Bet on Cycling

After two tough stages with categorized climbs close to the finish line, on Wednesday the Amgen Tour of California peloton will embark on a day that looks, on paper, reserved for the sprinters.

The 121.5-mile stage 4 route, from San Jose to Modesto, delivers two tough climbs — the steep opening climb over Sierra Road, and the almost 30-mile grind up and over Mines Road.

However unlike the stages into Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz, stage 4 is almost entirely downhill for the final 50 miles.

Last year the Amgen Tour also offered a stage from San Jose to Modesto. However this year’s route is longer and tougher, with more climbing. Riders begin the day with the steep climb up Sierra Road, which was, in years past, used as the final climb on stages ending in San Jose. It was there in 2008 that Levi Leipheimer went clear over the top with Robert Gesink; the pair held off a stacked chase group by 19 seconds, with Gesink winning the stage and Leipheimer taking the leader’s jersey.

As with the 2009 stage, the peloton now ascends the four-mile Sierra Road climb early on the stage — this year in the first five miles.

After completing the Sierra Road climb, the riders will face fast and flat roads full of twists and turns — Calaveras Road alone has more than 40 switchbacks — before visiting downtown Livermore for the first time for an intermediate sprint.

A quick bite in the feed zone is followed by the long, twisting slog up Mines Road. Riders should remember not to be fooled by the KOM on Mines Road, as it comes at mile 44, a full 26 miles before the real climbing ends.

After a long descent into Patterson, and a second intermediate sprint at mile 96, it’s a flat 25-mile run-in to Modesto.

Last year’s winner in Modesto, Cervélo’s Thor Hushovd, was scheduled to race in California, but broke his collarbone on a training ride a week before the race, when he swerved to avoid a young girl and crashed.

Instead, all eyes will be on HTC-Columbia’s Mark Cavendish, to see if he can repeat his convincing stage 1 win in Sacramento.

Blast from the past

Prior to this year’s Amgen Tour of California, VeloNews sat down with five riders for a stage-by-stage breakdown. Those riders — Levi Leipheimer, Dave Zabriskie, Ben Day, Mike Friedman and Rory Sutherland — form an expert panel VeloNews.com is referring to all week for insider analysis. Here’s what they had to say:

Levi Leipheimer (USA), RadioShack:
Like most stages, with this one they are adding a little climbing. When we start to talk about stages 6, 7 and 8, that will make a difference, all that climbing over the week. I’d say most likely this is going to be a field sprint, although we’re going pretty far up the backside of Mount Hamilton. That adds additional climbing. Last year we did Paterson, which was just a bump compared to that. It’s another stage to tire the legs out a bit and widen the gap between who is fit and who is not … Sierra Road is brutal. I’ll never forget first time I did recon on it, in December 2005. I thought, whoa, this is the real deal, this is going to matter. Unfortunately it was always such a long way to the finish. It’s tough, and riders fear it. The start is a little less aggressive by everybody, but there is a small group of a few guys that are good enough climbers that really want to get in the break, and there are going to go for it. We are going to come over the top in a few groups, and the sprinters won’t be there, but they’ll come back. And I think by the finish it will be a field sprint.

Dave Zabriskie (USA), Garmin-Transitions:
With Sierra Road in the beginning, you have to be a pretty strong guy to create the breakaway. There’s no way to get over that thing going easy. It’s a very, very hard climb, especially at the beginning of the stage. It’s not going to be a gigantic group getting away, because there aren’t that many people who can give it that much stick over the climb. Hopefully there are enough guys to get away and make space and stay away until Modesto; then we’ll see what Cav’s team can do.

Rory Sutherland (Australia), UnitedHealthcare-Maxxis:
Stage 4 of the Tour of California is generally a stage for the sprinters, but a bit different. Normally when you say that it’s a big, long, flat stage, but this year, and last year, we start straight up Sierra Road. That’s a pretty hellish climb. Last year it blew the field to pieces, but it all kind of regrouped after that. It definitely takes the sting out of people’s legs, for sure. I can’t really remember many stages of any tour I’ve ever done that start with a climb then flatten out at the end; it’s normally the other way around. Definitely one for the sprinters. There could be a bit of wind going into Modesto, it’s big and open in the valley there, so it will be interesting to see what comes out there.

Hushovd in 2009

Mike Friedman (USA), Jelly Belly:
It depends how big the break is. I mean, in Missouri a couple years ago there was a break of like 22 guys, and it stayed away and set the GC for the whole race. You have that first wall that goes up to 2000 feet; it’s hard to say what will happen on that, it’s right at the beginning of the stage, nobody’s warmed up, so there will probably be an attack. But if there’s going to be any splitting, any solid break, it will be over the second long, gradual climb. It’s 30 miles long, so if a team takes control and tries to drill it on a certain section and create a gap it might go. And if it goes, that might be another day where the GC changes. GC can be set one day and totally change the next day, which is what makes cycling so interesting. That’s definitely a big climb, and again it’s a long way to the finish, but if it’s 20 guys it will probably go.

Ben Day (Australia), Fly V Australia:
Sierra Road has been a classic climb in the Tour of California. It was the decisive stage in the early editions of the race. In the last few years the race has gotten so hard that it’s kind of paled in comparison. Having it so early in the stage, Sierra Road will be a very hard way to start. But through the valley, on the other side of the race, it’s going to all come back together. Some longer climbs coming into the finish, and then the big, flat run-in to the finish in Modesto. I believe it’s going to be a bunch sprint once again.

