Tour of California - 2.1

USA, February 19-26, 2006

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Stage 4 - February 23: Monterey to San Luis Obispo, 210.7km

Commentary by Kristy Scrymgeour, with additional reporting from Mark Zalewski

Complete live report

09:42 PST   
Welcome to Cyclingnews' live coverage of the Tour of California. Today is Stage 4 of the tour and starts in the beautiful coastal town of Monterey. The route heads south hugging the coast for 210km before reaching the finish in San Luis Obisbo. This is known to be one of the most scenic drives in the US, traveling for miles along undeveloped beaches and gorgeous clifflines. The first mountain sprint of the day is at the famous Big Sur.

The road will be undulating all day taking in a couple of hard climbs. No mountains to speak of but not exactly an easy day. Bjarne Riis (CSC Team Director) said a couple of days ago that whoever took the jersey after yesterdays time trial would keep it until the end, but it certainly won't be an easy four days for the Phonak Team. They'll have their work cut out for the protecting the lead of Floyd Landis through some tough terrain yet.

Yesterday Riis said, ”Landis was untouchable today and there was nothing we could do. Dave [Zabriskie] did well in this time trial, but faded a bit towards the end. We were definitely expecting to take this one, but were beaten by a better performance. It now looks as if the overall standings may have been decided, but we still have a couple of exciting stages ahead of us,” said Bjarne Riis.

09:45 PST   
We are 15 minutes from the start of the stage and yet again, another large crowd is gathered to welcome the riders to California and send them off for another day of racing.

09:52 PST   
Our reporter Mark Zalewski has been catching up with a few people at the start. He ran into Floyd Landis who said he is feeling good today after the effort yesterday. He said he's seen a bit of the course today and he's not too worried. Confident that his team can protect his lead.

10:02 PST   
The riders are off. Before the real race start, riders will ride 14km neutral through Monterey. The clock will start as they enter the Carmel Highlands.

10:08 PST   
A great place to watch the race today would be at Big Sur. Not only will it be a great place to see the first mountain sprint, but the view there is breathtaking.

10:09 PST   
The race will reach Big Sur at approximately 11:30am.

10:11 PST   
The neutral zone is not exactly easy. Its twisty and turny and climbs straight out of town up steep hills. The Phonak team have already gathered at the front in preparation for the day.

10:16 PST   
Preisdent of the UCI, Pat McQuaid turned up at the race today and we caught up with him before the start. He said he is very impressed by the race so far. "I just got in yesterday, but I've been walking through the team cars this morning and from what I've heard so far, you can tell that its going well. If the riders are happy, you know its a good race."

We asked McQuaid if he's been following the race and he said "Of course. I've been following it on Cyclingnews." He added that he stayed 30km south of hear last night and has seen a bit of the course. From what he's seen, its quite hard.

10:17 PST   
This neutral zone is just all up and down. I guess that will get the legs warmed up.

10:18 PST   
Our first reader email of the day is from Gimena Friedick, wife of Mariano from team Toyota United. She says, "Go Mariano! Go Toyota United!!"

10:19 PST   
The race has just turned onto Hwy 1. School kids line the roads again to see the colourful men in lycra go past. Quite a sight.

10:20 PST   
They are on a long wide downhill section coming up to the race start.

10:22 PST   
Another nice day for the riders today. Not a cloud in the sky and a little bit warmer than the last couple of days being a bit further south.

10:23 PST   
Not much wind either as of yet. It can get quite windy along the coastline though so we'll see what happens as they day goes on.

10:27 PST   
We heard from Zabriskie (CSC) who was a little disappointed with his ride yesterday. He wasn't feeling the best but he still came very close to pulling of a win. He said, "I wanted very much to win today but Floyd was simply better than me. I felt like I was lacking something at the end, which is also where I lost most time. It was my first time trial since the Tour last year and I felt far from 100% even though I got an OK result."

10:28 PST   
Phil Zajicek's dad Mark has written in. He is flying in tonight to watch the last couple of stages and wanted us to let Phil know that he'll bring a fresh pair of legs with him.

