Escondido, CA - February 22, 2009 - On the newest stage of the Amgen Tour of California, a stage which had riders traverse the highest peak in the race's short history, it was only appropriate that a climber should win it.
Fränk Schleck provided the 2009 Amgen Tour of California with Team Saxo Bank bookends (teammate Fabian Cancellara won the Prologue) by taking the 155.8 km Stage 8 from Rancho Bernardo to Escondido. The elder Schleck brother beat fellow climber and breakaway companion Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) to the line, while George Hincapie (Team Columbia-Highroad) proved to be the best of the rest and rounded out the podium.
"Three days ago, the plan was to just to keep our energy early and just go for the last stage, said Schleck. "Yesterday, I was in the break, but it was a very technical race and I was a bit disappointed. The riding was furious today and I said I’m just going to go for it again. The whole Saxo Bank team did a great job; the way we played it was great. I was really impressed with my brother (Andy Schleck) and Jason (McCartney) who have done really, really hard jobs the whole week. We put them out there and then I attacked from behind and we caught up. Without those guys, it never would have worked out.”
“On Palomar, that is where I attacked and got up to Andy, and then he set a really hard pace, added the 28-year-old Luxembourger. "I wanted him to slow down (laughing). But, I stayed with him and when we got to the last climb, that is when Nibali (Vincenzo) sped up and then I just had to keep going very hard to hold on. Really, for a guy like me, it took a big effort for me today for sure. I’m looking forward to having some wine tonight.”
The final stage of America's most prestigious race featured another difficult course for the riders. In addition to two intermediate sprints, the peloton faced four King of the Mountains climbs, which included the mammoth climb of Palomar Mountain, the highest point ever reached at the Amgen Tour of California at 5,123 feet.
Floyd Landis (OUCH presented by Maxxis) previewed the climb up Palomar Mountain (where the ascent unfolds over 11.7 miles and possesses 21 switchbacks at an average gradient of 7%) yesterday.
“The climb is pretty consistent and it goes from a five or six percent grade to an eight percent grade,” said Landis. “It’s as hard of a climb as you’ll find anywhere, especially at this stage in the race. After a week-long stage race, a lot of guys are tired, so the peloton will probably split up easier.”
Floyd proved sage-like, as he was one of the major antagonists on the day.
Seemingly showing no ill effects from the previous 8 days, the riders began the stage at a feverish pitch when a break of 8, including Andy Schleck (Team Saxo Bank), Jason McCartney (Team Saxo Bank), Thomas Peterson (Garmin - Slipstream), Bauke Mollema (Rabobank), Christophe Riblon (AG2R La Mondiale), Serge Pauwels (Cervélo TestTeam), Alexandre Moos (BMC Racing Team) and Ben Jacques-Maynes (Bissell Pro Cycling), headed up the road at the gun.
The break made it over the second KOM, Lake Wohlford Road (ascends from 733 feet to 1,566 feet over four miles with an average grade of 3.9 percent), with a 50 second gap to the peloton, but they only served as a harbinger to the fireworks behind when the riders began to tackle the Palomar.
Landis, Oscar Sevilla (Rock Racing), Michael Rogers (Team Columbia-Highroad), and David Zabriskie (Garmin-Slipstream), among others gave it a go. A huge effort from Team Saxo Bank, led by Jens Voigt, shuffled and re-shuffledthe lead group several times.
Eventually, Fränk Schleck and Nibali would break free, accompanied later by Glen Chadwick (NZL) of Rock Racing and Bauke Mollema (Rabobank). The latter two; however, were unable to keep pace, leaving Schleck and Nibali in a two-up sprint that was won easily by the rider from Team Saxo Bank.
Levi Leipheimer (Astana), the overall race leader, found himself isolated from his Astana teammates at times during the mayhem up the final two climbs, but the Santa Rosa native ultimately kept his wits about him and crossed the line in ninth to officially claim his third consecutive Amgen Tour of California title.
“I’ve been trying to think about how to articulate this and it’s tough," said Leipheimer. "To win it once, that was huge. To win it twice, that was almost a little bit of a surprise and almost felt like luck. But now, to have won the Amgen Tour of California three times, it’s the sweetest victory of all. It’s hard to describe, but to keep a streak like that going is difficult. I told Lance (Armstrong) that I don’t know how he won the Tour de France seven times in a row, because the pressure builds with each win. The expectations are higher. I think we proved that we were the best team in the race. There is no question about that.”
David Zabriskie (USA) finished in second place overall at 36 seconds behind Leipheimer, and Michael Rogers (AUS) finished third at 45 seconds behind.
Results
1. Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank
2. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas
3. George Hincapie (USA) Team Columbia - Highroad
4. Rory Sutherland (Aus) OUCH presented By Maxxis
5. Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank
6. José Luis Rubiera (Spa) Astana
7. Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Astana
8. Jens Voigt (Ger) Team Saxo Bank
9. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana
10. Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
Final General Classification
1. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Astana
2. David Zabriskie (USA), Garmin-Slipstream
3. Michael Rogers (AUS), Team Columbia-High Road
4. Jens Voigt (GER), Team Saxo Bank
5. Thomas Lövkvist (SWE), Team Columbia-High Road
6. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas
7. Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana
8. Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank
9. Thomas Danielson (USA) Garmin - Slipstream
10. José Luis Rubiera (Spa) Astana
Final Jersey Awards
Amgen Race Leader Jersey- Levi Leipheimer (USA), Astana
Herbalife Sprint Jersey- Mark Cavendish (GBR), Team Columbia-High Road
Rabobank Best Young Rider Jersey - Robert Gesink (NED), Rabobank
California Travel & Tourism Commission King of the Mountain (KOM) Jersey- Jason McCartney (USA), Team Saxo Bank
News and Noteworthy
- The final Amgen's Breakaway from Cancer Most Courageous Rider Jersey went to Fränk Schleck (LUX) of Team Saxo Bank
- Speaking of Team Saxo Bank, it has previously been mentioned how race prepared the Bjarne Riis led team is, but it bares repeating. I cannot recall a race where the team was quiet; their riders are always at the forefront. To recap their time in California, Cancellara and Frank Schleck won stages, Jason McCartney won the KOM jersey by not only being a solid climber but by being in most of the breakaways during the race, Gustav Larsson almost took the Solvang ITT, and Jens Voigt finished in the top five of the GC.
- The final count showed that 2 million fans came out to watch the 2009 Amgen Tour of California. In addition to increased programming on VERSUS, the Amgen Tour of California web site saw a significant increase in traffic during the 2009 race. Total visitors to the Web site topped 1.3 million in the month of February, compared to 777,000 in February 2008, and total page impressions for this month exceeded 5.1 million.
Photo: Leonard Basobas
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