With a victory in stage 4, Argentinean Alejandro Borrajo cut race leader Javier Zapata’s overall lead to 18 seconds Thursday in the 2007 Tour of Virginia.

Zapata (Team Caico) came into the stage boasting a 58-second lead over the second-place Borrajo (Rite Aid), but the Argentinean joined an early break on Thursday’s 103-mile stage from Douthat to Waynesboro and stayed away to win.

Borrajo, who finished fifth in the points classification in the 2004 Giro d’Italia, rolled through the three Cat. 1 and two Cat. 3 climbs.

Sprinter Kayle Leogrande (Rock Racing) mounted a successful chase effort with a few miles remaining in the stage. Nearing the finish area in downtown Waynesboro, Borrajo kicked up the pace, and Leogrande couldn’t keep up for a sprint finish. He finished 3 seconds behind.

“It was a difficult day,” Borrajo said. “I gave it one more attack, all I had, and got lucky.”

Zapata, spending his second day in yellow, finished 13th, 24 seconds down. With Borrajo’s time bonus added to the mix, the Colombian now owns an 18-second advantage in the GC heading into Friday’s stage.

“We allowed the terrain to take its toll,” Zapata said. “We will continue to work to conserve what we have and maintain our ground.”

With third-place rider Dan Bowman (Kelly Benefit Strategies – Medifast) a minute down, the GC race is shaping up to be a battle between the two South Americans. Stage 5 will see racers heading from Waynesboro to nearby Staunton, the birthplace of former President Woodrow Wilson.

Although the two cities are separated by just 10 miles of road, the race will twist and turn along a rolling 99-mile path that heads far south, passing the Big Levels Game Refuge, then looping back.

It will be one of the final chances for GC competitors to push for the lead. Saturday’s race, a twilight criterium, looks to belong to the sprinters, and racing will wrap up the following day, on a relatively moderate 100-mile road race.

2007 TOUR OF VIRGINIA
Stage 4 (road race). April 26
1. Alejandro Borrajo, Rite Aid Pro Cycling, 103 miles in 4:39:40
2. Kayle Leogrande, Rock Racing, at 0:00:03
3. Dan Bowman, Kelly Benefit Strategies – Medifast, at 0:00:21
4. Mike Olheiser, Memphis Motorwerks – Carve, at 0:00:21
5. Matt White, Firodifrutta Cycling Team, at 0:00:21
6. Mark Walters, Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada, at 0:00:22
7. Morgan Schmitt, Priority Health-Bissell, at 0:00:22
8. Jake Rytlewski, Rite Aid Pro Cycling, at 0:00:22
9. Christopher Jones, VMG Racing, at 0:00:22
10. Adam Switters, Rock Racing, at 0:00:23Overall, after 4 stages
1. Javier Zapata, Caico, in 10:11:17
2. Alejandro Borrajo, Rite Aid Pro Cycling, at 0:00:18
3. Dan Bowman, Kelly Benefit Strategies-Medifast, at 0:01:00
4. Christopher Jones, VMG Racing, at 0:01:10
5. Mike Olheiser, Memphis Motorwerks-Carve, at 0:01:20
6. Alejandro Cortes, Caico, at 0:01:32
7. Daniel Vaillancourt, Colavita-Sutter Home, at 0:01:45
8. Andrew Guptil, Colavita-Sutter Home, at 0:02:00
9. Matt White, Firodifrutta Cycling Team, at 0:02:44
10. Jake Rytlewski, Rite Aid Pro Cycling, at 0:02:44