10:30 PST   
Also a shout out to all the young riders from the mother of Jonathan Vaughters (TIAA CREF DS).

10:32 PST   
OK, the race has started and already there has been a few attacks. They're starting early today. We can see CSC, T-Mobile, Colavita up there. Looks like about eight rider off the front at this point. They have about 100m on the field.

10:38 PST   
Its all back together but the pace is fast.

10:39 PST   
Six riders are up the road now. But they've been caught too.

10:40 PST   
A Gerolsteiner rider attacks. The phonak team are ready and jumping on every move.

10:41 PST   
Another group of eight has formed now and are moving along quickly.

10:42 PST   
Caught now and a counter attack. Looks like TIAA CREF. Followed by Prodir Saunier Duval.

10:43 PST   

10:43 PST   
The new break is seven riders as they ride along this gorgeous road which drops down to a rugged rocky cliff line on their right.

10:44 PST   
The field is really strung out in single file in chase.

10:46 PST   
There is not much wind. The break has been caught and another rider has attacked. It looks like Credit Agricole.

10:47 PST   
Discovery and Davitamon Lotto are on the front There is another attack to try to bridge to this solo rider, it has been shut down immediately.

10:48 PST   
They are putting it in the gutter to chase this. Slightly uphill.

10:48 PST   
Another attack, two riders.

10:50 PST   
Those two have been swallowed up and passed as another attack goes but one guy sits up and waits. The other keeps going but the bunch is coming back. Another counter. This is going to happen for a while now until a break eventuates.

10:52 PST   
Zach Grabowski crashed earlier. He is out of the race. Two other Colavita-Sutter Home riders are still off the back. They has been waiting to help Zach back up but he has pulled out.

10:54 PST   
Grabowski was the only non TIAA CREF rider that was in the running for the "best young rider" jersey. I guess TIAA CREF will have it wrapped up now.

10:55 PST   
The bunch is all together now, but attacks continue along the winding road. Its undulating all the way and they are heading over a huge bridge over a gulley. Two Discovery riders have attacked with a member of the Mexican National team.

10:56 PST    23km/187.7km to go
They've been caught now and another counter happens. The road is going up now. About a 6% grade.

10:57 PST   
A Gerolsteiner rider has attacked. Its David Kopp. He has a good gap.

10:59 PST   
The field is strung out now as they climb this hill. More attacks. A group of four up the road.

10:59 PST   
The field totally single file in chase as they descend.

11:00 PST   
The field is all together again.

11:02 PST   
Another attack as they come off the descent, whilst at the back Steve Zampieri (Phonak) has a flat.

11:03 PST   
A few riders try to bridge and are catching him. Five in that lead group now with the field chasing.

11:04 PST   
We have Chris Brewer writing in from ahead of the course. He says, "I can tell you it's perfect weather but the first 135k is pretty difficult, then it flattens out just below the Hearst castle. Roads are in good condition, too."

11:06 PST   
They have been caught and there is a counter attack. Those in the break are Viatcheslav Ekimov (Discovery), Rene HAselbacher (Gerolsteiner) and Lars Bak (CSC). These three teams are really putting the pressure on Phonak today.. Rider number 74, Andre Greipel (T-Mobile) has bridged too.

11:07 PST   
The field is coming back up to them though and they have been caught but another attack goes.

11:10 PST   
People have been writing in about the time cut yesterday. It was supposed to be 15% which would have cut Simoni and others but this is more of a discretionary rule and the Commisaires can decide to let them start the next day.

11:11 PST   
Five riders away now and they're working very well together. It looks like Prodir, Gerolsteiner, T-Mobile...... no, they've been caught.

11:12 PST    34km/176.7km to go
Five kilometers to the sprint now at Big Sur.

11:13 PST   
Discovery is setting the pace. There is a small attack.

11:15 PST   
When they get to Big Sur, they have the first sprint of the day and only 7km later they have the first of three KOM sprints. It might be after these two that a break will actually get away.

11:17 PST   
Its really beautiful, tree covered parkland here. I think its called the Andrew Molers State Park. The field is one again catching the breakaway group and they'll probably keep it together for the sprint now.