These top sprinters in the world are very decent climbers, and they have some very strong teams around them. The GC is going to be established a little bit, but no GC team has any need to control it from Sierra Road all the way to the finish. It’s a great stage for Fly V Australia, again with an opportunity for a breakaway. This is where we’ll want to send some guys who are climbing well but can sprint well out of a breakaway. And then if it comes into a bunch kick, once again we’ve got Aaron Kemps and Johnny Cantwell to have a good finish for us. We actually have more than two top sprinters on Fly-V Australia. We have Kempsy, Bernie is not a slouch himself. Charles Dionne is a very fast rider too; in certain terrain Charles Dionne is untouchable.

The thing is, with all of our sprinters, they all have slightly different attributes, and I don’t want to give too much away about that, but that really decides for us who we’re going to use for a sprint. Looking at the course profile, looking at those final 3k, and really working out the best train that we can have in front of these guys, and who it’s going to be tailor made for.

2010 Amgen Tour of California stage 3 results

May 19th, 2010

Tuesday May 18, Stage 3: San Francisco—Santa Cruz (113 miles/182km)
Stage results | GC (Overall results) after stage

Stage results | Top of page

Stage side finish view

1. David Zabriskie Garmin-Transitions in 4:26:09 10s bonus
2. Michael Rogers HTC-Columbia at 0:00:00 6s bonus
3. Levi Leipheimer Team RadioShack at 0:00:00 4s bonus
4. Peter Sagan Liquigas-Doimo at 0:00:17
5. Rory Sutherland Unitedhealthcare Presented by Maxxis at 0:00:17
6. Heinrich Haussler Cervélo TestTeam at 0:00:17
7. Jens Voigt Team Saxo Bank at 0:00:17
8. Christopher Horner Team RadioShack at 0:00:17
9. Francois Parisien SpiderTech Powered by Planet Energy at 0:00:17
10. Ryder Hesjedal Garmin-Transitions at 0:00:17
11. Jeremy Vennell Bissell Pro Cycling at 0:00:17
12. Steve Morabito BMC Racing Team at 0:00:17
13. Ytting Bak Lars HTC-Columbia at 0:00:17
14. Lance Armstrong Team RadioShack at 0:00:17
15. Christopher Jones Team Type 1 at 0:00:17
16. Peter Stetina Garmin-Transitions at 0:00:17
17. Tony Martin HTC-Columbia at 0:00:17
18. Marc De Maar Unitedhealthcare Presented by Maxxis at 0:00:17
19. Janez Brajkovic Team RadioShack at 0:00:17
20. Jakob Fuglsang Team Saxo Bank at 0:00:17
21. Jose Luis Rubiera Vigil Team RadioShack at 0:00:17
22. Phil Zajicek Fly V Australia at 0:00:17
23. Thomas Danielson Garmin-Transitions at 0:00:17
24. Francesco Bellotti Liquigas-Doimo at 0:00:17
25. Lucas Euser SpiderTech Powered by Planet Energy at 0:00:17
26. Brian Vandborg Liquigas-Doimo at 0:00:37
27. Valeriy Kobzarenko Team Type 1 at 0:00:17
28. Lars Boom Rabobank Cycling Team at 0:01:41
29. David Boily SpiderTech Powered by Planet Energy at 0:01:41
30. Walle Jurgen Van De Quick Step at 0:01:41
31. Paul Martens Rabobank Cycling Team at 0:01:41 1
32. George Hincapie BMC Racing Team at 0:01:41
33. Grischa Niermann Rabobank Cycling Team at 0:01:41
34. Christopher Baldwin Unitedhealthcare Presented by Maxxis at 0:01:41
35. Carlos Barredo Llamazales Quick Step at 0:01:41
36. Paul Mach Bissell Pro Cycling at 0:01:41
37. Oscar Pujol Munoz Cervélo TestTeam at 0:01:56
38. Ben Jacques-maynes Bissell Pro Cycling at 0:04:36
39. Robert Britton Bissell Pro Cycling at 0:04:36
40. Scott Zwizanski Kelly Benefit Strategies at 0:04:36
41. Max Jenkins Unitedhealthcare Presented by Maxxis at 0:04:36
42. Kiel Reijnen Jelly Belly Presented by Kenda at 0:04:36
43. Jonathan Cantwell Fly V Australia at 0:04:36
44. Christopher Butler BMC Racing Team at 0:04:36
45. Chad Beyer BMC Racing Team at 0:04:36
46. Nikolas Maes Quick Step at 0:04:40
47. Bernard Sulzberger Fly V Australia at 0:04:40
48. Stef Clement Rabobank Cycling Team at 0:08:13
