Australian Henk Vogels of the Navigators today won the 136-mile Stage One of Dodge Tour de Georgia, which stretched from Augusta, Ga., to Macon, Ga., in a field sprint with a time of 5:28:20. The Mexican cyclist Miguel Meza of the Schroeder Iron team finished second with Slovenian Uros Murn of the Formaggi-Pinzolo team rounding out the top three.

"I'm ecstatic to win the first stage of the Dodge Tour de Georgia," Vogels said, "and winning the yellow jersey is a great bonus. It's good to show what we can do here. We're here to make a statement."

Today's race also featured three designated sprint points in Harlem, Ga.; Warrenton, Ga.; and Milledgeville, Ga., one by American Chris Horner, Saturn; Meza, Schroeder Iron; and Murn, Formaggi-Pinzolo, respectively. Additionally, 20-year-old Dalton, Ga., native Saul Raisin of the Ofoto-Lombardi Sports team was named best young rider for a second day in a row. Winning the three King of the Mountains (KOMs) was American Chris Horner of Team Saturn.

Tomorrow's 117-mile Stage Two race will kick off at 12:30 p.m. at the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in Macon with Rolling Stone pianist and Macon legend Chuck Leavell singing the National Anthem. The tour is scheduled to arrive in Columbus near the Civic Center at approximately 4:30 p.m.

Eighteen top American and international cycling teams, totaling more than 140 professional riders, are competing in the six-day Dodge Tour de Georgia. The race covers more than 600 miles (965 km), going through the host cities of Savannah, Augusta, Macon, Columbus, Pine Mountain (Callaway), Rome, Dalton, Gainesville and Atlanta. Dodge Tour de Georgia is the only stage race of this length in the U.S. that is sanctioned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) for 2003, and one of only five races in the U.S. on the official UCI calendar.

Turner South will be airing a one-hour show recapping the entire Dodge Tour de Georgia on May 3 at 2 p.m. EST.

STAGE ONE RESULTS:  Augusta to Macon, 136 miles/220 km
          Time
Place Name  Team  Country   Time    Down
1st  Vogels, Henk Navigators AUS     5:28:20   --
2nd Meza, Miguel Schroeder Iron MEX     5:28:20   --
3rd Murn, Uros Formaggi- SLO  5:28:20   --
Pinzolo 

OVERALL GENERAL CLASSIFICATION: Overall    Time
       Time      Down
1st  Vogels, Henk Navigators AUS  5:33:16  --
2nd O'Neill, Nathan Saturn  AUS  5:33:17  0:00:01
3rd  Horner, Chris Saturn  USA  5:33:19    0:00:03

JERSEY WINNERS
* Wachovia King of the Mountain Leader: Chris Horner, Saturn
* Maxxis Sprint Leader: Henk Vogels, Navigators
* Best Young Rider (under 23): Saul Raisin, Ofoto-Lombardi Sports

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