Canadian Cyclist

 

May 13/12 21:06 pm - Tour of California: Stage 1 results and report


Posted by Editoress on 05/13/12
 

California must suit Peter Sagan (SVK) of Liquigas-Cannondale well. The 22-year-old rider overcame a flat tire five kilometers (3.1 miles) from the finish only to be towed back up to the pack at more than 40 miles per hour to pass his challengers within the last 100 meters to win Stage 1 of the 2012 Amgen Tour of California before tens of thousands of screaming fans in Santa Rosa.

“I want to thank my teammates for helping me win this stage,” said Sagan. “Ted King, who helped me with 3km to go and Daniel Goss who piloted me to the front so I was able to win. It’s going to be really tough to hold onto the yellow jersey. This race will definitely get harder and harder as we go.”

Today’s stage kicked off the seventh edition of the race, which will take cyclists nearly 750 miles throughout some of California’s most iconic terrain, including the Pacific Coast, Mt. Diablo and Big Bear Lake over the next six days, before ending at L.A. LIVE in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday, May 20.

Record crowds came out in Santa Rosa to support the world-class field of 128 riders, who headed out behind Santa Rosa native and three-time Amgen Tour of California winner Levi Leipheimer (USA) of Omega Pharma-QuickStep on two short neutral laps before setting out on the 115.9-mile course. The Stage 1 route took cyclists through the Sonoma wine country before winding up and over to the Pacific Coast, and then back into Santa Rosa, where Sagan outsprinted Heinrich Haussler (AUS) of Garmin-Barracuda and Fred Rodriguez (USA) of Team Exergy to take the Stage 1 victory.

“I want to thank Santa Rosa and Sonoma county for a fantastic overall start for 2012 Amgen Tour of California,” said Kristin Bachochin, Senior Vice President, AEG Sports and Executive Director of the Amgen Tour of California. “Just when we think we can’t produce more fans here in Santa Rosa, we see the largest turnout ever. Today, we saw the peloton change a few times which kept it very exciting, and it was an intense race straight to the finish.”

After two neutral laps around Santa Rosa, the riders wasted no time attacking, resulting in six riders off the front. Included in the breakaway was Maxime Bouet (FRA) of AG2R La Mondiale; Jeff Louder (USA) of UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team; David Boily (CAN) of Team Spidertech Powered by C10; Andrew Dahlheim (USA) and Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) of Bissell Pro Cycling; Sebastian Salas (USA) of Team Optum Powered by Kelly Benefit Strategies; Josh Atkins (NZL) of Bontrager Livestrong Team; and Sam Johnson (SUI) of Team Exergy.

“Bissell Pro Cycling is connected to Santa Rosa since this is where we train,” said Jacques-Maynes. “We rode this course at our training camp in February. Coleman Valley has a lot of history here. There are some pretty gnarly descents, but we had good cooperation with the weather today. It was just a great day to be out with a great crowd. I’m really happy to win a jersey. Bissell is one of the most aggressive teams out here and that’s what we are here to prove.”

As the road tipped upward, the peloton closed in on the breakaway, dropping the gap to eight minutes and 45 seconds. At the half-way mark in the stage and 10km from the day’s first KOM, the break was eight minutes and 30 seconds ahead of the peloton as they rolled down River Road. Boily picked up the day’s first King of the Mountain (KOM) points on Cazadero Highway, followed by Salas and then Atkins. This same group crossed the second and third KOMs of the day, both on Fort Ross Road, in the exact same order.

With 60km to go, the break still held a lead of eight minutes and 15 seconds over the peloton, with RadioShack-Nissan-Trek working the most to reel them back in. Turning inland, the riders headed toward their fourth and final KOM of the day on Coleman Valley Road, where the peloton began to stretch out, with RadioShack-Nissan-Trek and Garmin-Barracuda putting in the most effort. Boily crossed the KOM line first, followed by Salas and Bouet. Stretching to a single line, the peloton trailed the breakaway by only 40 seconds.

As the peloton closed in, Boily was absorbed, leaving only Jacques-Maynes, Bouet and Louder. Team Rabobank continued to drive the chase and eventually caught up with the three leaders. Shortly thereafter, Sagan flatted, but was able to work his way back up to the front. Just outside of the 3km, there was a crash that took out notable sprinter Michael Matthews (AUS) of Rabobank. Sagan managed to avoid the trouble and sprinted to the finish. Haussler finished second and Rodriguez crossed the line at third.

