February 21/08 11:22 am - Tour of California: Stage 4 photos, report and results

Posted by Editoress on 02/21/08
 

Tour of California

Photos

Dominique Rollin (Toyota United) won today on what is arguably the hardest day of racing in the history of the Amgen Tour of California, with a solo breakaway for the final 20 kilometres after staying off the front in an initial break group for over 200 kilometres. Rollin also took over the Points Jersey and won the Most Aggressive Rider award for his epic ride. Yellow jersey holder Levi Leipheimer stayed safely tucked in the peloton while his Astana team rode tempo into a steady headwind and torrential rain.

The Seaside to San Luis Obispo stage is the longest of the Tour, at 218 kilometres. While there are three categorized climbs on the stage, none are of the calibre faced yesterday, and the stage usually comes down to a sprint finish. The stage provides some of the most beautiful scenery imaginable, as it heads south along the Pacific Coast Highway, through Big Sur.

However, this year the weather played a key factor, with constant rain - at times coming down in sheets - and a headwind the whole way down the coast. The unrelenting wind was gusting up to 60 kilometres an hour, driving the rain sideways and chilling the riders to the bone.

The break formed almost immediately after the neutral start section ended, with riders coming across in twos and threes to form a group of 11. In that initial group was Bauke Mollema (Rabobank), Bryce Mead (Jelly Belly), Danilo Wyss (BMC), Jackson Stewart (BMC), Rollin, Edward King (Bissell), George Hincapie (High Road), Iker Camano Ortuzar (Saunier Duval-Scott), Jonathan Hivert (Credit Agricole), Julien Belgy (Bouygues Telecom) and Roman Kilun (Health Net - Maxxis).

Camano was the highest placed, 4:47 behind Leipheimer, followed by Hincapie at 7:27. So Astana never allowed the group to get more than three and a half minutes ahead, just rolling along at the front, buffeted by the wind while everyone else tucked in behind and tried to stay as warm as possible.

In the front group everyone was working together steadily, keeping a consistent pace as they ticked off the miles. Rollin took top spot in both intermediate sprints, while Stewart won all three KoMs and took a commanding lead on the road for the Climbers Jersey. However, the BMC rider succumbed to hypothermia approximately 160 kilometres into the stage and withdrew from the race, allowing his team mate Scott Nydam to keep control of the jersey.

Other riders besides Stewart began to fall off the pace, and the peloton started to creep closer, especially when CSC decided to take a turn at the front to maybe set up their sprinter JJ Haedo. But this is when Rollin decided to test the group.

"Everyone was exhausted so I just decided to attack. As soon as I saw that no one was responding I had it all good and I kept going. Guys from my team were giving me time splits and I knew I was gaining. At the end I started losing a little bit, but I had enough gap to hold on and get the stage."

The gap opened quickly as the chase group fell apart, with only Hincapie and Camano taking up the chase. Rollin tucked into a time trial position and began counting down the kilometres. It was an impressive display of power as he literally rode away from both Hincapie and Camano, as the pair swapped off pulls. Rollin's lead over the pair reached as high as 50 seconds before they finally started to pull him back, eventually finishing 18 seconds behind, with the peloton coming in 2:28 in arrears.

Rollin was immediately grabbed by his team personnel when he collapsed after the line, as the enormous seven hour effort caught up with him. On the podium, he was literally bouncing with joy, as the crowd roared their appreciation of his magnificent effort.

"I think after this epic day, it is my strongest and best day on the bike."

Race Notes

- Tomorrow is the 24 kilometre time trial which is likely to determine the final standings at the top of the standings. It is still fairly tight among the top time triallers, with Leipheimer holding 13 seconds over world champion Fabian Cancellara (CSC), 20 seconds over David Millar (Slipstream) and 21 seconds over David Zabriskie (Slipstream).

- 15 riders abandoned today, with Gerolsteiner decimated. The German squad lost five riders, with three not starting due to the stomach virus making the rounds. Points leader Heinrich Haussler was one of those not starting.