Tour of California 2010 Photos May 16 - May 23

Tour of California Dashboard

"From Tour de France champions to Olympic medalists and world champions, this field is one of the best that has ever competed on American soil"		Former NBA star Kevin Johnson is the Mayor of Sacramento
"Personally, I have struggled a little to find the condition I'd like."	"I know everyone is in better shape, but I think I'm in better shape too"
	"I'm motivated for the race. I hope I still have the form; I really don't know"	"I'm looking forward to the [Los Angeles] time trial." said Dave Zabriskie, who recently moved to Los Angeles
"It's basically the Tour de France team here, only Frank (Schleck) is not here." Or did Andy's brother showed up afterall ;-)

Stage 1:  Nevada City - Sacramento, 104 mi  Full Results and Report

The crowd in front of the Team RadioShack team bus	Race announcer Dave Towles interviewing Kelly Benefits rider Alex Candelario who I believe has competed in all five ATOCs	Norcal locals and Bissell riders, the Jacques-Maynes brothers, being interviewed by the local media
Lance Armstrong at the start in Nevada City	Nevada City has the 2nd or 3rd oldest (pro?) bike race in North America. If it turns 50 this year, then the Berkeley Hills Road Race is older.	Levi Leipheimer leading the rollout from Nevada City. 104 miles of rolling and descending to the finish in Sacramento.
The peloton crossing the Foresthill Bridge at mile 37, the tallest bridge in California, near Auburn	Close-up of the break on Foresthill Bridge	The peloton 15 minutes later viewed from the Foresthill Bridge
Bissell's Paul Mach won the only KOM of the day, the cat 3 climb at mile 43 on CA-49	The peloton on the cat 3 climb	The break descending
The peloton descending	Whizzing by the Sacramento Capitol Building	The break was caught before the finishing circuits in Sacramento. HTC-Columbia's Bernhard Eisel now on the front helping Mark Cavendish avoid the many crashes.
Only JJ Haedo of Saxo Bank (right) was able to challenge HTC-Columbia's Mark Cavendish during the final kick. BMC's Alexander Kristoff (left) was 3rd	A big crowd watching the finish in Sacramento	Not a photo finish, but here's the photo-finish photo
Mark Cavendish avoided the crashes on the finishing circuits in Sacramento to take the opening stage. (A dull victory salute by his standards)	Tom Boonen went down heavily in one of the crashes and was really scuffed up. A visit to the hospital followed with good news... there were no broken bones, but his start for stage 2 is questionable	After a slow start to the year due to health problems, Mark Cavendish wins his third race of the year
The podium girls look more business-like this year		Mark Cavendish in the Sprint Jersey
Winning the only KOM on the first stage makes you the KOM leader; local boy Paul Mach of Bissell Pro Cycling will wear the KOM jersey when the Tour starts in his hometown, Davis, for stage 2

Stage 2:  Davis - Santa Rosa, 110 mi  Full Results and Report

Jana Ireton, the original Specialized Angel, is back. She's now known as the Angel of Echelon	Lance Armstrong at the start in Davis	George Hincapie
Bernhard Eisel picks up were he left off at the end of stage 1 leading HTC-Columbia and the peloton over Stevenson Bridge several miles into the stage	The peloton entering Winters at mile 13	Andy Schleck in the middle
Lance Armstrong and Bernhard Eisel having a good time while it lasts	Team RadioShack at the front climbing cat 2 Trinity Grade at mile 89 with 21 miles to go	Yaroslav Popovych, Lance Armstrong and Chris Horner
Kelly Benefits and BMC behind	Mark Cavendish near the back	Cav's first and only day in the Gold Jersey
This group survived the RadioShack pacesetting and the 30 rider crash on Trinity Grade. Andrew Pinfold crashed for the second day. "I have road rash on top of my road rash" he said."It's like running a wire brush across your road rash."	Cervelo's Brett Lancaster wins the 27 man bunch sprint in Santa Rosa. Peter Sagan (Liquigas) was 2nd and Lars Boom (over their shoulders) was 3rd.	A picture says a thousand words
The winner, Brett Lancaster, post-race. His first win since 2004.	Chris Horner and Janez Brajkovic enjoying the nice May weather California guarantees	Your stage 2 winner will now wear Gold for stage 3
and, if he could, he'd wear the Sprint Jersey as well