At the end of the stage, race leader jerseys were awarded as follows: Sagan claimed the Amgen Race Leader, Visit California Sprint and the Rabobank Best Young Rider Jerseys. Since Sagan will be wearing the Amgen Race Leader Jersey at the start of tomorrow’s stage, the Visit California Sprint Jersey will be worn by Haussler and the Rabobank Best Young Rider Jersey will be worn by Atkins. Boily will wear the polka dot Nissan King of the Mountain jersey, Leipheimer will be wearing the Amgen Breakaway from Cancer® Most Courageous Rider Jersey, and Jacques-Maynes claimed the Exergy Most Aggressive Rider Jersey.

“It was great to be here in my hometown in Santa Rosa,” said Leipheimer. “Today was a huge success. The course was beautiful, and I knew every meter of the road. To be honest, I suffered a little, and suffering on your own roads isn’t fun, but I am just happy to be here. The Amgen Tour of California is of the upmost importance in order to get to the Tour de France and London Olympics. There’s a lot of racing left and this is my motivation to improve, be as fast as possible and train as much as possible.”

Throughout the 2012 Amgen Tour of California, Amgen will honor and celebrate cancer survivors through a variety of events including official race starts and jersey presentations. In addition, Amgen will host four Breakaway Mile events, a special one-mile walk that crosses the finish line to honor millions of cancer survivors.

“Amgen was born and is headquartered in Thousand Oaks, Calif., and we are proud, for the seventh year, to sponsor an event that promotes the beautiful state of California and stimulates the local economy,” said Stuart Arbuckle, vice president and general manager, Amgen Oncology.

“This race provides Amgen not only the opportunity to be part of a world-class professional cycling event, but also to raise awareness for Amgen’s Breakaway from Cancer® initiative,” continued Arbuckle.

Amgen created the national Breakaway from Cancer initiative in 2005 as a complementary component to its title sponsorship of the inaugural Amgen Tour of California. Breakaway from Cancer is a collaboration between Amgen and four nonprofit organizations – Prevent Cancer Foundation, Cancer Support Community, Patient Advocate Foundation and National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship. These organizations offer a broad range of support services complementing those provided by a patient’s team of healthcare professionals. For access to resources or to learn more, visit breakawayfromcancer.com.

In honor of cancer survivors and advocates everywhere, today during the Santa Rosa Breakaway Mile, advocate Marc Van Riper, Cotati, was recognized and celebrated as the local Breakaway from Cancer Champion. Van Riper co-founded Kathy’s Camp for Kids, a nonprofit organization dedicated to meeting the needs of children of cancer patients. Kathy’s Camp for Kids is a place where fear of cancer is replaced with fun, friendship and encouragement. During the event, Van Riper was joined by approximately 150 community members – cancer survivors, patients, caregivers, and advocates – and Amgen’s Terry Rosen, vice president, Therapeutic Discovery, who plays a crucial role in developing innovative medicines to treat cancer and other serious illnesses.

 

Results from the first stage of the Tour of California

 

