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Tour of California - 2.HC
USA, February 18-25, 2007
Main Page Results Overall standings Stage Details Live report Previous Stage Next Stage
Stage 4 - February 22: Seaside to San Luis Obispo, 213.4km
Two world champs go one-two in SLO
Leipheimer holds onto three second lead into time trial
By Mark Zalewski in San Luis Obispo with additional reporting from Kirsten Robbins and Laura Weislo
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The fast and furious run-in to SLO was reminiscent of last year's stage, with a breakaway getting caught and the sprinters' teams setting up the lead out. But unlike last year when Toyota-United organised the chase, no one team hit the front, leaving the catch until late in the game. This produced some late disorganisation for the final sprint, an up-and-down affair with a hard and still wet ninety-degree turn at 150 metres. Into the turn it was Rabobank slamming on the brakes which allowed the surge to fly past, including world champion Paolo Bettini (Quick Step-Innergetic) who hammered up the inclined finish to his first win on American soil.
"It is a very beautiful win," he said rolling to a stop after the finish. "I am very happy - the first time in the USA and California... very beautiful. It was very difficult but that is normal. The end of a stage it is normally dangerous. It was my goal to come here and win a stage. Even when I am not in the best fitness I still like to win races. Yesterday I found I had good legs on the climb and I am taking it day by day."
Coming in a close second was another world champion, U23 champion Gerald Ciolek (T-Mobile) who finished just ahead of last year's stage four winner Juan Jose Haedo. "It was nice to see Bettini the world champion and Ciolek the U23 world champion race against each other," said T-Mobile's Bob Stapleton. "Ciolek is one of the best talents in the sport at just twenty years old."
Haedo was disappointed with his placing. However, the ten points he earned for third place were enough to put him into the sprint jersey, two points ahead of stage one winner Graeme Brown (Rabobank). "They knew but you can't lay off in the sprint," said a Rabobank director sportif about the water in the final turn. "Brown got in trouble behind and couldn't hold the wheel. It's not so easy to win in the sprint - Brown won the first but then it was Haedo and now Bettini. It was a long stage today, but beautiful. The guys really suffered."
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The rest of the field remained intact into the finish, with race leader Levi Leipheimer smartly staying near the front until the final three kilometers. "I was just trying to stay to the front and not get time gapped," he said. But in the final kilometers, Jens Voigt took a surprising flyer off the front, threatening the slim three second lead Leipheimer has over him. "Jens was part of the lead out for J.J.," said Leipheimer. "He was just being a good teammate and trying to do his job for J.J. But I definitely needed to make sure I finished in the same group as him."
Along with the sprint jersey, the mountains jersey changed hands, thanks to a strong ride by Christophe Laurent (Credit Agricole) in today's break. But Laurent had a bit of a challenge with Slipstream-Chipotle rider Lucas Euser looking to defend teammate Thomas Peterson's second place position. "We were going back and forth if we should sprint or not," said Euser, who took second to Laurent on the first climb but beat him on the second. "I messed up on that last one though."
Laurent said he was not sure if he was going to have to sprint for the points, due to the language barrier with the younger American rider. "There was a battle between myself and Lucas today for the KOM. We had a little bit of a communication problem because of the language barrier. When the first KOM came I asked Lucas if he was going for it. But with the language it did not come across well. With one kilometre to go he attacked and that is the point I knew he was going to go for it. I want to win the KOM jersey here and so he is now my competitor for that but that is normal to have this kind of competition inside the race."
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After the KOMs were finished the break set to the task of surviving to the finish. However, Hilton Clarke (Navigators Insurance) said he and the others had disagreements on the best strategy. "Once we got out there we just kept it easy, because we knew that if we went too hard early we would just blow at the end," he said. "We let Discovery hold us at three minutes. As soon as we got over the last KOM it was flat and we kept a good speed."
"When we got our maximum lead of four minutes with fifty kilometres to go, I just laid the ears back and went as hard as I could. The other guys said it was too early but I wasn't concerned about the finish as much as just getting to the finish. I'm a bit disappointed in the other guys trying to save it... let's get to the finish first!"
Back in the peloton, Discovery Channel had another day of setting the pace. "We are just trying to keep the lead," said American champion George Hincapie who was seen riding in front of Leipheimer for much of the day. Hincapie won in San Jose last year but had to sacrifice that chance yesterday to help protect the overall lead of his teammate. "Of course I wanted to go for a stage win, but I think my best shot was yesterday with the climb so close to the finish - but I had to do a lot of work before that so I didn't arrive fresh. Our main priority is to win the overall, so it doesn't look like there are many chances for me left!"