Stage 3:  San Francisco - Santa Cruz, 114mi  Full Results and Report

Today's crowd gathered outside of the Team RadioShack bus. Chris Horner talking to fans by the driver's door.	Levi Leipheimer at the start thinking about the cat 2 Boony Doon climb where he launched his winning move last year	Georgie Hincapie in the BMC Stars and Stripes
Getting ready to roll	The start at Great Highway (San Francisco)	The rollout
	The early break on Tunitas Creek Rd at mile 40	Entering the heart of a Redwood Forest on Tunitas Creek Rd
The peloton on Tunitas Creek Rd	The break on the cat 3 CA-84/La Honda climb at mile 50	RadioShack at the front of the peloton
	Andy Schleck was later dropped on the final climb...	... Just like last year, the winning break formed on the Bonny Doon climb 20 miles from the finish
Two-shot montage of the race leaders Dave Zabriskie, Levi Leipheimer and Michael Rogers in the winning break	Levi cresting Bonny Doon first just like last year	Rounding the final corner with 50m to go. Dave Zabriskie, Michael Rogers and Levi Leipheimer stayed clear on the Boony Doon descent.
Garmin's Dave Zabriskie jumped his breakmates, Michael Rogers and Levi Leipheimer, from a long way out and attempted to TT home. He ended up winning a very close sprint finish against Rogers.	A little too eager to celebrate his first road race win since 2004?
Great to see a guy attack at the finish and win. Garmin also won the two man sprint in Santa Cruz at last year's Tour of California.	Stage 3 podium: Zabriskie was awarded a custom surfboard with a map of the stage on the bottom	Zabriskie now in Gold (Yellow).
"Today was the first day that I have been able to go that deep this season. I hope to be able to continue this way and stay with Leipheimer on the later climbs"

Stage 4:  San Jose - Modesto, 122 mi  Full Results and Report

Jens Voigt	One of the regular podium girls	Dave Zabriskie looking Golden
Francesco Chicchi (we'll see him again later) and George Hincapie	The Break Hits the Sierra Wall	Peloton into the crowds on Sierra
Sharkie Leads the Peloton to the Sierra KOM	Peloton Strung out in Livermore	Armstrong Makes Sure Zabriskie Obeys the Speed Limit
Longhorn fan joins the peloton on Mines Rd	Garmin drives the peloton on Mines Rd	Garmin drives the peloton on Mines Rd-2
Steven Cozza Leads Peloton out of Livermore	Garmin Leads Peloton Up Mines Rd	Peloton Riding Del Peurto Canyon Rd
HTC Leads Peloton into Patterson	Peloton Ascends Mines Rd	Peloton Leaves Patterson
Lance Armstrong Drives the Brief Break	Lance Armstrong Drives the Brief Break-2	Peloton Descends Del Peurto Canyon Rd
Boom Attacks the Break Going into Modesto	Del Puerto Canyon Rd	Boom Goes for it in Modesto
Cervelo Train in Modesto	Sprint finish as expected	The sprint finish in downtown Modesto
1st Francesco Chicchi (ITA/Liquigas), 2nd Juan José Haedo (ARG/Saxo Bank) and 3rd, in the middle, Mark Cavendish (GBR/HTC-Columbia)	winning time: 122 miles in 4:55:02 (24.8 mph
Francesco Chicchi has now won five sprint finishes this year		Your stage 4 podium
Dave Zabriskie keeps his Gold Jersey	Lars Boom was the most aggressive rider

Stage 5:  Visalia - Bakersfield, 122mi  Full Results and Report

Lance Armstrong meeting the press to respond to Floyd Landis' doping allegations directed at him and the USPS juggernaut/team that won seven Tour de France titles from 1999-2005	Lance Armstrong Landis Doping Allegations Q&A: Part 1 (09:59)  |  Part 2 (03:58) — bicycledotnet
		Just over a hour later Lance Armstrong crashed along with several other riders.   He carried on for a short time and then withdrew.
20 year old Slovak, Peter Sagan won the uphill sprint finish by a wide-margin	His 4th win of the year

