Two former US teammates capped off the third Amgen Tour of California with a thrilling one-two punch on Sunday.
George Hincapie took the Stage 7 win, vindicating his High Road team that had been ruled out of a stage victory the previous day. And Levi Leipheimer won his second straight Tour championship, his first as leader of the Astana team.
Joining Leipheimer on the podium were Slipstream cyclists David Millar of the UK and Christian Vande Velde of the US, who finished 2nd and 3rd behind Leipheimer.
Other tops riders included Dominique Rollin (Canada) of Toyota-United — points competition; Scott Nydam (USA) of BMC Racing — King of the Mountains, and Robert Gesink (Netherlands) of Rabobank — Best Young Rider.
Break
This was one of those unusual days where the break survived to the finish. Hincapie was among a group that got away early in the race. Astana controlled the front of the peloton, but was not interested in chasing it as none of the riders threatened Leipheimer's lead.
Entering Pasadena through the pouring rain, Tom Zirbel of Bissell pro cycling attacked and led solo on four of the circuits. But five other riders, including Hincapie, caught him on the final circuit and Hincapie put them all away at the finish.
Top 10 overall
1. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Astana
2. David Millar (GB), Slipstream, :49 behind
3. Christian Vandevelde (USA), Slipstream, 1:08
4. Fabian Cancellara (Swi), CSC, 1:18
5. Gustav Larsson (Swe), CSC, 1:19
6. David Zabriskie (USA), Slipstream, 1:36
7. Christopher Horner (USA), Astana, 2:07
8. Jurgen Vandewalle (B), Quickstep, 2:11
9. Robert Gesink (Nl), Rabobank, 2:18
10. Alexandre Moos (Swi), BMC, 2:27
More details at VeloNews or CyclingNews.
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