bicycle.net -- cycling news, product reviews, original essays, podcasts & video :: Tour of California 2009

So as the riders of the Amgen Tour of California rolled out to take on Stage #1, they had to be impressed with the incredible landscape that they were going to witness over the next 97.2 miles, with views of the Pacific Ocean, and the rolling hills of the Redwood Forest. But the fun, as they say, ends there.

The riders faced their first real challenge when they rode from Mill Valley up to Mt. Tamalpais State Park before turning toward Muir Beach. With a strong cross wind the peleton stayed together most of the day. There were a few breaks, but once they got their KOM points they fell back. Like we all predicted, it was going to come down to a field sprint.

As the peleton was on the 1st of 3 laps in Santa Rosa there was a crash. It happened right at the front of the peleton and it took down almost all of the race leaders and favorites. The list of casualties is large, but here is a partial list; Levi Leipheimer (Discovery), Ivan Basso (Discovery), Jason Donald (Slipstream-Chipotle) who was the Cinderella man from the prologue, and David Zabriske (CSC) who suffered a concussion and withdrew from the race.

The sprint was fast and very close. Coming down to a photo finish with Graeme Brown (Rabobank) coming out ahead by no more than the width of a bike tire. With only about 35 to 40 riders getting themselves safely around the crash and in line to contest the sprint, there was surprisingly few riders fighting it out. The always fun to watch Fast Freddy Rodriquez (Predictor-Lotto) getting himself a solid 5th. Being the first American to cross the line.

What took most by surprise was the decision of the commissioner to give Levi Leipheimer’s chase group the same finishing time as the main group. Even though they were back by about 55 seconds and out outside the 3km automatic rule of giving the crash victims the same finishing time, the decision was made and Levi Leipheimer was able to hold on to the Yellow Jersey. Who knows if this decision was influenced because Levi Leipheimer lives in Santa Rosa. Either way the top three spots stay the same.

Amgen Tour of California
Stage 1 top 10

1. Graeme Brown (Aus), Rabobank, 97 miles in 4:17.19
2. Greg Henderson (NZL), T-Mobile
3. Allan Davis (Aus), Discovery Channel
4. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Credit Agricole
5. Fred Rodriguez (USA), Predictor-Lotto
6. Stuart O’Grady (Aus), CSC
7. Peter Wrolich (Aut), Gerolsteiner
8. J.J. Haedo (Arg), CSC
9. Sébastien Hinault (F), Credit Agricole
10. David Vitoria (Swi), BMC, all same time

Overall classification

1. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Discovery Channel, 4:22.08
2. Jason Donald (USA), Slipstream-Chipotle, at 0:01
3. Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA), Priority Health, at 0:05
4. Fabian Cancellara (Swi), CSC, at 0:06
5. George Hincapie (USA), Discovery
6. Adam Hansen (Aus), T-Mobile, all s.t.
7. Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano (Col), Rabobank, at 0:07
8. Ben Day (Aus), Navigators, at 0:08
9. Ryder Hesjedal (Can), Health Net-Maxxis, at 0:09
10. Michael Rogers (Aus), T-Mobile, s.t.