Kanstantin Sivtsov of Belarus surprised the race favorites to win the mountainous sixth stage of the Tour de Georgia and move into the overall lead.

The 25-year-old Sivtsov bolted clear in the final kilometre ahead of former leader Trent Lowe of Australia and race favourite Levi Leipheimer to claim the 142.3km stage from Blairsville to Brasstown Bald in a little under four hours.

Lowe, who grabbed the overall lead after the fifth stage, finished 10 seconds behind Sivtov with American Leipheimer a further six seconds adrift in third.

Sivtsov, a former amateur world champion competing in the United States for the first time, leads Lowe by four seconds in the overall classification and enjoys a 14 second advantage over Leipheimer.

"I waited and waited for the last part of the climb," Sivtsov said. "My team mates and director told me to wait and wait, so I did.

"It was a very difficult climb and it's very important for the team."

Sivtsov, Lowe and Leipheimer emerged from a group of six riders at the front of the peloton to tackle the final five kilometre ascent.

The Australian and American duo exchanged attacks as they vied for the stage win but were both surprised by Sivtsov's late burst.

"I made some mistakes," Leipheimer said.

"I thought if we went hard at the bottom of the final climb, my team mates would crack the other riders. But Trent (Lowe) and especially Sivtsov were very strong and the best rider won."

The race concludes with a 100.9km circuit race in Atlanta on Sunday.

STAGE FIVE

Former track specialist Richard England of Australia won the fifth stage of the Tour de Georgia in a tight sprint finish as compatriot Trent Lowe claimed the overall race lead.

The 26-year-old England, a double Australian team pursuit champion, bolted to the front over the last 500 metres to win the 214.7km leg from Suwanee to Dahlonega in five hours, 15 minutes, 15 seconds.

His compatriot Rory Sutherland finished second in the longest stage of the seven-day race, with American George Hincapie third. All posted the same time.

Lowe, who began the day sixth overall, 15 seconds behind race leader Greg Henderson of New Zealand, claimed the overall lead by finishing ninth in the stage.

Henderson tumbled to 93rd place, having lost more than 15 minutes after struggling for much of the stage in periodic rain.

American Levi Leipheimer, the race favourite, is in fourth place overall, four seconds behind Lowe.

The race continues on Saturday with the 142.3km sixth stage featuring a climbing finish to Brasstown Bald Mountain, which at 1,487 metres is the highest point in Georgia.

It ends on Sunday with a 100.9km circuit race in Atlanta.

STAGE FOUR

Slipstream-Chipotle won the Tour of Georgia team time trial, while Greg Henderson of New Zealand extended his overall race lead.

The US team, whose roster includes David Zabriskie, a former time trial stage winner and race leader of the Tour de France, completed the 16.1 km four-loop course at Road Atlanta in 19:38.86.

Astana, the Kazakh team which features race favorite American Levi Leipheimer, finished second in 19:40.27. Henderson, whose High Road team finished third in 19:42.06, began the fourth stage with a nine-second margin over American Tyler Farrar.

But Farrar dropped off his winning team's pace on the final lap and fell to 69th place, trailing by 1:58.

Andre Greipel of Germany, Henderson's team-mate, is second overall, trailing by 15 seconds. Zabriskie is third overall, also trailing by 15 seconds.

Leipheimer, the third-place finisher in the 2007 Tour de France, began the fourth stage in 47th position, 21 seconds behind Henderson. Leipheimer is now eighth, trailing by 19 seconds.

The team time trial had not been held in a major stage race in the United States in 15 years.

The Tour of Georgia continues on Friday with the 214.7 km fifth stage from Suwanee to Dahlonega, the longest stage of the seven-day race.

STAGE THREE

New Zealand's Greg Henderson won the third stage of the Tour of Georgia to take the overall race lead.

He finished in the same time as German team-mate Andre Greipel and third-placed American Tyler Farrar in a bunch sprint at the end of the 174.1 km Washington to Gainesville stage.

Former world track cycling champion Henderson holds a nine-second lead over Farrar in the seven-stage race, having trailed former race leader Ivan Dominguez of Cuba by three seconds at the start of the third stage.

Argentina's Juan Jose Haedo, who won the second stage, trails by 11 seconds overall in third place.

Dominguez, who won the first stage and finished third on Tuesday, struggled home in 93rd place, nearly 90 seconds behind Henderson, to trail by one minute and 34 seconds overall.

The tour continues on Thursday with a team time trial - a first for the race - and concludes on Sunday with a circuit race in Atlanta.

STAGE TWO

Argentina's Juan Jose Haedo won the second stage of the Tour of Georgia, while Ivan Dominguez keeps his hold on the overall lead.

Sprint-specialist Haedo, riding for Team CSC, pulled away in the final 100 metres of the 186.2 km stage from Statesboro to Augusta, finishing ahead of New Zealand's Greg Henderson (Team High Road) and Dominguez.

The third-place finish means that Cuban Dominguez retains the AT&T leader's jersey for the Toyota-United Pro Cycling team.

Haedo, who won the sprint jersey in the 2007 edition of the tour through the Peach State, said: "I decided in the last 5 km that I would know if I wanted to be in the sprint. I just to be safe, so I managed to stay in the front and I found Ivan's wheel, so I think it was the perfect lead-out."

The third stage sets off on Wednesday from Washington, Wilkes County to Gainesville, over a course of 176.5 km with three opportunities to earn sprint points along the way.

STAGE ONE

Cuban Ivan Dominguez of Toyota-United won stage one of the Tour of Georgia between Tybee Island and Savannah after emerging from the sprinting peleton.

Australian Nicholas Sanderson of Jelly Belly was second and German Robert Forster of Gerolsteiner third, determined by photo finish.

The 113.3km stage was the first of seven, with one each day and the race ending on Sunday.

"I had a lot of guys [before the race] saying, 'tomorrow is for you, short and flat, the way you like it,'" sprinter Dominguez, who was also the best rider in that category, said afterwards.

"But I was really surprised when I won, because I'm not doing 100 percent yet. [With] 50 metres to go, I looked to my arms and the guys were the same distance behind.

"I thought no one was going to pass, but you still have to go all the way to the finish."

It was Dominguez's first stage win at the Tour after three runners-up spots at the 2004 race.

The lead was held by Team High Road and Rock Racing at different points before Toyota-United came to the fore to give Dominguez his chance.

Tony Mabert / Jonathan Symcox / Reuters