The peloton sweeps past throngs lining the streets in Sacramento. Photo by jlockwood1 at flickr.com.
You can be pardoned for suffering a serious case of deja vu during this year's Amgen Tour of California. There are so many similarities with last year's inaugural bike race.
What's the same: Both years Levi Leipheimer won the prologue in San Francisco and retained the golden jersey at the end of Stage 1.
What's different: Leipheimer now rides for Discovery, not Gerolsteiner; he kept the jersey after Stage 1 this year only because of the race commissioners' ruling in Santa Rosa; and he still holds onto the leader's jersey at the end of Stage 2.
What's the same: Both years an early stage was won by Argentine sprinter J.J. Haedo, still a virtual unknown on the world cycling stage.
What's different: Haedo now rides for the powerhouse Team CSC, not the domestic Toyota-United team and his days of anonymity on the world stage are ending; he waited until Tuesday's Stage 2 finish in Sacramento for a stage win.
Another difference, there's no Floyd Landis this year to win a time trial and hold onto the lead throughout the rest of the week.
The Discovery Channel team spent much of the day at the head of the peloton, driving the pace to discourage any serious threats to teammate Leipheimer. An early breakaway led by Christophe Laurent of Credit Agricole was the first over the Trinity Grade, a steep climb in the early part of the 115-mile race between Santa Rosa and Sacramento.
(You might remember Trinity Grade from the old Coors Classic that had a stage or two in California. I remember tackling that climb on my bike once many years ago, and seeing a faded “LeMond” painted on the road in block letters.)
The Discovery driven peloton finally caught Laurent on the outskirts of Sacramento. They were joined at the front by Team CSC, T-Mobile and others trying to get their sprinters into position.
Haedo won against the likes of Luca Paolini (Liquigas), Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) and Allan Davis (Discovery), who finished in the 2 – 4 positions.
Let's see if the “sameness” of this Tour of California holds true on Stage 3, a 94-mile race from Sacramento to San Jose.
Although there was no Sacramento stage last year, Stage 2 ended in San Jose and that's where George Hincapie won the stage and the golden jersey. Once again this year, the cyclists face the daunting Sierra Road hill, the most difficult climb of the race.
The top 10 overall leaders are:
1. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery
2. Jason Donald (USA) Slipstream — 1 second behind
3. Benjamin Jacques-Maynes (USA) Priority Health — 5 seconds
4. Rory Sutherland (Aus) Health Net
5. Hilton Clarke (Aus) Navigators
6. Fabian Cancellara (Swi) CSC — 6 seconds
7. George Hincapie (USA) Discovery
8. Adam Hansen (Aus) T-Mobile
9. Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano (Col) Rabobank — 7 seconds
10. Ben Day (Aus) Navigators — 8 seconds
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