Tour of California - Stage 3

Turnover
San Jose, CA (February 20, 2008) - The profile of Stage 3 from Modesto to San Jose certainly should have favored the climbers, with three Cat. 4, one Cat. 1, and an HC climb. But there they were, in the first chase group, time trialing specialist and Classics hard man, Fabian Cancellara (CSC) accompanied by David Millar and David Zabriskie of Team Slipstream/Chipotle [Millar a former time trialing World Champion, and Zabriskie the owner of the fastest ever clocked average speed in the Tour de France Prologue].

"It just goes to show you how well he's going right now," said a surprised Levi Leipheimer (Astana) of Cancellara, after the stage in which Levi placed second and took over the overall race lead.


The fact that so many big engines were close behind on the run in to San Jose wasn't lost on Leipheimer. and began his run in to San Jose. Apparently, it was news to breakaway companion Robert Gesink (Rabobank) who jokingly stated after the fact, "...that's information that the Director probably felt would not have helped me."

It ended up being a great motivating factor for Leipheimer as he proded his younger charge to increase their leg tunrover and work together once they cleared the final climb up Sierra Road.

But it also wasn't the only motivating factor for Leipheimer and his Astana teammates, who learned of the RCS's decision [organizer of such races at Tirreno-Adriatico; a race won last year by Astana's Andreas Kloden] to also exclude the team from their races [following a similar decision by ASO earlier this month].

"We're really frustrated as a team because we have no explanation. I think the arguments that the two tour organizers have given to exclude us are very vague, weak and inconsistent. We're left to just conjecture and trying to come to a conclusion and its very difficult to be in that position. We're just trying to keep our heads up and like I said we came out here [to the Tour of California] and we have something to prove, especially today. I think that's the best thing we can do, try to race our bikes the best way we can and fight back in that way."

At the line it was the 21-year-old Gesink who took the stage victory over Leipheimer. Although Leipheimer and his contemporaries still have a great deal of fight in their legs, Gesink's victory perhaps signaled the beginning of a turnover of the professional peloton to a new cycling generation as 4 of the 6 top finishers on HC category climb up Mount Hamilton were 25 years or younger.


Incidentally, the day's yellow jersey wearer, the 23-year-old Tyler Farrar (Team Slipstream/Chipotle) abandoned during the stage with a stomach virus that has being working its way through the peloton.

Photos: Leonard Basobas (first, second, fourth), Al Hernandez (Fox News; third)