49. Benjamin Day Fly V Australia at 0:08:58
50. Darren Lill Fly V Australia at 0:08:58
51. Brett Lancaster Cervélo TestTeam at 0:08:58
52. Simon Zahner BMC Racing Team at 0:08:58
53. Reid Mumford Kelly Benefit Strategies at 0:08:58
54. Thomas Rabou Team Type 1 at 0:08:58
55. Jackson Stewart BMC Racing Team at 0:08:58
56. Charles Dionne Fly V Australia at 0:08:58
57. Yaroslav Popovych Team RadioShack at 0:08:58
58. Dominique Rollin Cervélo TestTeam at 0:12:52
59. Thomas Peterson Garmin-Transitions at 0:12:52
60. David Veilleux Kelly Benefit Strategies at 0:12:52
61. Andy Schleck Team Saxo Bank at 0:16:10
62. Tejay Van Garderen HTC-Columbia at 0:16:10
63. Marcus Burghardt BMC Racing Team at 0:16:24
64. Bernhard Eisel HTC-Columbia at 0:16:24 2
65. Michael Friedman Jelly Belly Presented by Kenda at 0:16:24
66. Will Routley Jelly Belly Presented by Kenda at 0:16:24
67. Mark Cavendish HTC-Columbia at 0:16:24 4
68. Kurt Hovelynck Quick Step at 0:16:24
69. Maarten Tjallingii Rabobank Cycling Team at 0:16:24
70. Daniel Holloway Bissell Pro Cycling at 0:16:24
71. Aaron Kemps Fly V Australia at 0:16:24
72. Elia Viviani Liquigas-Doimo at 0:16:24
73. Davide Cimolai Liquigas-Doimo at 0:16:24
74. Andy Jacques-maynes Bissell Pro Cycling at 0:16:24
75. Bernard Van Ulden Jelly Belly Presented by Kenda at 0:16:24
76. Alexander Kristoff BMC Racing Team at 0:16:24 2
77. Bert Grabsch HTC-Columbia at 0:16:24
78. Mark Renshaw HTC-Columbia at 0:16:24
79. Ryan Anderson Kelly Benefit Strategies at 0:16:24
80. Jose Haedo Juan Team Saxo Bank at 0:16:24
81. Maarten Wynants Quick Step at 0:16:24
82. Matti Breschel Team Saxo Bank at 0:16:24
83. Francesco Chicchi Liquigas-Doimo at 0:16:24
84. Tom Boonen Quick Step at 0:16:24
85. Zachary Bell Kelly Benefit Strategies at 0:16:24
86. Ivan Santaromita Liquigas-Doimo at 0:16:24
87. Manuel Quinziato Liquigas-Doimo at 0:16:24
88. Jeremy Powers Jelly Belly Presented by Kenda at 0:16:24
89. Theo Bos Cervélo TestTeam at 0:16:24
90. Alex Candelario Kelly Benefit Strategies at 0:16:24
91. Neil Shirley Kelly Benefit Strategies at 0:16:24
92. Joao Correia Cervélo TestTeam at 0:16:24
93. Andreas Stauff Quick Step at 0:16:24
94. Kevin Hulsmans Quick Step at 0:16:24
95. Ken Hanson Team Type 1 at 0:16:24
96. Guillaume Boivin SpiderTech Powered by Planet Energy at 0:16:24
97. Ino Ilesic Aldo Team Type 1 at 0:16:24
98. Fabian Cancellara Team Saxo Bank at 0:16:24
99. Andre Steensen Team Saxo Bank at 0:16:24
100. Stuart O’grady Team Saxo Bank at 0:16:24
101. Peter Latham Bissell Pro Cycling at 0:16:24
102. Bradley White Unitedhealthcare Presented by Maxxis at 0:16:24
103. Jason Mccartney Team RadioShack at 0:16:24
104. Cody O’reilly Bissell Pro Cycling at 0:16:24
105. Karl Menzies Unitedhealthcare Presented by Maxxis at 0:16:24 3
106. Matthew Crane Unitedhealthcare Presented by Maxxis at 0:16:24
107. Bruno Langlois SpiderTech Powered by Planet Energy at 0:16:24
108. Dmitriy Muravyev Team RadioShack at 0:16:24
109. Dennis Van Winden Rabobank Cycling Team at 0:16:24
110. Thomas Leezer Rabobank Cycling Team at 0:16:24
111. William Dickeson Jelly Belly Presented by Kenda at 0:16:24
112. Martin Gilbert SpiderTech Powered by Planet Energy at 0:16:24
113. Philip Deignan Cervélo TestTeam at 0:16:24
114. Eric Boily SpiderTech Powered by Planet Energy at 0:16:24
115. Matthew Wilson Garmin-Transitions at 0:16:24
116. Robert Hunter Garmin-Transitions at 0:16:24
117. Steven Cozza Garmin-Transitions at 0:16:24
118. Robert Thomson Jay Fly V Australia at 0:16:24
119. Jeremy Hunt Cervélo TestTeam at 0:16:24
120. Scott Stewart Team Type 1 at 0:16:24
121. Sebastian Langeveld Rabobank Cycling Team at 0:16:24
122. Andrew Randell SpiderTech Powered by Planet Energy at 0:16:24
123. Javier Megias Leal Team Type 1 at 0:16:24
124. Davide Frattini Team Type 1 at 0:16:24
.

