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Tour of California: Lance Armstrong Still in 4th, Stolen Bike Found
Overall, the Tour of California's fourth stage--115 miles from Merced to Clovis--was much better when it came to the weather yesterday (sunny and snow covered mountains!). But with three days of straight cold rain, organizers and bicyclists are considering changing the dates to later in the year.
Nevertheless, California is offering quite a setting for the race, especially considering the snow dusted Sierra Mountains in Stage 4. “The scenery on the course is awesome,” said Levi Leipheimer, the tour's current frontrunner. “It’s very pretty and there were a ton of people, even in the snow, cheering for us." The tour estimates around 875,000 people have come out.
At the finish line in Clovis, Mark Cavendish, a 23-year-old from Britain, was literally neck and neck with competitors, but he already had his hands raised in victory before crossing the finish line. Luckily, he was he was indeed Stage 4's winner. “I have a reputation for being cocky, arrogant and brash, but I think I’m just a realist,” he told the New York Times. Cavendish is in 80th place overall.
And still in first place, Santa Rosa resident and two-time Tour of California champion, Leipheimer leads with 24 seconds to spare. Teammate Lance Armstrong stayed in 4th place.
And just in time for Stage 6 on Friday, Armstrong's time trial bike has been recovered. "A local resident, whom the police said wished to remain anonymous, brought Armstrong’s bike into police headquarters Wednesday morning," reported the New York Times. "A second bike, belonging to Janez Brajkovic, had been found Tuesday, sitting in storage at the hotel where the team had been staying."
Today, the Tour goes 134 miles from Visalia to Paso Robles. It's the longest distance in the race and will juxtapose Wednesday's mountain scenery with 100 miles of the flat San Joaquin Valley floor.
The tour will come to the Los Angeles area on Saturday morning, starting in Santa Clarita and racing to Pasadena. It will then have it's last stage (out of eight total plus a prologue) near San Diego.
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Previous Tour of California Coverage
- Tour of California, Stage 3: Levi Clipped by Lance Armstrong, but Still in the Lead
- Tour of California, Stage 2: Lance Armstrong Crashes, Teammate Takes Lead
- Tour of California, Stage 1: Lance Armstrong's Bike Stolen, Comes in 5th
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