Riding protected today, Leipheimer was able to enjoy the lovely scenery along some of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in the world. "Today was the most postcard looking stage of the tour and it is pretty amazing and beautiful," said Leipheimer. "We were on the front today but we were just cruising. In the morning it looked grim but we only had one shower and it was cold but short."
However, tomorrow will be all business for the race leader, while the rest of the team will have a well-deserved rest day. "I am confident about tomorrow," he said. "I feel good and I feel like I am the best rider in the race. I have been training hard all winter and it is no secret that I'd love to win this race."
How it unfolded
The riders were greeted to a vicious winter storm as they arrived at the start in Seaside. Heavy rains pounded the team cars as the racers hunkered down inside. But miraculously, just fifteen minutes before the start, the rain let up, and by the time the race reached the zero kilometre mark, blue sky was peaking out from between the clouds.
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The first few kilometres were a flurry of attacks, with Ben Jacques-Maynes (Priority Health) drawing first blood along with Jonathan Garcia (BMC) and Viktor Rapinski (Navigators Insurance). The Discovery Channel team, not wanting a repeat of stage three when they let too many riders up the road, controlled the front of the peloton as the counter-attacks flew. It wasn't until 30km into the stage that a break of four, Aaron Olson (T-mobile), Kirk O'Bee (Health Net), Alejandro Acton (Colavita), and Christophe Laurent (Credit Agricole) was allowed more than a few seconds gap.
With three mountain sprints on the line, Slipstream's Lucas Euser (Team Slipstream) followed Hilton Clarke (Navigators) and Sean Sullivan (Toyota United Pro) across to the break to protect Tom Peterson's climber's jersey. "That was brutal today - the biggest day I have ever done on a bike," said Euser. "It was aggressive from the start and our who team was aggressive. I was attacking and Frischkorn was up there." But while he was able to take the second sprint off the Frenchman, Euser only managed second on the first and third sprints, and the jersey passed to Credit Agricole.
The intermediate sprints passed by virtually uncontested, as there were no time bonuses for sprints on stage four. And while the breakaway was allowed to stretch out to 4'30, it was clear that they would be caught by the sprinters' teams at some point along the way.
The Discovery Channel team was forced to do all of the work on this long, 213km stage, and it wasn't until 40km before the finish that the Liquigas and Rabobank teams started pitching in. The new energy to the chase quickly brought the gap back down to less than two minutes, but then stabilised around 1'20, as the peloton timed its catch.
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With 10km to go, Hilton Clarke began attacking the break, and was followed by Acton. Unfortunately, Euser had to stop for a mechanical. "That was the most inopportune time to get a flat," exclaimed the young American. "I had a slow leak on the front and when it hit the rim I changed it. It was hell getting back on, but when I got back I told them to keep working, because I knew the roads."
The run-in to the finish was a change from last year, where a small crash slowed down the final three kilometres. But the change was not because of this. "We made the change to help relieve the pressure that builds up on [highway] one," said race director Jim Birrell. "We wanted to get the race onto the side roads earlier and to highlight more of the local scenery."
The lack of cooperation spelled the end of the breakaway. At the 5km mark, the peloton, now led by CSC, overhauled the escapees and set their sights on the sprint finish in San Luis Obispo.
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Jens Voigt took the lead, pulling so hard that he opened up a gap, but the points leader realised his mistake and allowed his team to come back up before stringing the bunch out again. As the race entered the streets of San Luis Obispo, the Quick Step and T-Mobile teams moved their sprinters to the fore.
The finale was a race to the last turn, which had been rumoured to be wet and slippery. Ciolek led through the turn and world champion Paolo Bettini was second. "Gerald is a very strong sprinter," said Bettini. "My team director told me in the finish to watch for him because he is very fast and I knew I had to be at the last corner first. He took the last corner first and had a meter lead on me in the sprint. It was very hard for me to close that gap and the sprint was close by only a few centimeters. I was fortunate to have the power to come back to him today. He is very young and very fast and with experience he is going to be a very big rider."