GC after stage | Top of page

1. David Zabriskie Garmin-Transitions in 13:09:33
2. Michael Rogers HTC-Columbia at 00:00:04
3. Levi Leipheimer Team RadioShack at 00:00:06
4. Peter Sagan Liquigas-Doimo at 00:00:21
5. Marc De Maar Unitedhealthcare Presented by Maxxis at 00:00:24
6. Janez Brajkovic Team RadioShack at 00:00:27
7. Ryder Hesjedal Garmin-Transitions at 00:00:27
8. Peter Stetina Garmin-Transitions at 00:00:27
9. Rory Sutherland Unitedhealthcare Presented by Maxxis at 00:00:27
10. Thomas Danielson Garmin-Transitions at 00:00:27
11. Jose Luis Rubiera Vigil Team RadioShack at 00:00:27
12. Lance Armstrong Team RadioShack at 00:00:27
13. Christopher Horner Team RadioShack at 00:00:27
14. Ytting Bak Lars HTC-Columbia at 00:00:27
15. Francesco Bellotti Liquigas-Doimo at 00:00:27
16. Phil Zajicek Fly V Australia at 00:00:27
17. Francois Parisien SpiderTech Powered by Planet Energy at 00:00:27
18. Steve Morabito BMC Racing Team at 00:00:27
19. Jens Voigt Team Saxo Bank at 00:00:27
20. Tony Martin HTC-Columbia at 00:01:44
21. Valeriy Kobzarenko Team Type 1 at 00:01:44
22. Christopher Jones Team Type 1 at 00:01:44
23. Lucas Euser SpiderTech Powered by Planet Energy at 00:01:44
24. Jeremy Vennell Bissell Pro Cycling at 00:01:44
25. Heinrich Haussler Cervélo TestTeam at 00:01:44
26. Lars Boom Rabobank Cycling Team at 00:01:47
27. Paul Mach Bissell Pro Cycling at 00:01:49
28. George Hincapie BMC Racing Team at 00:03:08
29. Walle Jurgen Van De Quick Step at 00:03:08
30. Jakob Fuglsang Team Saxo Bank at 00:03:14
31. Brian Vandborg Liquigas-Doimo at 00:03:34
32. Grischa Niermann Rabobank Cycling Team at 00:04:38
33. Scott Zwizanski Kelly Benefit Strategies at 00:04:46
34. Max Jenkins Unitedhealthcare Presented by Maxxis at 00:06:03
35. Bernard Sulzberger Fly V Australia at 00:06:07
36. Brett Lancaster Cervélo TestTeam at 00:08:58
37. Thomas Rabou Team Type 1 at 00:09:04
38. David Boily SpiderTech Powered by Planet Energy at 00:09:05
39. Stef Clement Rabobank Cycling Team at 00:09:40
40. Simon Zahner BMC Racing Team at 00:10:25
41. Benjamin Day Fly V Australia at 00:11:18
42. Paul Martens Rabobank Cycling Team at 00:12:24
43. Christopher Baldwin Unitedhealthcare Presented by Maxxis at 00:12:25
44. Kiel Reijnen Jelly Belly Presented by Kenda at 00:13:57
45. Thomas Peterson Garmin-Transitions at 00:14:19
46. Ben Jacques-maynes Bissell Pro Cycling at 00:14:25
47. Chad Beyer BMC Racing Team at 00:15:17
48. Robert Britton Bissell Pro Cycling at 00:15:20
49. Christopher Butler BMC Racing Team at 00:15:20
50. Andy Schleck Team Saxo Bank at 00:16:20
51. Jackson Stewart BMC Racing Team at 00:16:22
52. Karl Menzies Unitedhealthcare Presented by Maxxis at 00:16:25
53. Andre Steensen Team Saxo Bank at 00:16:34
54. Jonathan Cantwell Fly V Australia at 00:16:53
55. Carlos Barredo Llamazales Quick Step at 00:16:53
56. Darren Lill Fly V Australia at 00:17:01
57. Marcus Burghardt BMC Racing Team at 00:17:51
58. Davide Cimolai Liquigas-Doimo at 00:17:51
59. Aaron Kemps Fly V Australia at 00:17:51
60. Ryan Anderson Kelly Benefit Strategies at 00:17:51
61. Yaroslav Popovych Team RadioShack at 00:19:06
62. Will Routley Jelly Belly Presented by Kenda at 00:19:21
63. Davide Frattini Team Type 1 at 00:19:21
64. Bernard Van Ulden Jelly Belly Presented by Kenda at 00:19:26
65. Oscar Pujol Munoz Cervélo TestTeam at 00:19:34
66. Reid Mumford Kelly Benefit Strategies at 00:21:15
67. Nikolas Maes Quick Step at 00:22:10
68. Charles Dionne Fly V Australia at 00:24:10
69. Philip Deignan Cervélo TestTeam at 00:25:45
70. Jose Haedo Juan Team Saxo Bank at 00:27:02
71. Maarten Tjallingii Rabobank Cycling Team at 00:27:04
72. Andrew Randell SpiderTech Powered by Planet Energy at 00:27:06
73. Peter Latham Bissell Pro Cycling at 00:27:08
74. Steven Cozza Garmin-Transitions at 00:27:08
75. Robert Thomson Jay Fly V Australia at 00:27:08
76. Michael Friedman Jelly Belly Presented by Kenda at 00:27:08
77. David Veilleux Kelly Benefit Strategies at 00:28:04
78. Dominique Rollin Cervélo TestTeam at 00:28:04
79. Bert Grabsch HTC-Columbia at 00:28:41
80. Jeremy Powers Jelly Belly Presented by Kenda at 00:28:41
81. Alexander Kristoff BMC Racing Team at 00:31:30
82. Alex Candelario Kelly Benefit Strategies at 00:31:36
83. Matthew Wilson Garmin-Transitions at 00:31:36
84. Maarten Wynants Quick Step at 00:31:36
85. Bradley White Unitedhealthcare Presented by Maxxis at 00:31:36
86. Fabian Cancellara Team Saxo Bank at 00:31:36
87. Kevin Hulsmans Quick Step at 00:31:36
88. Dennis Van Winden Rabobank Cycling Team at 00:31:36
89. Mark Cavendish HTC-Columbia at 00:33:40
90. Tejay Van Garderen HTC-Columbia at 00:33:40
91. Bernhard Eisel HTC-Columbia at 00:33:52
92. Mark Renshaw HTC-Columbia at 00:33:54
93. Andreas Stauff Quick Step at 00:33:54
94. Robert Hunter Garmin-Transitions at 00:33:54
95. Guillaume Boivin SpiderTech Powered by Planet Energy at 00:33:54
96. Francesco Chicchi Liquigas-Doimo at 00:33:54
97. Elia Viviani Liquigas-Doimo at 00:33:54
98. Manuel Quinziato Liquigas-Doimo at 00:33:54
99. Theo Bos Cervélo TestTeam at 00:33:54
100. Ken Hanson Team Type 1 at 00:33:54
101. Martin Gilbert SpiderTech Powered by Planet Energy at 00:33:54
102. Thomas Leezer Rabobank Cycling Team at 00:33:54
103. Zachary Bell Kelly Benefit Strategies at 00:33:54
104. Eric Boily SpiderTech Powered by Planet Energy at 00:33:54
105. Andy Jacques-maynes Bissell Pro Cycling at 00:33:54
106. Ino Ilesic Aldo Team Type 1 at 00:33:54
107. Kurt Hovelynck Quick Step at 00:33:54
108. Neil Shirley Kelly Benefit Strategies at 00:33:54
109. Ivan Santaromita Liquigas-Doimo at 00:33:54
110. Daniel Holloway Bissell Pro Cycling at 00:33:54
111. Joao Correia Cervélo TestTeam at 00:33:54
112. Scott Stewart Team Type 1 at 00:33:54
113. Matti Breschel Team Saxo Bank at 00:33:54
114. Bruno Langlois SpiderTech Powered by Planet Energy at 00:33:54
115. Cody O’reilly Bissell Pro Cycling at 00:33:54
116. Tom Boonen Quick Step at 00:33:54
117. Jason Mccartney Team RadioShack at 00:33:54
118. Jeremy Hunt Cervélo TestTeam at 00:33:54
119. Stuart O’grady Team Saxo Bank at 00:33:54
120. William Dickeson Jelly Belly Presented by Kenda at 00:33:54
121. Matthew Crane Unitedhealthcare Presented by Maxxis at 00:33:54
122. Sebastian Langeveld Rabobank Cycling Team at 00:34:14
123. Javier Megias Leal Team Type 1 at 00:34:32
124. Dmitriy Muravyev Team RadioShack at 00:36:32
.