Stage 1: Santa Rosa ,186.5km
1 Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale 4:42:35
2 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Garmin-Barracuda all s.t.
3 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Team Exergy
4 Leigh Howard (Aus) Orica GreenEDGE
5 Greg van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team
6 George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team
7 Ryan Anderson (Can) Spidertech Powered by C10
8 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
9 Lawson Craddock (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team
10 Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Esp) Rabobank Cycling Team
11 Paul Martens (Ger) Rabobank Cycling Team
12 Gavin Mannion (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team
13 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
14 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
15 Fabio Duarte Arevalo (Col) Colombia - Coldeportes
16 Cameron Meyer (Aus) Orica GreenEDGE
17 Tiago Machado (Por) RadioShack-Nissan
18 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Argos-Shimano
19 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
20 Rory Sutherland (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
21 Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
22 Marc de Maar (Aho) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
23 Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack-Nissan
24 Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica GreenEDGE
25 Andrew Talansky (USA) Garmin-Barracuda
26 Christopher Jones (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
27 Stephen Cummings (GBr) BMC Racing Team
28 Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
29 Steve Morabito (Sui) BMC Racing Team
30 Jhon Atapuma (Col) Colombia - Coldeportes
31 Matthew Busche (USA) RadioShack-Nissan
32 Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica GreenEDGE
33 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
34 Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin-Barracuda
35 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team
36 Brian Vandborg Bach (Den) Spidertech Powered by C10
37 Raymond Kunzli (Sui) Spidertech Powered by C10
38 Timothy Duggan (USA) Liquigas-Cannondale
39 David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin-Barracuda
40 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
41 Andrés Díaz Corrales (Col) Team Exergy
42 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
43 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
44 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
45 Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling
46 Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team
47 Timothy Roe (Aus) BMC Racing Team
48 Philip Deignan (Irl) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
49 Matt Cooke (USA) Team Exergy
50 Josh Atkins (NZl) Bontrager Livestrong Team
51 Nathan Brown (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team
52 Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) Orica GreenEDGE
53 Ian Boswell (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team
54 Jeffry Louder (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
55 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
56 Markel Irizar Arranburu (Esp) RadioShack-Nissan all s.t.
57 Christopher Baldwin (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling 0:22
58 Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 0:00
59 Alexandre Geniez (Fra) Argos-Shimano 0:24
60 George Bennett (NZl) RadioShack-Nissan
61 Andrew Bajadali (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
62 Joseph Dombrowski (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team
63 Bram Tankink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
64 Maxime Bouet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale all s.t.
65 Frank Pipp (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling 0:33
66 Yannick Eijssen (Bel) BMC Racing Team 0:00
67 Alex Howes (USA) Garmin-Barracuda
68 Jeremy Vennell (NZl) Bissell Pro Cycling
69 Mikael Chérel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
70 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale
71 Sylvain Georges (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
72 Edward King (USA) Liquigas-Cannondale all s.t.
73 Sam Johnson (USA) Team Exergy 4:43
74 Michael Matthews (Aus) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:00
75 Sébastian Salas (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 6:15
76 Matt Wilson (Aus) Orica GreenEDGE 6:56
77 Jonathan Clarke (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
78 Thomas Zirbel (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
79 Patrick Bevin (NZl) Bissell Pro Cycling
80 Gregory Rast (Sui) RadioShack-Nissan
81 Robbie Mcewen (Aus) Orica GreenEDGE
82 Victor Hugo Pena (Col) Colombia - Coldeportes
83 Juan Pablo Suarez (Col) Colombia - Coldeportes
84 Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
85 Logan Moony (USA) Team Exergy
86 Kristjan Koren (Slo) Liquigas-Cannondale
87 Benjamin King (USA) RadioShack-Nissan
88 Carter Jones (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling
89 Bradley White (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
90 Hugo Houle (Can) Spidertech Powered by C10
91 David Boily (Can) Spidertech Powered by C10
92 Javier Gonzalez (Col) Colombia - Coldeportes
93 Guillaume Boivin (Can) Spidertech Powered by C10
94 Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
95 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
96 Thomas Damuseau (Fra) Argos-Shimano
97 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
98 Marcel Kittel (Ger) Argos-Shimano
99 Ken Hanson (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
100 Yukihiro Doi (Jpn) Argos-Shimano
101 Alexander Candelario (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
102 Thomas Peterson (USA) Garmin-Barracuda
103 Scott Zwizanski (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
104 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
105 Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan
106 Roger Kluge (Ger) Argos-Shimano
107 Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Argos-Shimano
108 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
109 Morgan Schmitt (USA) Team Exergy
110 Koen de Kort (Ned) Argos-Shimano
111 Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin-Barracuda
112 Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
113 Jonathan Patrick McCarty (USA) Spidertech Powered by C10
114 Michael Creed (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
115 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Bontrager Livestrong Team
116 Ryan Eastman (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team
117 Lucas Euser (USA) Spidertech Powered by C10 all s.t.
118 Michael Rodriguez (Col) Colombia - Coldeportes 10:35
119 Serghei Tvetcov (Mda) Team Exergy 11:48
120 Wilson Marentes Torres (Col) Colombia - Coldeportes
121 Jacob Rathe (USA) Garmin-Barracuda
122 Carlos Julian Quintero (Col) Colombia - Coldeportes
123 Jason McCartney (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
124 Carlos Alzate Escobar (Col) Team Exergy
125 Michael Friedman (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
126 Eric Young (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling
127 Travis Meyer (Aus) Orica GreenEDGE all s.t.
128 Andrew Dahlheim (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling 16:23
 
KOM
1 David Boily (Can) Spidertech Powered by C10 22 pts
2 Sébastian Salas (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 18
3 Josh Atkins (NZl) Bontrager Livestrong Team 10
4 Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling 7
5 Maxime Bouet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 6
6 Jeffry Louder (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 4

 

 

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