Tomorrow's 23.4km time trial will likely decide the race winner, with Leipheimer holding a three second advantage over Jens Voigt. Thirty-six other riders are within a minute of the leader, including former time trial world champion Michael Rogers (T-Mobile) at nineteen seconds, as well as Bobby Julich (CSC) and former U.S. time trial champion Chris Baldwin (Toyota-United) at twenty-four.
Follow all of the split times and race action on Cyclingnews' live coverage as the Hindenburg V2 floats "Sideways" over Solvang.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Mark Johnson/Ironstring.com
- Imagine coming out of your Seaside house and finding $18,000 worth of bikes in the driveway.
- The day started with rain in Seaside, California.
- Health Net's Kyle Gritters gets a pre-race massage from team assistant Debby Lipsky.
- Italians born with one hand on an espresso and the other on a bike.
- George Hincapie conducts a pre-race interview in Spanish.
- Switzerland's Oliver Zaugg rolls out from Seaside.
- Building the finish line in San Luis Obispo.
- The lords of cycling jest before attacking the Big Sur coast.
- It's Bettini at the line in San Luis Obispo.
Images by Mitch Friedman/www.mitchophoto.com
- It's a seal's day as it rains in Northern California.
- Bettini gets a big bottle of wine.
- A very cool ice sculpture in Seaside as rain falls for the start of the race.
- Northern California's spectacular coast line.
- Even the squirrels have come out for the Tour of California.
- Oh so close at the finish... Bettini gets it from Gerald Ciolek and Juan José Haedo.
- Bettini discusses his first big win of 2007.
- Colavita/Sutter Home rider Alejandro Acton took the most aggressive rider jersey.
- Levi Leipheimer still happy in the leader's jersey.
Images by Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us
- The peloton crosses the famous Bixby bridge.
- The bunch passes over the Rocky Creek bridge.
- Back onto hard land for the group.
- Discovery comes to the front on the Bixby bridge.
- Aaron Olson (T-Mobile) leads the break.
- The break worked well together until about 10km to go.
- Passing by the famous rock at Morro Bay.
- Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) receives a commemorative bottle of wine from the local wineries association.
Images by James Huang/Cyclingnews.com
- Riders coming into Morro Bay likely didn't notice the old-school sailing ship making its way up the coast.
- A Liquigas rider carries the field up a small rise as they enter Morro Bay in pursuit of the seven-man breakaway.
Images by John Pierce/Photosport International
- Crossing the famous Bixby bridge on California's Pacific coast.
- Bangin' the boards at the finish in San Luis Obispo
- Two world champs: Paolo Bettini and Gerald Ciolek lock horns in the sprint...
- ...the lunge for the line...
- ...experience prevails over youth as Bettini takes his first big win in the US.
- The world champ requests a post race espresso.
- Another day of huge crowds at the Tour of California.
- Gerald Ciolek doesn't seem too enamored with second place on today's stage.
- There was no curse on Bettini and his rainbow jersey today.
- Team CSC's JJ Haedo takes over the points jersey from his teammate Jens Voigt.
- A happy Levi Leipheimer still holds a slender three second lead over Voigt.
Results
1 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step 5.05.47 2 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) T-mobile 3 Juan José Haedo (Arg) Team CSC 4 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Credit Agricole 5 Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank 6 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC 7 Henk Vogels (Aus) Toyota United Pro 8 Robert Förster (Ger) Gerolsteiner 9 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Rabobank 10 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Predictor-Lotto 11 Luca Paolini (Ita) Liquigas 12 Alexander Candelario (USA) Jelly Belly Cycling Team 13 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Liquigas 14 Russell Downing (GBr) Health Net Presented By Maxxis 15 Viktar Rapinski (Blr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 16 Brice Jones (USA) Jelly Belly Cycling Team 17 Jackson Stewart (USA) BMC 18 Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Predictor-Lotto 19 Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 20 Dimitri Fofonov (Kaz) Credit Agricole 21 Kyle Gritters (USA) Health Net Presented By Maxxis 22 Veleriy Kobzarenko (Ukr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 23 Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano (Col) Rabobank 24 Antonio Cruz (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 25 Nicolas Gates (Aus) Predictor-Lotto 26 Jakob Piil (Den) T-mobile 27 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 28 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Health