Stage points | Top of page
Sprint 1:

1. Mark Cavendish HTC-Columbia 5 points
2. Bernhard Eisel HTC-Columbia 3 points
3. Paul Martens Rabobank Cycling Team 1 points

Sprint 2:

1. Karl Menzies Unitedhealthcare Presented by Maxxis 5 points
2. Alexander Kristoff BMC Racing Team 3 points
3. Mark Cavendish HTC-Columbia 1 points

Points standings | Top of page

1. Mark Cavendish HTC-Columbia 21 points
2. Peter Sagan Liquigas-Doimo 19 points
3. Karl Menzies Unitedhealthcare Presented by Maxxis 15 points
4. David Zabriskie Garmin-Transitions 15 points
5. Brett Lancaster Cervélo TestTeam 15 points
6. Levi Leipheimer Team RadioShack 14 points
7. Alexander Kristoff BMC Racing Team 13 points
8. Michael Rogers HTC-Columbia 13 points
9. Rory Sutherland Unitedhealthcare Presented by Maxxis 13 points
10. Jose Haedo Juan Team Saxo Bank 12 points
11. Lars Boom Rabobank Cycling Team 10 points
12. Robert Hunter Garmin-Transitions 7 points
13. Francois Parisien SpiderTech Powered by Planet Energy 7 points
14. Maarten Tjallingii Rabobank Cycling Team 6 points
15. Thomas Rabou Team Type 1 6 points
16. Andre Steensen Team Saxo Bank 6 points
17. Jonathan Cantwell Fly V Australia 6 points
18. Chad Beyer BMC Racing Team 5 points
19. Marcus Burghardt BMC Racing Team 5 points
20. Heinrich Haussler Cervélo TestTeam 5 points
21. Marc De Maar Unitedhealthcare Presented by Maxxis 4 points
22. Jens Voigt Team Saxo Bank 4 points
23. Ryder Hesjedal Garmin-Transitions 4 points
24. Guillaume Boivin SpiderTech Powered by Planet Energy 4 points
25. Bernhard Eisel HTC-Columbia 3 points
26. Paul Mach Bissell Pro Cycling 3 points
27. Christopher Horner Team RadioShack 3 points
28. Andreas Stauff Quick Step 3 points
29. Andrew Randell SpiderTech Powered by Planet Energy 2 points
30. Ytting Bak Lars HTC-Columbia 2 points
31. Nikolas Maes Quick Step 2 points
32. Paul Martens Rabobank Cycling Team 1 points
33. Thomas Leezer Rabobank Cycling Team 1 points

