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The Amgen Tour of California got a bit dramatic yesterday. Even before the race began, cyclist Floyd Landis admitted to using drugs and then accused Lance Armstrong of doing the same, which he denied. Not too long after and within a few miles of the stage, a crash left Armstrong injured and out of the tour.
Nonetheless, the race went on. The 121.5 mile leg from Visalia to Bakersfield took stage winner Peter Sagan of the Liquigas-Doimo team 4 hours, 52 minutes and 58 seconds to complete. The Slovakian is now in fourth place over all.
Other overall standings have Michael Rogers of Australia in first (he came in second on Thursday) Dave Zabriskie in second and three-time defending winner Levi Leipheimer in third.
On Wednesday, the fourth stage took riders 121.5 miles between San Jose and Modesto. Francesco Chicchi of Italy took the top slot at 4 hours 55 minutes 2 seconds. He also races for Liquigas-Doimo.