Net Presented By Maxxis 29 Steven Cozza (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle 30 Benjamin Jacques-Maynes (USA) Priority Health Cycling Team 31 Bram Tankink (Ned) Quick Step 32 Oliver Zaugg (Swi) Gerolsteiner 33 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner 34 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 35 Adam Hansen (Aus) T-mobile 36 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 37 Rory Sutherland (Aus) Health Net Presented By Maxxis 38 Theo Eltink (Ned) Rabobank 39 Mads Kaggestad (Nor) Credit Agricole 40 Michael Rogers (Aus) T-mobile 41 Justin England (USA) Toyota United Pro 42 Jason McCartney (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 43 Brian Vandborg (Den) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 44 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC 45 Ben Day (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 46 Geert Verheyen (Bel) Quick Step 47 Thomas Danielson (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 48 Kim Kirchen (Lux) T-mobile 49 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 50 Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel) Quick Step 51 Nicolar Reistad (USA) Jelly Belly Cycling Team 52 Taylor Tolleson (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle 53 Bram De Groot (Ned) Rabobank 54 Volker Ordowski (Ger) Gerolsteiner 55 Mario Aerts (Bel) Predictor-Lotto 56 Danny Pate (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle 57 Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Predictor-Lotto 58 Greg Henderson (NZl) T-mobile 59 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner 60 Christian Vandevelde (USA) Team CSC 61 Sven Krauss (Ger) Gerolsteiner 62 Lucas Euser (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle 63 William Frischkorn (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle 64 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Credit Agricole 65 Mauro Facci (Ita) Quick Step 66 Jason Donald (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle 67 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas 68 Peter Wrolich (Aut) Gerolsteiner 69 Christopher Baldwin (USA) Toyota United Pro 70 Anthony Colby (USA) Colavita Sutter Home 71 Bart Dockx (Bel) Predictor-Lotto 72 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team CSC 73 David Vitoria (Swi) BMC 74 Grischa Jan Niermann (Ger) Rabobank 75 Christopher Horner (USA) Predictor-Lotto 76 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Credit Agricole 77 Darren Lill (RSA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 78 Thomas Peterson (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle 79 Glen Alan Chadwick (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 80 Timothy Johnson (USA) Health Net Presented By Maxxis 81 Hilton Clarke (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 82 Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas 83 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) Liquigas 84 Jonathan Patrick McCarty (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle 85 Ivan Basso (Ita) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 86 Alexandre Moos (Swi) BMC 87 Philip Zajicek (USA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 88 Christophe Kern (Fra) Credit Agricole 89 Kjell Carlström (Fin) Liquigas 90 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quick Step 91 Karl Menzies (Aus) Health Net Presented By Maxxis 92 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Quick Step 93 Michael Barry (Can) T-mobile 94 Shawn Milne (USA) Health Net Presented By Maxxis 0.29 95 Charles Dionne (Can) Colavita Sutter Home 0.47 96 Alejandro Acton (Arg) Colavita Sutter Home 97 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) Credit Agricole 98 Peter Hatton (Aus) Colavita Sutter Home 1.27 99 Michael Sayers (USA) BMC 100 Ian McKissick (USA) BMC 101 Garrett Peltonen (USA) Priority Health Cycling Team 102 Caleb Fairly (USA) USA National team 103 Jean Marc Marino (Fra) Credit Agricole 1.33 104 Nic Ingels (Bel) Predictor-Lotto 105 Kirk O'Bee (USA) Health Net Presented By Maxxis 106 Jeremy Powers (USA) Jelly Belly Cycling Team 1.57 107 Andrew Bajadali (USA) Jelly Belly Cycling Team 108 Scott Nydam (USA) BMC 2.08 109 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC 110 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank 111 Aaron Olson (USA) T-mobile 112 Brent Bookwalter (USA) USA National team 113 Sean Sullivan (Aus) Toyota United Pro 114 Ken Hanson (USA) BMC 2.15 115 Brian Dziewa (USA) Jelly Belly Cycling Team 2.29 116 Brian Sheedy (USA) Priority Health Cycling Team 117 Edward King (USA) Priority Health Cycling Team 118 Bryce Mead (USA) Jelly Belly Cycling Team 119 Chris Wherry (USA) Toyota United Pro 3.14 120 Ivan Dominguez (Cub) Toyota United Pro 121 Tyler Wren (USA) Colavita Sutter