Young rider standings | Top of page

1. Peter Sagan Liquigas-Doimo in 13:09:54
2. Peter Stetina Garmin-Transitions at 00:00:06
3. Max Jenkins Unitedhealthcare Presented by Maxxis at 00:05:42
4. David Boily SpiderTech Powered by Planet Energy at 00:08:44
5. Kiel Reijnen Jelly Belly Presented by Kenda at 00:13:36
6. Thomas Peterson Garmin-Transitions at 00:13:58
7. Chad Beyer BMC Racing Team at 00:14:56
8. Christopher Butler BMC Racing Team at 00:14:59
9. Andre Steensen Team Saxo Bank at 00:16:13
10. Davide Cimolai Liquigas-Doimo at 00:17:30
11. Ryan Anderson Kelly Benefit Strategies at 00:17:30
12. Nikolas Maes Quick Step at 00:21:49
13. Robert Thomson Jay Fly V Australia at 00:26:47
14. David Veilleux Kelly Benefit Strategies at 00:27:43
15. Alexander Kristoff BMC Racing Team at 00:31:09
16. Dennis Van Winden Rabobank Cycling Team at 00:31:15
17. Tejay Van Garderen HTC-Columbia at 00:33:19
18. Andreas Stauff Quick Step at 00:33:33
19. Guillaume Boivin SpiderTech Powered by Planet Energy at 00:33:33
20. Elia Viviani Liquigas-Doimo at 00:33:33
21. Eric Boily SpiderTech Powered by Planet Energy at 00:33:33
22. Daniel Holloway Bissell Pro Cycling at 00:33:33
23. Scott Stewart Team Type 1 at 00:33:33
24. Cody O’reilly Bissell Pro Cycling at 00:33:33

Stage climber points | Top of page
KOM 1:

1. Davide Frattini Team Type 1 8 points
2. Ryan Anderson Kelly Benefit Strategies 7 points
3. Andy Jacques-maynes Bissell Pro Cycling 6 points
4. Eric Boily SpiderTech Powered by Planet Energy 5 points
5. Will Routley Jelly Belly Presented by Kenda 3 points

KOM 2:

1. Davide Frattini Team Type 1 6 points
2. Ryan Anderson Kelly Benefit Strategies 5 points
3. Eric Boily SpiderTech Powered by Planet Energy 4 points
4. Andy Jacques-maynes Bissell Pro Cycling 3 points
5. Will Routley Jelly Belly Presented by Kenda 1 points

KOM 3:

1. Davide Frattini Team Type 1 4 points
2. Ryan Anderson Kelly Benefit Strategies 3 points
3. Eric Boily SpiderTech Powered by Planet Energy 2 points
4. Will Routley Jelly Belly Presented by Kenda 1 points

KOM 4:

1. Levi Leipheimer Team RadioShack 8 points
2. Michael Rogers HTC-Columbia 7 points
3. David Zabriskie Garmin-Transitions 6 points
4. Ryder Hesjedal Garmin-Transitions 5 points
5. Jose Luis Rubiera Vigil Team RadioShack 3 points
- 1. Thomas Rabou Team Type 1 26 points
- 2. Karl Menzies Unitedhealthcare Presented by Maxxis 22 points
- 3. Davide Frattini Team Type 1 18 points
- 4. Ryan Anderson Kelly Benefit Strategies 15 points
- 5. Levi Leipheimer Team RadioShack 11 points
- 6. Eric Boily SpiderTech Powered by Planet Energy 11 points
- 7. Robert Thomson Jay Fly V Australia 11 points
- 8. Andrew Randell SpiderTech Powered by Planet Energy 10 points
- 9. Jose Luis Rubiera Vigil Team RadioShack 9 points
- 10. Andy Jacques-maynes Bissell Pro Cycling 9 points
- 11. Michael Rogers HTC-Columbia 7 points
- 12. David Zabriskie Garmin-Transitions 6 points
- 13. Paul Mach Bissell Pro Cycling 6 points
- 14. Ryder Hesjedal Garmin-Transitions 5 points
- 15. Janez Brajkovic Team RadioShack 5 points
- 16. Will Routley Jelly Belly Presented by Kenda 5 points
- 17. Marc De Maar Unitedhealthcare Presented by Maxxis 5 points
- 18. Michael Friedman Jelly Belly Presented by Kenda 4 points
- 19. Maarten Tjallingii Rabobank Cycling Team 4 points
- 20. Chad Beyer BMC Racing Team 3 points
- 21. Ytting Bak Lars HTC-Columbia 1 points
- 1. Team RadioShack in 13:19:01
- 2. Garmin-Transitions at 00:00:00
- 3. HTC-Columbia at 00:00:00
- 4. Liquigas-Doimo at 00:00:37
- 5. Unitedhealthcare Presented by Maxxis at 00:01:41
- 6. SpiderTech Powered by Planet Energy at 00:01:41
- 7. Rabobank Cycling Team at 00:04:29
- 8. Bissell Pro Cycling at 00:06:00
- 9. BMC Racing Team at 00:06:00
- 10. Quick Step at 00:07:28
- 11. Team Type 1 at 00:08:58
- 12. Fly V Australia at 00:08:59
- 13. Cervélo TestTeam at 00:10:37
- 14. Team Saxo Bank at 00:16:10
- 15. Kelly Benefit Strategies at 00:25:52
- 16. Jelly Belly Presented by Kenda at 00:36:50
- 1. Garmin-Transitions in 39:29:43
- 2. Team RadioShack at 00:00:00
- 3. HTC-Columbia at 00:01:17
- 4. Unitedhealthcare Presented by Maxxis at 00:01:41
- 5. Liquigas-Doimo at 00:01:54
- 6. Rabobank Cycling Team at 00:08:33
- 7. BMC Racing Team at 00:08:34
- 8. SpiderTech Powered by Planet Energy at 00:10:12
- 9. Team Type 1 at 00:11:32
- 10. Fly V Australia at 00:11:33
- 11. Team Saxo Bank at 00:16:10
- 12. Bissell Pro Cycling at 00:16:56
- 13. Cervélo TestTeam at 00:21:05
- 14. Quick Step at 00:38:49
- 15. Kelly Benefit Strategies at 00:39:16
- 16. Jelly Belly Presented by Kenda at 00:51:40
- Sean Mazich Jelly Belly Presented by Kenda
- Jesse Anthony Kelly Benefit Strategies