11:17 PST   
But another solo rider goes! A very nice attack that caught the field napping.

11:20 PST   
Bastiaan Giling (T-Mobile) took out the sprint, followed by Jose-Manuel Garcia (Toyota United) and Vladmir Gusev (Discovery).

11:21 PST   
They are seeing 5km to the KOM now, a small group is off the front. Seven riders.

11:22 PST    42km/168.7km to go
We are on the climb now. The seven have been caught but two remain up the road.

11:23 PST   
The pace is high. They are all out of the saddle and climbing. A small group of four have a small gap. Discovery is up there and T-Mobile. Obviously Bernhard Kohl (T-Mobile) will be trying to get points to add to his KOM points.

11:24 PST   
Its single file again up this climb and they are all together at the front now. Its very fast. Its a fairly gradual climb. Gerolsteiner lead.

11:25 PST   
A Gerolsteiner rider has a small gap, T-Mobile chase.

11:26 PST   
Getting close to the top now. They are all together and a Phonak rider leads with T-Mobile right on his wheel. Gerolsteiner attacks.

11:26 PST    44.9km/165.8km to go
1km to the KOM

11:26 PST   

11:27 PST   
Gerolsteiner have attacked. A CSC rider on his wheel.

11:28 PST   
Three riders have a lead on the field now as they near the top.

11:28 PST   
200m to the top.

11:30 PST   
The three riders still have a lead. Gerolsteiner takes it from T-Mobile. They descend straight away at 78km/h.

11:31 PST   
The field have all crested the KOM. Levi Leipheimer took the KOM, followed by Bernhard Kohl (T-Mobile), Jean Marc Marino (Credit Agricole) and Alexandre Moos (Phonak).

11:31 PST   
The three top riders still have a gap on the field.

11:33 PST   
Levi Leipheimer, Bernhard Kohl (T-Mobile), Jean Marc Marino (Credit Agricole) are all away, but a group of seven riders comes flying past them and one rider goes off the front solo. He's flying. Three riders in chase.

11:34 PST   
Fabian Wegmann (Gerolsteiner) is one of them.
Correction to the KOM. It was Tom Danielson who took third place over the top.

11:37 PST   
The climb did a lot of damage to the bunch. Quite a few groups off the back. Its likely that it will come back together though.

11:38 PST   
Its still single file as they go up another small roller.

11:40 PST   
Its looks like most of the dropped riders are back with the group now. Still a small group off the front. An attack from the field.

11:42 PST   
It really doesn't seem like the rider will get a chance to appreciate the view today, they have really attacked this stage from the beginning.

11:44 PST    52km/158.7km to go
Another attack. Two riders have a good gap. We still have two distinct groups that have not regrouped after the climb.

11:44 PST   
The two riders have been caught by the main field and attacks continue.

11:46 PST   
Stuart O'Grady (CSC) and David Kopp (Gerolsteiner) are off the front now and have a 13 second gap. The first main bunch has a 15" gap over the second bunch at this point.

11:51 PST   
The break has been caught and another break is up the road. Torsten Heikmann (Gerolsteiner) and Michael Barry (Discovery). They have 10 seconds.

11:52 PST   
We have a chase group of five chasing the lead two.

11:52 PST    62km/148.7km to go
Another two chase the five and then the field.

11:56 PST   
The leaders have been caught by the chase group of seven and we have nine riders in the lead.

11:59 PST   
The riders in the break are Torsten Heikmann (Gerolsteiner), Michael Barry (Discovery), Jens Voigt (CSC), Koldo Gil Perez (Prodir Saunier Duval), Saul Raisin (Credit Agricole), Anfre Greipel (T-Mobile), Michael Creed (TIAA CREF), Dominique Perras (Kodak Gallery Sierra Nevada), and Andrew Bajadali (Jelly Belly).

12:01 PST   
It seems most teams have a team member in the break. Davide Frattini (Colavita Sutter Home) is also in that break. Phonak has kept the whole team back to set tempo on the front of the field.