Home 122 Caleb Manion (USA) Toyota United Pro 123 Tom Zirbel (USA) Priority Health Cycling Team 124 Charly Wegelius (GBr) Liquigas 125 Davide Frattini (Ita) Colavita Sutter Home 126 Michael Jones (USA) Jelly Belly Cycling Team 4.01 127 Jonathan Garcia (USA) BMC 8.02 DNF Torsten Hiekmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner DNF John Devine (USA) USA National team DNF Tejay Van Garderen (USA) USA National team DNS Heath Blackgrove (NZl) Toyota United Pro Mountains KOM 1 1 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Credit Agricole 2 Lucas Euser (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle 3 Alejandro Acton (Arg) Colavita Sutter Home 4 Aaron Olsen (USA) T-mobile KOM 2 1 Lucas Euser (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle 2 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Credit Agricole 3 Alejandro Acton (Arg) Colavita Sutter Home 4 Hilton Clarke (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team KOM 3 1 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Credit Agricole 2 Lucas Euser (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle 3 Alejandro Acton (Arg) Colavita Sutter Home 4 Kirk O'Bee (USA) Health Net Presented By Maxxis 5 Aaron Olsen (USA) T-mobile Sprints Sprint 1 1 Alejandro Acton (Arg) Colavita Sutter Home 2 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Credit Agricole 3 Kirk O'Bee (USA) Health Net Presented By Maxxis Sprint 2 1 Alejandro Acton (Arg) Colavita Sutter Home 2 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Credit Agricole 3 Hilton Clarke (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team Teams 1 Rabobank 15.17.21 2 Team CSC 3 Predictor-Lotto 4 Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 5 T-Mobile Team 6 Credit Agricole 7 Health Net Presented by Maxxis 8 Gerolsteiner 9 Quick Step-Innergetic 10 Jelly Belly Cycling Team 11 Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 12 Liquigas 13 Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team 14 Team Slipstream 15 BMC Racing Team 16 Colavita/Sutter Home Presented by Cooking Light 1.34 17 Priority Health Cycling Team 3.56 General classification after stage 4 1 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 17.52.12 2 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 0.03 3 Rory Sutherland (Aus) Health Net Presented By Maxxis 0.15 4 Christopher Horner (USA) Predictor-Lotto 0.16 5 Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano (Col) Rabobank 0.17 6 Ben Day (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 0.18 7 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Health Net Presented By Maxxis 0.19 8 Michael Rogers (Aus) T-mobile 9 Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 0.20 10 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC 11 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas 0.23 12 Veleriy Kobzarenko (Ukr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 13 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC 0.24 14 Christopher Baldwin (USA) Toyota United Pro 15 Kim Kirchen (Lux) T-mobile 0.25 16 Christian Vandevelde (USA) Team CSC 0.27 17 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Liquigas 18 Danny Pate (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle 0.28 19 Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Predictor-Lotto 0.29 20 Jason McCartney (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 21 Mads Kaggestad (Nor) Credit Agricole 22 Justin England (USA) Toyota United Pro 0.30 23 Anthony Colby (USA) Colavita Sutter Home 24 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner 0.31 25 Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Predictor-Lotto 0.34 26 Bram De Groot (Ned) Rabobank 27 Bram Tankink (Ned) Quick Step 0.36 28 Geert Verheyen (Bel) Quick Step 29 Jakob Piil (Den) T-mobile 30 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 31 Theo Eltink (Ned) Rabobank 0.38 32 Oliver Zaugg (Swi) Gerolsteiner 0.39 33 Dimitri Fofonov (Kaz) Credit Agricole 0.43 34 Glen Alan Chadwick (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 0.44 35 Thomas Peterson (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle 0.49 36 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner 0.51 37 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step 0.52 38 Benjamin Jacques-Maynes (USA) Priority Health Cycling Team 3.14 39 Hilton Clarke (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 40 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 3.15 41 Adam Hansen (Aus) T-mobile 42 Timothy Johnson (USA) Health Net Presented By Maxxis 3.21 43 Ivan Basso (Ita) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 3.23 44 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team CSC 3.26 45 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Predictor-Lotto 3.27 46 Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel) Quick