Climber standings | Top of page

Stage team results | Top of page

Team GC standings | Top of page

Abandons, this stage | Top of page

Dave Zabriskie wins thrilling stage 3 of the 2010 Amgen Tour of California

May 19th, 2010

Zabriskie holds off Rogers

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Dave Zabriskie (Garmin-Transitions) scored a dramatic stage win ahead of Levi Leipheimer (RadioShack) and Mick Rogers (HTC-Columbia) on Tuesday’s third stage of the Amgen Tour of California, the 113.3-mile leg from San Francisco to Santa Cruz.

The three overall favorites broke away together on the critical Bonny Doon climb outside Santa Cruz, gaining a maximum advantage of 90 seconds, before a hungry chase group closed to within a handful of seconds.

Zabriskie, the reigning national time trial champion, attacked the others with less than a kilometer to go and held them off, taking the win and a 10-second bonus that put him into the overall lead, displacing overnight leader Brett Lancaster (Cervélo TestTeam).

Leipheimer said he fumbled the finish, which featured a lefthand corner at about 800 meters to go.

“I definitely screwed up the finish. I knew about this corner, but Dave got the jump on us, and there was a tailwind there,” Leipheimer said.

Leipheimer, who initiated the critical split up Bonny Doon, was similarly lukewarm about the results.

“Once we got away I wasn’t really committed because they’re the two most dangerous guys in the race,” Leipheimer said. “We were gaining time on everyone else, but that wasn’t really what my goal was. In fact I ended up losing a little bit of time because of the bonuses.”

Zabriskie, on the other hand, was pleased with the yellow result he got to zip on at day’s end, plus the form that put him there.

“The feelings I had (on Bonny Doon) were good feelings,” Zabriskie said. “It was the first time I’ve been able to go that deep this season.”

Coastal breakers

The day got going down the coast in beautiful conditions. Despite the best efforts of dozens of riders to get clear, the pack stayed together past the day’s first two intermediate sprints. HTC-Columbia set up their man Mark Cavendish to win the first and reclaim the points lead from Lancaster — ”It’s good practice for the Tour,” Cav said — and Karl Menzies (UnitedHealthcare-Maxxis) took the second.

As the riders turned off the coastal highway to head inland, a break of five riders went. The race leader pulled over for a nature stop, thereby granting the break clearance for takeoff. As on Monday, the break was composed of non-ProTour riders, including local Andy Jacques-Maynes of Bissell:

Ryan Anderson (Kelly Benefit Systems), 41st at 1:27
Davide Frattini (Team Type 1), 48th at 2:57
Will Routley (Jelly Belly), 49th at 2:57
Eric Boily (SpiderTech), 102nd at 17:30
Jacques-Maynes, 106th at 17:30

Frattini and Anderson battled for the KOM points throughout the day; Frattini took the first two, and Anderson the third. The break built a lead of over four minutes, giving Anderson the honor of being the race leader on the road.

RadioShack led the field in a chase, keeping the break within a comfortable margin of two to three minutes.

As the race shot back onto the coastal highway and headed toward Bonny Doon, RadioShack and Lancaster’s Cervélo team ratcheted up the pace. While his breakaway companions began to resign to the inevitable, Routley launched an attack that held for a few miles.

Then it was time for ProTour business.

RadioShack’s Chris Horner took a big dig on the early slopes, marked by most of the GC favorites, including Rogers and Zabriskie.

After Horner softened up the group, Leipheimer attacked, bringing Rogers and Zabriskie.

In a pre-race interview, Leipheimer named the two as among his biggest challengers to his overall title defense.