12:06 PST   
The break has now been caught. All groups are back together.

12:14 PST    78km/132.7km to go
The bunch has slowed down now after that early action as the race leaders decided it was time for a nature break. We are 78km into the race. Still a long way to go. We are now coming into the town of Lucia. Its about 63 degress. Very calm and beautiful views.

12:17 PST   
Apparently there are a few sections of rough gravel road up ahead. We might see a few punctures. The road continues to go up and down but we don't see another KOM sprint until the 109km mark, so we have another 30km or so before that. In between we have the feed zone.

12:18 PST   
The riders are going through the gravel section right now. Its about 500m long and pretty messy.

12:20 PST   
Sven Krauss (Gerolsteiner) has attacked. Its a crafty place to attack because there is a lot of gravel on this small descent and the bunch had to slow down a bit.

12:21 PST    83km/127.7km to go
He has a good lead and the road is a lot smoother now. The bunch is single file down the descent in chase. He has 12 seconds.

12:23 PST   
The one thing about break aways today is that its hard to get out of sight. The road winds around a lot but it keeps jutting in and out along the coast and you can see across the juts.

12:24 PST   
Tim Johnson (Health Net/Maxxis) and Davide Frattini (Colavita Sutter Home) are bridging to Krauss.

12:25 PST    86km/124.7km to go
The bridging riders can see Krauss and the field can see the bridging riders. Even the ocean is calm today. Not much wind at all. We are in the Las Padres National Forest. Just spectacular.

12:26 PST   
At the back of the field, some of the riders are out of the time cut on the road so they'll have some work to do for the remainder of the race. Peter Lopinto (Kodak Gallery Sierra Nevada) has pulled out of the race.

12:27 PST   
All riders have been caught now.

12:29 PST   
We've had an email from Randy Shafer. A well known race official in the US. He explains time cuts. "The officials don't set the time cuts, those are
done by the organizer. The officials extend them "...after consultation
with the organizer" since the organizer is the one who decided that a
particular time cut for a particular stage suits their needs."

12:30 PST    90km/120.7km to go
More attacks now. A few riders go off the front but T-Mobile are keeping it together for the KOM sprints coming up.

12:31 PST   
Jasen Allen (Kodak Gallery Sierra Nevada) and Todd Herriot (Colavita Sutter Home) have abandoned the race.

12:31 PST   
Another attack. We have eleven riders up the road and four riders bridging.

12:36 PST   
Riders in the break are Lars Bak (CSC), Steve Zampieri (Phonak), Chris Horner) Davitamon Lotto), David Kopp (Gerolsteiner), Aaron Olsen (Prodir Saunier Duval), Paolo Salvodelli (Discovery), Tim Johnson (Health Net), Ben Brooks (Navigators), Mick Rogers (T-Mobile), Mark McCormack (Colavita Sutter Home), and Lucas Euser (TIAA CREF). The gap is closer to 30 seconds now.

12:41 PST    98km/112.7km to go
The break has been caught and there is a counter attack by a Gerolsteiner rider. He has an advantage.

12:42 PST   
The rider is David Kopp and he is joined by Lars Bak (CSC). They are at 12". Hayden Roulston (Health Net) has bridged to the break. A couple of others are trying to bridge.

12:44 PST   
Marco Pinotti (Prodir Saunier Duval) is also trying to bridge.

12:47 PST   
The gap is now 20". The three leaders have three other guys chasing and then the field. The three chasers look like they might be caught soon.

12:48 PST   
Ignore that. The six riders are together now.

12:49 PST   
Two more riders are attempting to bridge now. We have 5km to the KOM.

12:51 PST    106km/104.7km to go
Floyd Landis is getting a wheel change. A teammate gave him his wheel so that Floyd can get straight back on.

12:52 PST   
He is back on now.

12:52 PST   
The two chasers have caught the lead, so we have a lead group of 8 riders now.

12:54 PST   
Chris Horner (Davitamon Lotto) is trying to bridge now.

12:58 PST   
Horner has caught the break along with Jean Marco Marino (Credit Agricole), and Francois Parisien (TIAA CREF). Three other riders are trying to bridge as they get to 500m from the KOM. It kicks up a bit here.