Step 3.28 47 Jonathan Patrick McCarty (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle 3.31 48 Christophe Kern (Fra) Credit Agricole 3.32 49 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Credit Agricole 3.33 50 Russell Downing (GBr) Health Net Presented By Maxxis 3.34 51 David Vitoria (Swi) BMC 52 Luca Paolini (Ita) Liquigas 3.35 53 Lucas Euser (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle 3.36 54 Mauro Facci (Ita) Quick Step 3.37 55 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Credit Agricole 3.39 56 Viktar Rapinski (Blr) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 57 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Quick Step 3.40 58 Michael Barry (Can) T-mobile 59 Darren Lill (RSA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 3.42 60 Jackson Stewart (USA) BMC 61 Alexandre Moos (Swi) BMC 3.43 62 Jason Donald (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle 3.50 63 Sven Krauss (Ger) Gerolsteiner 3.52 64 Mario Aerts (Bel) Predictor-Lotto 4.04 65 William Frischkorn (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle 4.11 66 Ian McKissick (USA) BMC 4.52 67 Kirk O'Bee (USA) Health Net Presented By Maxxis 5.05 68 Peter Hatton (Aus) Colavita Sutter Home 5.07 69 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC 5.23 70 Andrew Bajadali (USA) Jelly Belly Cycling Team 5.39 71 Aaron Olson (USA) T-mobile 6.18 72 Steven Cozza (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle 7.55 73 Thomas Danielson (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 10.11 74 Karl Menzies (Aus) Health Net Presented By Maxxis 10.14 75 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) Liquigas 10.18 76 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Credit Agricole 10.19 77 Greg Henderson (NZl) T-mobile 10.20 78 Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas 10.24 79 Kyle Gritters (USA) Health Net Presented By Maxxis 10.33 80 Kjell Carlström (Fin) Liquigas 10.36 81 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) T-mobile 10.38 82 Shawn Milne (USA) Health Net Presented By Maxxis 10.50 83 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) Credit Agricole 11.19 84 Jean Marc Marino (Fra) Credit Agricole 11.54 85 Jeremy Powers (USA) Jelly Belly Cycling Team 12.35 86 Brent Bookwalter (USA) USA National team 12.46 87 Edward King (USA) Priority Health Cycling Team 13.00 88 Chris Wherry (USA) Toyota United Pro 13.30 89 Charly Wegelius (GBr) Liquigas 13.38 90 Taylor Tolleson (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle 15.10 91 Juan José Haedo (Arg) Team CSC 15.13 92 Brian Vandborg (Den) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 15.14 93 Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank 15.20 94 Philip Zajicek (USA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 95 Grischa Jan Niermann (Ger) Rabobank 15.22 96 Bart Dockx (Bel) Predictor-Lotto 15.23 97 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quick Step 15.25 98 Antonio Cruz (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 15.29 99 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Rabobank 15.35 100 Nicolar Reistad (USA) Jelly Belly Cycling Team 15.36 101 Nicolas Gates (Aus) Predictor-Lotto 15.38 102 Alexander Candelario (USA) Jelly Belly Cycling Team 15.40 103 Volker Ordowski (Ger) Gerolsteiner 104 Peter Wrolich (Aut) Gerolsteiner 15.51 105 Nic Ingels (Bel) Predictor-Lotto 17.06 106 Tom Zirbel (USA) Priority Health Cycling Team 17.08 107 Scott Nydam (USA) BMC 17.43 108 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank 17.51 109 Tyler Wren (USA) Colavita Sutter Home 18.38 110 Ivan Dominguez (Cub) Toyota United Pro 18.53 111 Caleb Manion (USA) Toyota United Pro 18.54 112 Robert Förster (Ger) Gerolsteiner 19.01 113 Brice Jones (USA) Jelly Belly Cycling Team 114 Jonathan Garcia (USA) BMC 19.09 115 Henk Vogels (Aus) Toyota United Pro 19.25 116 Charles Dionne (Can) Colavita Sutter Home 20.05 117 Michael Sayers (USA) BMC 20.53 118 Caleb Fairly (USA) USA National team 20.56 119 Sean Sullivan (Aus) Toyota United Pro 21.11 120 Brian Sheedy (USA) Priority Health Cycling Team 21.41 121 Alejandro Acton (Arg) Colavita Sutter Home 22.11 122 Garrett Peltonen (USA) Priority Health Cycling Team 22.55 123 Michael Jones (USA) Jelly Belly Cycling Team 23.11 124 Brian Dziewa (USA) Jelly Belly Cycling Team 23.36 125 Ken Hanson (USA) BMC 24.10 126 Bryce Mead (USA) Jelly Belly Cycling Team 24.22 127 Davide Frattini (Ita) Colavita Sutter Home 24.41 Mountain classification 1 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Credit Agricole 26 pts 2 Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel) Quick Step 16 3 Thomas Peterson (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle 16 4 Lucas Euser (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle 12 5 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 