Now the defending champion had the two with him, opening a 20-second gap on the climb that grew to over a minute as RadioShack’s Lance Armstrong and Garmin’s Tom Danielson marked any attempt to bridge.

“Everybody was for a second in the red when they went,” said Saxo Bank’s Jens Voigt. “Then it was stop and go. There was still a large number of RadioShack riders in the chase group. I have to say they controlled the race pretty well. There were 3 or 4 guys in our group. And they were controlling everything behind.”

Leipheimer led the trio over the summit of Bonny Doon with a 90-second gap over the chasers.

After the descent, the chase became furious as Cervélo and Liquigas — home of the first and second place riders on GC — fought to get their men back in the game, as the race’s three most dangerous riders went up the road.

The lead trio — containing a former time trial world champion (Rogers), the reigning U.S. TT champion (Zabriskie) and a former U.S. TT champion (Leipheimer) — worked well together, but so did Liquigas at the front of the chase, and with less than 9 miles to go, it was touch-and-go, with the gap down to 55 seconds.

One Liquigas rider flatted out of the chase, giving the lead trio enough advantage to keep the gap at a half minute at 10km. The three were not giving up, although Rogers appeared to be weakening in the final Ks. With 2km to go, the trio had just 20 seconds.

Zabriskie launched an attack at 800 meters to go and Leipheimer was first to respond, but Rogers drag-raced him to the line to take second and a 6-second bonus. Leipheimer had to settle for the 4-second third place bonus.

Liquigas’ Peter Sagan, who had been second on GC behind Lancaster, led the field in for fourth at 17 seconds.

Up next

Wednesday’s stage 4 from San Jose to Modesto is almost a carbon copy of the 2009 stage between the same two cities won by Thor Hushovd in a mass sprint finish. The 195.5km route includes the rugged Sierra Road climb and a grind up the narrow, twisting Mines Road to almost 3,000 feet elevation before descending to the Central Valley and the flat finale. (Related: 2010 Tour of California route).

Complete results

Quick results

Stage results

1. Zabriskie
2. Rogers
3. Leipheimer
4. Peter Sagan (Liquigas) at 17s

GC standings

1. Zabriskie
2. Rogers at 4s
3. Leipheimer at 6s

Points jersey could keep Tyler Farrar in Giro d’Italia longer

May 18th, 2010

Farrar wins in red

Tyler Farrar’s tightening grip on the red points jersey could keep him in the Giro d’Italia longer than expected.

The Garmin-Transitions sprinter on Tuesday darted to his second win of this Giro following an excellent lead-out in Tuesday’s tight run into Bitonto. With the points jersey firmly on his back — he now leads with 84 points to second-place Cadel Evans’ 52 points — Farrar says he’ll fight to defend it as long as he can.

“When I first came to this Giro, I said I would take it day by day and focus on winning stages. But I have the points jersey now and that’s a big honor,” Farrar said after winning in Bitonto. “Now that I have the points jersey, it changes things a little bit. I’ll fight to keep it as long as I can, and we’ll see what happens in the mountains. I’ll try to keep it as long as possible.”

The final brutal week of climbs across the Dolomites will be hard on Farrar and the other sprinters in the bunch, especially without the special incentive of a sprint finish waiting in the final stage.

Race organizers have included an individual time trial to conclude the 93rd Giro in Verona, leaving little to motivate the sprinters to suffer through the final week of climbing.

In fact, once the Giro turns into the northern mountains in Saturday’s 14th stage, there’s likely only one stage — the 18th stage to Brescia — that favors a sprint finish.

Even that’s not a guarantee because riders will be hungry for a breakaway victory and sprinter teams will be too tired to mount a chase, especially if their star riders start to pack it in. (Related: 2010 Giro stage details)

On Tuesday, Farrar was content to soak up his second Giro victory, though he admitted he was hoping he could have gifted the stage to hard-working lead-out man Julian Dean.

The veteran Kiwi has been integral in Farrar’s rise into one of the peloton’s most successful sprinters over the past two seasons and Farrar said he wanted to return the favor.

“I had the idea in my mind (of letting Dean win). Julian is the reason why I’ve had good success. He was perfect again today,” Farrar said. “Julian had a nice gap and I could feel that I had a nice gap coming through the final corner. When I looked back, I saw (Fabio) Sabatini coming, and the last thing you want to do then is ease up.”

Farrar said the “Argyle Express” is gelling nicely ahead of the season’s top goal at the Tour de France, so much so the team propelled him to victory when he admitted he wasn’t feeling his best.

“I didn’t feel super during the stage, because we’ve had a few hard days, but the team was impeccable. I couldn’t ask for a better leadout,” he said. “Looking at my sprints last year, the mistakes I was making were tactical. I was still learning about sprinting at the top level of the sport. The progress we’ve been making on the train is starting to click in now. It’s taken awhile to get the kinks worked out. I have 100 percent trust in my boys now. I can rest easy and I can worry about making my sprint.”

When asked if he thinks he’s the world’s No. 1 sprinter, better even than archrival Mark Cavendish, he said he’ll leave that up to the pundits.

“I’ll leave that to the journalists to decide. I don’t know. Every sprint is a different race,” he said. “I’ll let you guys make the decision about who is better.”