantin Sivtsov.

In the end, the 25-year-old from Belarus was the strong man of the day … and of the Tour de Georgia, as well.

Sivtsov motored past Lowe and Leipheimer in the last 500 meters, not only winning the stage but snatching the yellow jersey from Lowe as well. Barring a mishap in the finishing stage in Atlanta — a flat circuit — Sivtsov will stand atop the podium as the TdG winner later today.

High Road’s Konstantsin Sivtsov wins the stage at Brasstown Bald …

then gets a big hug from High Road captain Big George Hincapie. Photos by Dave Luecking

Twas quite a stunning turn of events, because the “drag race,” as Lowe had called it, on Brasstown Bald had been seen as a two-man adventure between Lowe and Leipheimer, who was just 4 seconds behind Lowe heading into the stage.

Few people outside the High Road camp viewed Sivtsov as a contender, even though he trailed Lowe by just 6 seconds and Leipheimer by 2 in the overall standings. In fact, until the stage win, the TdG press notes had misspelled his first and last names. 

“He was off the radar a little bit,” Lowe said. ”We kind of thought High Road (Sivtsov) was riding for the stage win.”

Not so, as became evident on the decisive climb.

“I dream for this day,” said Sivtsov,  who finished a respectable 32nd last year at the Tour de France riding for Barloworld. “The last mountain is very hard, very steep and the last kilometers is very, very steep.”

Sivtsov is just learning English, but his message was clear. He kept coming back to “very hard,” “very steep,” and “George,” a reference to team captain and role model George Hincapie.

“My team all there to help me. George was there for me. Very hard. Very steep. Very important. Thank you for all my team.”

Finally, he summed it all up with one word.

“Beautiful.”

It was a beautiful display of “authentic athletic competition” as High Road owner Bob Stapleton describes cycling in the post-doping, clean-cycling era. And it played out on a beast of a climb.

After Leipheimer’s acceleration dropped the leading group of survivors from eight to three early in the climb, Sivtsov rode easily as the third wheel, right behind Lowe, who seemed glued to Leipheimer’s rear wheel. But then Rock Racing’s Oscar Sevilla came back from the dead — skull and crossbones on his jersey and all - and reconnected with the three leaders before attacking and riding to the front.

Leipheimer responded with a counterattack 1 kilometer from the summit.

“I gauged my effort; I know the climb,” said Leipheimer, the winner here last year. “On the first steep part, I went and I was able to get rid of everybody except for Trent and Sivtsov. I was relaxed until the final kilometer, which is legendary at Brasstown Bald. I kept telling myself that’s where it’s going to happen, and I gave it everything.

“Sevilla led into it really quickly, I came off his wheel and went for it. I gave it a good 400 meters and when I sat down, Sivtsov went.”

And that’s where the stage, and probably the TdG was won.

“At moments like that, it’s obvious that he’s the strongest guy,” Leipheimer said. “There was a moment where I let the gap go a little bit and I waited to see what Trent would do, and I gave it one really big acceleration to try to get rid of Trent and get back to Sivtsov. Trent stayed on my wheel, Sivtsov was still going strong, so I have to sit up and see what Trent’s going to do.

“Trent has the lead, so it’s his to lose. He never came around me. I think everybody was at their limit. We all did out best, and the strongest man won. I got beat straight up.”

Two days before the epic stage, Leipheimer wondered whether Lowe, at age 25, had the experience necessary to win such a big stage and hence a one-week stage race. That was Leipheimer’s confidence and experience talking, and he admitted Saturday that he probably was a little bit overconfident heading into the decisive stage.

Yet, he may have been correct about Lowe’s lack of experience, because Lowe made no move to stay with Sivtsov until sprinting away from Leipheimer in the final few hundred meters. Sivtsov ended up beating Lowe to the line by 10 seconds, enough to take the lead by 4 seconds. Leipheimer finished 16 seconds in arrears and is 14 seconds behind Sivtsov in the overall standings.

“I was pretty surprised that he let him go,” Leipheimer said. “I don’t think he realized how close (Sivtsov) was (to the yellow jersey). … . It looked like he was just in front of us, but it’s deceiving, it’s steep and I know that’s a big time gap.

“Not to knock Trent, but Sivtsov was the strongest guy. I think Trent was a little bit on the limit and wasn’t thinking clearly. I wasn’t either. It’s hard to think clearly when you’re on such a steep climb and you’re on your limit. That’s bike racing. That’s what makes it exciting.”

To that point, the 88-mile stage from Blairsville to Brasstown had played out as expected. While a breakaway and then a chase group went off the front of the peloton, none of those riders were a factor in the overall standings. But with Slipstream riding at the front of the peloton, the break never got more than 2 minutes 30 seconds ahead before ultimately being mostly swallowed up after a courageous attack by Neil Shirley of Jittery Joes.

“All I can say is Trent rode great, Slipstream rode great, and High Road and Sivtsov took advantage of the battle that was going on,” said Leipheimer, who appeared to be in the best position heading into the climb, accompanied by three teammates — Chris Horner, Tony Colom and Chechu Rubiera, who was the last survivor of the breakaway and drifted back to escort Leipheimer for a bit until he ran out of gas.

“I was feeling good, and I thought if we make it hard at the bottom, my teammates could crack everyone for me,” Leipheimer said. “Unfortunately, I felt strong, but I think Trent and Siusou were very strong.”

And perhaps we have witnessed the beginning of a new era in cycling, with a pair of 25 year-olds — Sivtsov and Lowe — ascending the peak.

Leipheimer called Sivtsov “a very big talent.”

“Sometimes people have to make that step, and he made that step,” Leipheimer said. “Is it a surprise? Yes and no. Young riders develop. Same with Trent. I think he made a big step today, too.”

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