Stage 6:  Palmdale - Big Bear Lake, 135mi  Full Results and Report

Happy Birthday Cav	Leaving Palmdale	When the race officially started on Angeles Forest Highway, a break formed
Mill Creek Summit KOM (Cat. 3 el. 4906'/1495m) at mile 10	Descending the first climb	HTC-Columbia did most of the chasing all day long. CA 2 KOM (Cat. 3 el. 5046'/1538m) at mile 27
Cloudburst Summit KOM (Cat. 2 el. 6924'/2110m) at mile 40	The six man break at Silverwood Lake	Saxo Bank's Andy Schleck driving the pace
George Hincapie noted, post stage, that two of the six guys weren't working due to team obligations	Hincapie (temporarily) rolling off the front during the CA 138 KOM (Cat. 3 el. 4649'/1417m) around mile 100	Tony Martin of HTC-Columbia spent alot of time at the front of the chasing peloton
The profile flattened out before the finish on the shores of Big Bear Lake. Marc De Maar of UnitedHealthcare and Garmin's Matt White during the final (unsuccessful) break	You don't often see a bunch sprint like this after 135mi/213km on a day with over 12,000 feet of climbing	Young (20 year-old) Peter Sagan does it again. He can add Big Bear Lake to his growing list of 2010 wins. The 20s (2x10) of time bonuses the last two days has brought him within 9s of the overall lead
The margin of victory	Rory Sutherland of UnitedHealthcare (right) crossed 2nd and moves up to 5th on GC. Michael Rogers (left), adds 4s to his lead over Levi Leipheimer and Dave Zabriskie thanks to today's third place time bonus.	George Hincapie in the Breakaway from Cancer jersey
Michael Rogers remains in Yellow heading into the Los Angeles TT

Stage 7:  Los Angeles 20.8 mi ITT  Full Results and Report

The World Champ Fabian Cancellara was the fourth rider out of the gates	Rabobank's Martin Tjallingii finished 7th in 42'53" +1'12"	Fabian Cancellara went on to finish 16th in 43'26" +1'45"
The former World Champ and current German Champ Big Bert Grabsch finished 6th in 42'47" +1'06"	HTC-Columbia's Tony Martin has looked good all week and he put in a big ride today	George Hincapie out on the road
BMC's George Hincapie finished 36th in 44'51" +3'10"	Chris Horner finished 8th in 43'00" +1'19"	Tony Martin finishing his outstanding ride. He won the 33.6km / 20.8 mile ITT in a time of 41'41" (48.364km/h 30.052mph)
UnitedHealthcare's Marc de Maar slipped down the GC with his 35th place performance. His time was 44'51" +3'10"	Dave Zabriskie was looking for a great performance in the city where he now resides	Jens Voigt always puts in a good TT performance at the Tour of California. Here he is finishing 5th in a time of 42'40" +0'59"
The GC leader, Michael Rogers, out on the course	United Healthcare's Rory Sutherland posted the best time for a domestic team finishing 9th in 43'00" +1'19"	Levi Leipheimer said post race the course didn't suit him as well as Solvang. He finished 4th in a time of 42'14" +0'33"
The U.S. national ITT champ, Dave Zabriskie, finished 3rd just ahead of Levi in a time of 42'08" +0'27"	The GC leader, Michael Rogers, crossed the line in 42'03" +0'22" for the second best time on the day and extends his overall lead to 9s over Dave Zabriskie going into the final stage

Stage 8:  Thousand Oaks circuit race  Full Results and Report

Panoramic view of the hilly circuit	The peloton strung out early on	Garmin's Peter Stetina, RadioShack's Chris Horner and HTC-Columbia's Tony Martin driving the pace among a sampling of Socal spectators
Lots of climbing on the circuit	George Hincapie at the front of the main break	Andy Schleck back in the peloton
A reminder that we are in Southern California	Janez Brajkovic and Jens Voigt	Garmin's Ryder Hesjedal bridged up to the main break on the final descent before the run to the line
The margin of victory	The Canadian easily won the bunch sprint for his first win of the year.	Levi Leipheimer and Dave Zabriskie (next photo) were unsuccessful in their attempts to drop Michael Rogers on the final climb. A three finished together.
	The Stage 8 Podium: 2nd George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team, 1st Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Transitions, 3rd Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Spa) Quick Step	The GC Podium: 2nd Dave Zabriskie, 1st Michael Rogers and 3rd Levi Leipheimr
		The jersey winners
Garmin-Transitions celebrating their team win		Team director Jonathan Vaughters joining the fun