Road: Leipheimer Crowned National Champion

(Waterloo, WI and Greenville, SC) – In what is unquestionably his best season yet as a professional cyclist, Levi Leipheimer followed up on his third place Tour de France finish by winning the USA Professional Road Race Championship, earning himself the coveted stars and stripes jersey and the title “National Road Champ.”

"To be the US national road champion is... honestly I didn't even believe it today," said Leipheimer. "2007 has been a dream come true for me. The Tour of California ... I dreamed about that all winter and trained harder than I ever have before. Then to go to Europe, stand on the podium in Paris and win a stage of the Tour de France, and then to come here to Greenville and be the U.S. champion, it was much more than I ever dreamed of."

Making his way into the small breakaway group holding a three minute advantage over the peloton, Leipheimer waited for the last climb up Paris Mountain to uncork his legs and ride his all-new Trek Madone away from the rest of the five-man front group. That was with 23 miles to go. "I honestly thought that we were going to go over the top together," said Leipheimer, talking about Andrew Bajadali, the only rider who appeared capable of staying with him up the climb. "I thought he was being conservative, and then he got dropped. At that moment, I thought, ‘Oh, this is a long way to go.'"

But a superb time trialist, Leipheimer did what he does so well: put his head down and turn on the gas. Also working in Leipheimer’s favor was a dwindled field that failed to get organized for a chase. Leipheimer’s time trial effort worked as he held a comfortable margin all the way to the line, finishing one minute eleven seconds over second place teammate, George Hincapie, also racing on an all-new Madone.

Next up for Levi and his Discovery Channel teammates is the Tour of Missouri, which kicks off on Tuesday, September 11th and runs through Sunday, September 16th.

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About the all-new Madone:
Built on a legacy of seven consecutive Tour de France victories, the all-new Madone throws out conventional approaches to bottom bracket, headset, and seatpost design, and in the process changes the rules that govern performance expectations. Using a 90mm wide bottom bracket (the industry’s widest), a tapered E2™ steer tube that’s stronger and lighter than traditional systems, headset and bottom bracket bearings that nest directly in Precision Fit Sockets™ built into the frame, and a no-cut seat mast that offers the adjustability of a standard post, the all-new Madone offers a superior ride with superior performance. It’s exclusive technology that could only be made using Trek’s proprietary OCLV Carbon. Still in its first year of production, the all-new Madone has already claimed a Tour de France title and the US National Chamiponship. The legacy of domination continues.

About Trek Bicycles:
Headquartered in Waterloo, Wisconsin, Trek Bicycle Corporation is a global leader in bicycle design and manufacturing. From the original hand-built steel touring frames introduced in 1976 to the revolutionary OCLV carbon fiber first introduced in 1992, Trek’s passion for innovation, quality, and performance leads the industry with next-generation technology and thinking. With a record seven consecutive Tour de France titles, six straight 24-hour World Solo Mountain Bike Championships, and countless other professional wins, Trek enjoys a rich tradition of victory in the world’s premier cycling events. Today, with a broad range of bicycles and cycling products under the Trek, Gary Fisher, LeMond, Bontrager, and Klein brand names, Trek continues to pursue new ways to bring the joy of cycling to all people.