13:00 PST   
The three riders are Andre Greipel (T-Mobile), Glen Chadwick (Navigators) and Davide Frattini (Colavita Sutter Home).

The leaders are over the top of the KOM now. A very sharp descent.

13:01 PST   
So to recap, we have a break of ten riders who are ten seconds ahead of a chase group of three, with the peloton another 25" behind them. Most teams have a rider in the break. Phonak have stayed back again to set tempo in the chase.

13:03 PST    112km/98.7km to go
The winner of the KOM was Marco Pinotto (Prodir), followed by Chris Horner (Davitamon Lotto) and Jean Marc Marino (Credit Agricole). Not long until the next KOM sprint.

13:04 PST   
These two KOM's are very close together with a steep descent in between so not much time for recovery. After this though, the road flattens out a lot.

13:05 PST    114.7km/96km to go
1km to the KOM now

13:06 PST   
Well, we've just had a reader correct our leaders list, they said, "I think the TIAA CREF rider is Craig Lewis, since Francois is having a cafe con leche here in Girona right now." Sorry about that!

13:08 PST    116km/94.7km to go
The gap is up to a minute now. Lars Bak won the KOM.

13:13 PST   
Correction to the KOM results. It was Marco Pinotti (Prodir), Chris Horner (DVL), then Jean Marc Marino (Credit Agricole).

13:14 PST   
Craig Lewis (TIAA CREF) has just requested service from his team car, whilst at the very back of the field Gustavo Artacho (Colavita Sutter Home) has abandoned the race.

13:17 PST   
Kathy Raisin has written in, "Go Saul Raisin! All your Georgia fans and family are cheering loudly here!"

13:20 PST   
Craig Lewis (TIAA CREF) is an amazing rider. He was the one hit by that car in Tour de Georgia a couple of years ago and now he's riding with the big guys. Quite a talent. He had a puncture before and he is back on.

13:21 PST   
The break is working well together. They are taking about 5 second turns on the front. McCormack just rolled off for Kopp to take over. It looks like they have a tail wind. Many locals have been writing in to say that there is often a tailwind this way.

13:21 PST   
The gap is 1'05".

13:24 PST   
Somebody wrote in to ask if they closed HWY 1 for this. They close the roads around the race. Its called a rolling enclosure. Police man the back and the front of the race so that no cars can get through until the full race has passed.

13:27 PST    129km/81.7km to go
The roads are very flat now and the race is at sea level rather than looking down at the ocean. The gap has gone up to 1'10".

13:28 PST   
Chris Horner (Davitamon Lotto) looks to the the highest on CG out of these breakaway riders. He is 2'17" down on Landis, so the Phonak team just have to keep the gap below that.

13:29 PST   
They are all still taking even pulls. A lot of the riders are feeding from their cars right now taking advantage of the flat straight roads.

13:30 PST   
Lots of Floyd fans have been writing in. "Floyd's two sisters and friends flew out to CA to watch him race during this entire week. The rest of his family and friends are cheering him on back here in the Amish Country (PA)," wrote The Umbles.

13:32 PST   
Mark McCormack's neighbour Dale Stephanos has written in on behalf of his riding buddies. "Nice to see him in the break."

13:33 PST   
The gap is 1'15". A few rolling hills again now. Back in the bunch Phonak is on the front. If riders look to the right now, they'll see sea lions lying around watching the race go by.

13:36 PST    137km/73.7km to go
Its flat now but you can see Hearst Castle up in the hills of in the distant. 5km to the sprint now.

13:40 PST   
Glen Chadwick's wife has also written in. "Go Chady," she says, "we're all following the live coverage here in Belgium to see how you're doing!! I'm proud of you baby!"

13:41 PST    143km/67.7km to go
We are 1km from the sprint. Craig Lewis (TIAA CREF) has been dropped from the break.

13:44 PST   
People have been trying to tell me that Vladmir Gusev is higher than Chris Horner on GC but they are wrong. Vladmir sits in 30th place, over 10 minutes down.

