Haedo Wins Amgen Tour of California 1st Stage, With Cancellara Keeping Overall Lead – And Stage Results

  SANTA ROSA, California, Feb 18, 2008 (AFP) - Argentina’s Juan Jose Haedo
won the first stage of the Tour of California on Monday as CSC teammate Fabian
Cacellara held onto the leader’s yellow jersey.
Haedo took the victory by a few cycle lengths after a furious sprint finish
to the 156km stage from Sausalito, which ended with a circuit in Santa Rosa.
BMC’s Jackson Stewart, who lives in Santa Rosa, had launched a breakaway
early in the stage that featured three sprints and one category three king of
the mountains climb.
He was reeled in by the peloton as they neared Santa Rosa, where Haedo
seized the stage victory ahead of High Road’s Gerald Ciolek of Germany and
German Gerolsteiner rider Henrich Haussler all in the same time.
CSC kept prologue winner Cancellara of Switzerland – the world time-trial
champion – atop the overall standings with a total time of 4:07:20.
American Tyler Farrar was two seconds back, with Briton Bradley Wiggins
four adrift and last year’s champion, Levi Leipheimer, six back.
Tuesday’s second stage is 186km from Santa Rosa to the California state
capital city of Sacramento.

  Stage 1 Results
1. Juan Jose Haedo (ARG/CSC) 4h 3:29, 2. Gerald Ciolek (GER) same time 3.
Heinrich Haussler (GER) s.t., 4. Dominique Rollin (CAN) s.t., 5. Matteo
Tosatto (ITA) … 8. Alexandre Pichot (FRA) s.t.

  Overall standings
1. Fabian Cancellara (SUS/CSC) 4:07:20, 2. Tyler Farrar (USA) at 2sec, 3.
Bradley Wiggins (GBR) 4, 4. Levi Leipheimer (USA) 6, 5. David Millar (GBR) 7