10 6 Jason McCartney (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 9 7 Alejandro Acton (Arg) Colavita Sutter Home 8 8 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 7 9 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 6 10 William Frischkorn (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle 5 11 Christopher Horner (USA) Predictor-Lotto 5 12 Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Predictor-Lotto 4 13 Theo Eltink (Ned) Rabobank 4 14 Brian Sheedy (USA) Priority Health Cycling Team 4 15 Adam Hansen (Aus) T-mobile 3 16 Kirk O'Bee (USA) Health Net Presented By Maxxis 3 17 Jakob Piil (Den) T-mobile 2 18 Steven Cozza (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle 2 19 Oliver Zaugg (Swi) Gerolsteiner 2 20 Aaron Olson (USA) T-mobile 2 21 Michael Jones (USA) Jelly Belly Cycling Team 2 22 Mads Kaggestad (Nor) Credit Agricole 1 23 Ben Day (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 1 24 Hilton Clarke (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 1 25 Ivan Basso (Ita) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 1 Points classification 1 Juan José Haedo (Arg) Team CSC 28 pts 2 Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank 26 3 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Credit Agricole 24 4 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step 22 5 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 20 6 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) T-mobile 18 7 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Credit Agricole 16 8 Greg Henderson (NZl) T-mobile 16 9 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC 15 10 Alejandro Acton (Arg) Colavita Sutter Home 14 11 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 12 12 Luca Paolini (Ita) Liquigas 12 13 Christopher Horner (USA) Predictor-Lotto 10 14 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 7 15 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Predictor-Lotto 7 16 Hilton Clarke (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 6 17 Davide Frattini (Ita) Colavita Sutter Home 5 18 Peter Wrolich (Aut) Gerolsteiner 4 19 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Liquigas 4 20 Henk Vogels (Aus) Toyota United Pro 4 21 Oliver Zaugg (Swi) Gerolsteiner 3 22 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 3 23 Robert Förster (Ger) Gerolsteiner 3 24 Dimitri Fofonov (Kaz) Credit Agricole 3 25 Ivan Dominguez (Cub) Toyota United Pro 3 26 Bram De Groot (Ned) Rabobank 2 27 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Rabobank 2 28 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) Credit Agricole 2 29 Kirk O'Bee (USA) Health Net Presented By Maxxis 1 30 Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel) Quick Step 1 31 Brian Vandborg (Den) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 1 32 Karl Menzies (Aus) Health Net Presented By Maxxis 1 33 Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 1 34 David Vitoria (Swi) BMC 1 Young rider classification 1 Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Predictor-Lotto 17.52.41 2 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 0.07 3 Thomas Peterson (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle 0.20 4 David Vitoria (Swi) BMC 3.05 5 Lucas Euser (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle 3.07 6 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Credit Agricole 3.10 7 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Quick Step 3.11 8 Sven Krauss (Ger) Gerolsteiner 3.23 9 Peter Hatton (Aus) Colavita Sutter Home 4.38 10 Steven Cozza (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle 7.26 11 Kyle Gritters (USA) Health Net Presented By Maxxis 10.04 12 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) T-mobile 10.09 13 Jean Marc Marino (Fra) Credit Agricole 11.25 14 Jeremy Powers (USA) Jelly Belly Cycling Team 12.06 15 Brent Bookwalter (USA) USA National team 12.17 16 Edward King (USA) Priority Health Cycling Team 12.31 17 Taylor Tolleson (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle 14.41 18 Nicolar Reistad (USA) Jelly Belly Cycling Team 15.07 19 Nic Ingels (Bel) Predictor-Lotto 16.37 20 Caleb Fairly (USA) USA National team 20.27 Team classification 1 Team CSC 53.37.28 2 Navigators Insurance Cycling Team 0.03 3 T-Mobile Team 0.08 4 Predictor-Lotto 0.25 5 Rabobank 0.34 6 Quick Step-Innergetic 0.49 7 Gerolsteiner 1.02 8 Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 2.51 9 Health Net Presented by Maxxis 3.03 10 Team Slipstream 3.09 11 Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team 3.21 12 Liquigas 3.24 13 Credit Agricole 3.38 14 BMC Racing Team 9.49 15 Colavita/Sutter Home Presented by Cooking Light 20.12 16 Priority Health Cycling Team 27.09 17 Jelly Belly Cycling Team 28.50 Most aggressive rider 1 Alejandro Acton (Arg) Colavita Sutter Home