13:45 PST   
Andre Kreipel (T-Mobile) won the sprint, followed by Lars Bak (CSC) and Chris Horner (Davitamon Lotto).

13:51 PST   
There has been a crash in the peloton. Arquimides Lam (Mexican National Team) and Tyler Wren (Colavita Sutter Homes) went down. Rene Haselbacher (Gerolsteiner) also went down but he's already back with the bunch.

13:52 PST   
There was confusion earlier as to whether Tom Danielson was in the break. It looks like he is in fact in the break, making him the highest placed rider up there. He is 1'49" down on Landis.

13:54 PST   
One reader has written in to say that what we were seeing before were elephant Seals not sea lions. It is one of a couple of breeding areas for the Elephant Seals on the West Coast. Thanks for that.

13:54 PST   
The gap has come down to 48" now.

13:55 PST   
The field can see the break now as we are on a long flat section. The peloton is strung out and they have pulled the cars out of the gap.

13:58 PST   
The soigneur for the Health Net Maxxis, Kim Budde, has just written in. She says, "We're behind the race in our team van heading to the finish. Thanks for the aweome coverage, I'm keeping up on my blackberry! How about a hand for Nathan in the TT yesterday!"

14:01 PST   
The break is falling apart now and falling back to the field gradually.

14:02 PST   
Ken Reid from Canine Companions for Independence has written in. "Floyd Landis has done some fund raising for Canine Companions for Independence. We provide trained dogs to assist people who have disabilities. From the staff, volunteers, and clients of CCI: Hang tough and bring it home, Floyd!"

14:05 PST   
Lars Bak (CSC) and Jean Marc Marino (Credit Agricole) tried to keep this break going and were up ahead for a couple of kilomters. Some of the remaining break members have caught them again and the group of eight have about 23" on the field.

14:06 PST    160km/50.7km to go
The field is not chasing very hard at this point. The gap is 25".

14:09 PST   
Six riders still in the break are Chris Horner (Davitamon Lotto), Lars Bak (CSC), Vladmir Gusev (Discovery), Jean Marco Marino (Credit Agricole), Glen Chadwick (Navigators), and Mark McCormack (Colavita Sutter Home).

14:11 PST   
A lot of riders have had to abandon in this race. The broom wagon had to stop at the feed zone and let riders out because they didn't have enough room.

The field is reeling them in now. The break doesn't seem that hopeful. The gap has fallen to 15" and the guys in the break are looking back a lot in anticipation of getting caught.

14:12 PST   
Gusev and Chadwick refuse to give in though. They have a small gap on their own. The rest of the break members have been caught.

14:13 PST   
The two leaders have increased their lead to 21 seconds.

14:14 PST    165km/45.7km to go
On a bit of a descent now. Just over 50km to go in the race.

14:15 PST   
Th riders have been moving at an average of 43.2km/h (27m/h) so far in this race.

14:20 PST   
The gap is up to a minute now. Its flat again now and they can see the ocean again. There's a little bit of a cross wind now. They are working well together in the break. Discovery are near the front of the field keeping an eye on things to protect Gusev.

14:22 PST    173.7km/37km to go
The break riders have their team cars up with them now, which is allowed when the gap gets over a minute.

14:24 PST   
The race is approaching Morro Bay now, you can see it in the distance. When they reach Morro Bay, riders will head inland towards San Luis Obispo. Gusev has just pulled off and Chadwick is pulling through. This is a good break because the field will be happy to let this go.

14:25 PST    176km/34.7km to go
We are in Cayucos now. Phonak is on the front setting tempo back in the peloton.

14:26 PST   
The gap is at 1'50" now and growing.

14:29 PST    179km/31.7km to go
Landis has over six minutes on Chadwick and Gusev who sit 26th and 30th on CG. Their gap is now up to 2'10".

14:33 PST   
The gap has increased once again and is now 2'25". The break is still working very well together and the field is setting tempo but not getting too worried about chasing too hard.

14:36 PST   
The average speed has gone up a little bit to 44km/h (27.5m/h).

