Tour of California, Days 2 & 3: Vineyards, the Coast, Redwood Forests
Yesterday, after 113.3 miles along the Pacific Coast Highway and through redwood forests between San Francisco and Santa Cruz, David Zabriskie (USA) of Garmin Transitions took first prize. He came in just one second before last year's tour winner, Levi Leiphemer, at 4 hours, 26 minutes, 9 seconds. Michael Rogers, rounding out what some call the big three of the race, came in between the two taking second price.
Stage four of the 800-mile race continues to head southward today with a 121.5 leg between San Jose and Modesto. Start time is at 11 a.m. By Friday, the race will have hit Southern California, beginning with a stage in Palmdale, then downtown on Saturday and then the Santa Monica Mountains on Sunday.
On Monday, Stage 2 took cyclists 109.5 miles from Davis to Santa Rosa, home to Leiphemer. It would have been a nice win for the hometown hero, but Brett Lancaster (AUS) of Cervélo TestTeam took first with 4 hours and 38.48 minutes.