14:38 PST   
CSC and Toyota United have riders on the front right now. Toyota seem to be working pretty hard on the front. They'll want to bring this back for a field sprint for JJ Haedo. Health Net are also up there. They are interested in going for stage wins now. Phonak is getting an easy ride. This break is good for them because its not too much of a danger and they can let the other teams who want stage wins, do the work.

14:40 PST    184km/26.7km to go
The view is still gorgeous looking out at the Pacific Ocean, now we'll be turning inland towards San Luis Obispo through rolling green hills.

14:40 PST   
The gap has come down slightly to 1'55". The field is seeing 25km to go.

14:41 PST   
And falling.......1'45" now.

14:45 PST   
Just looking ahead the finish has quite a technical finish with three turns quite close together. There is a few undulations as well so its going to be interesting.

14:48 PST   
The latest time check is 1'05".

14:52 PST    195.7km/15km to go
15km remaining in the race now.

14:55 PST   
Glen Chadwick is a 29 year old Australian rider. Last year he rode on Team Cyclingnews based in Belgium. He still lives there now racing for Navigators.

14:56 PST   
The gap is falling. This is going to be close! With the sprinters teams on the front though, these guys are going to have a tough time holding this lead. Its 35" now.

14:57 PST   
Gusev is leading now driving hard but the field is closing in on them.

14:57 PST   
Toyota United are on the front. Health Net is on mass at the front now too.

14:58 PST    201.7km/9km to go
Chadwick is back on the front of the break. Floyd Landis looks comfortable in the field. He has his team around him keeping him safe.

Ten kilometers to go.

14:59 PST   
Gusev looks over his shoulder to see if the field are coming. They have 30 seconds.

15:00 PST   
Health Net/Maxxis and Toyota United are still on the front of the field.

15:02 PST   
There will be time bonuses on the finish line again. Nobody is close enough to move into the lead just from time bonus seconds though.

15:03 PST   
Landis is up there the front of the field sitting on the wheel of one of his teammates. They are sitting on the back of the Health Net train. Its important for Landis to stay up near the front to stay safe more than anything.

15:03 PST   
The time gap is now 22".

15:03 PST   
Dropping again, 16 seconds now.

15:05 PST   
The field can see the break now, they're on an incline. The guys in the break are out of the saddle making a last effort but its too late. They're gone.

15:06 PST    205.7km/5km to go
5km to go. The crowd is big. Its about two or three deep for the last kilometer of the race. The field is flying now. Totally strung out with Health Net on the front.

15:07 PST    206.7km/4km to go
Toyota United is also up there. People are moving around trying to get position. They all know how narrow some of the corners are at the finish. Positioning is vital.
4km to go. CSC is now on the front with 5 riders.

15:08 PST    207.7km/3km to go
They are at 3km to go at the hard turns. Rider down Its a Phonak rider. Not Floyd.

15:08 PST   
Its a Jelly Belly rider actually. Andrew Bajadali.
CSC still on the front.

15:09 PST   
The are just over a little climb. CSC still up there. We have riders rolling off having done their work.

15:09 PST    209.7km/1km to go
Left turn now. 1km to go. Its narrow here.

15:10 PST   
A hard left turn now. All accross the road. CSC and Health Net are both up there. Her comes the left hand turn. They're swinging wide. The crowd screams.

15:10 PST   
Sprinting now. 50m. T-Mobile!!!

15:10 PST   
Davitamon Lotto in second.
No its JJ Haedo again who takes the win.

15:11 PST   
A Davitmon Lotto guy in second.

15:12 PST   
What a week for Juan Jose Haedo and the Toyota United Pro team.

15:12 PST   
Fred Rodriguez in second and Andre Korff (T-Mobile) in third.

15:16 PST   
Thanks for tuning in again to our Live Coverage. We'll be back tomorrow for Stage 5 from San Luis Obispo to Santa Barbara.

Results

Provisional
1 Juan Jose Haedo (Toyota United Pro) 
2 Freddy Rodriguez (Davitamon Lotto)
3 Andre Korff (T-Mobile)

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