THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
Stage 4: Bettini’s stage win a great curtain-raiser for Friday’s TT showdown
Just as sunshine followed rain on Thursday’s beautiful ride along the Big Sur coast at the Amgen Tour of California, so the stage 4 victory in San Luis Obispo by world champ Paolo Bettini of Italy was just a trailer for Friday’s time-trial showdown. Going into the rolling 14.5-mile TT in Solvang, Discovery Channel’s Levi Leipheimer still has a three-second margin over his main challenger, Jens Voigt of CSC, but a half-dozen others remain in contention, including three-time world TT champion Michael Rogers of T-Mobile, who’s 19 seconds back.
In San Luis Obispo, it was Quick Step-Innergetic’s Bettini who was the star of the show. He impressively took the final uphill sprint from Germany’s world under-23 champion Gerald Ciolek of T-Mobile, with the Argentinean J.J.Haedo of CSC, last year’s stage winner, in third.
Haedo looked as though he was going to repeat when he entered the final, left turn 350 meters from the line. Predictor-Lotto’s Fred Rodriguez, who finished second to Haedo last year, saw what happened. "I had [CSC’s] Stuart [O’Grady] and J.J. [Haedo] in front of me with 500 meters to go, then someone went through on the left and J.J. somehow sneaked through," he said.
But it wasn’t enough. "I got a little blocked and I never really got to launch it," Haedo said. "I would have liked to go for the win but that’s what happened in a difficult finale." Even so, his third place was good enough for him to take the points jersey.
Rodriguez also saw the world champion’s move. "Bettini was behind me," he said, "and a swarm came from behind to the right, so he was in a perfect spot."
Bettini said he didn’t come to California with the intention of winning a stage. "I love winning," said the Quick Step leader. "But I came here because of the good roads and good weather. We wanted to come last year, but we applied too late."
As for his latest victory, Bettini said, "I felt I had good legs yesterday on the [Sierra Road] climb. I thought I might win that stage … so I knew I could try again today. The uphill finish suited me ... but I only just beat Ciolek. He is a great young rider and he was very strong today. With more experience, he will win lots of races."
The day’s main break
Cold, torrential rain showers battered the 130 survivors during the early part of the 132.6-mile stage 4 from Seaside to San Luis Obispo, but that didn’t deter U.S.-based riders Alejandro Acton of Colavita-Sutter Home and Kirk O’Bee of Health Net-Maxxis from sparking the day’s main breakaway.
By mile 20, as the course headed toward the dripping redwoods of Big Sur, the Argentinean Acton and the American O’Bee had been joined by two ProTour riders, T-Mobile’s Aaron Olsen and Crédit Agricole’s Christophe Laurent. Three others took up the chase, including Slipstream-Chipotle’s local rider Lucas Euser, an industrial-technology graduate of Cal Poly at San Luis Obispo, where he has lived for the past five years.
"It was really rolling and I was trying to be really aggressive," Euser said. "The four guys got up the road and I saw [Leipheimer’s] Discovery team kind of sit up. Sure enough, Sean Sullivan of Toyota-United and Hilton Clarke of Navigators went. I was on their wheel. And we punched it … Hilton and I did most of the work. When the break saw us chasing they sat up a little bit and we caught them 3K from the top of the first climb."
That hill, the first of three categorized climbs — there were plenty of other hills that didn’t merit KOM points — was taken by Laurent, who said he made the climbers’ jersey his main goal of the race after being in the long breakaway through the California Wine Country on Tuesday.
Second on the Big Sur climb was the impressive Euser, who said he was having "the biggest day I’ve ever done on a bike." Euser, 23, who wore the KOM jersey at last year’s Tour de Georgia, explained that he was trying to take maximum points to help defend his teammate Tom Peterson’s leadership in the climbers’ competition.
The battle for that jersey caused some conflict at the second of the day’s climbs, another 40 miles down the spectacular Big Sur coast. "[Euser] told me he wasn’t going to go for it," Laurent explained. "But with 100 meters to go he surprised me with an attack and I couldn’t catch him. He said later that it was his team director who told him to go."
Once over the last climb, which Laurent took to move into the KOM lead, the seven leaders regrouped for the final 60 miles on flatter roads alongside low cliffs and rocky beaches — where the barking of elephant seals mixed with the crashing of the storm-driven waves.
"I was never really hopeful that we were going to win because the gap only just went over four minutes," said Sullivan, an Aussie from the island of Tasmania. "And CSC and Rabobank were chasing." Besides CSC working for stage 2 winner Haedo and Rabobank for stage 1 winner Graeme Brown, also revving up the pace in the final 30 miles was the Liquigas team of Luca Paolini.
But the break proved more resilient than expected, moving into the final 10 miles with a 90-second margin. "I know this course like the back of my hand," said Euser. "I kept telling the guys, ‘We can do this if we work together.’ Unfortunately they started attacking. I told them it was small windy roads [on the run-in to San Luis Obispo] and if we stick together it’d be good. But I flatted just before we turned off Highway 1 [about 13km from the finish]."
Euser said the slow flat in his front tire took only 10 seconds to change but he had a hard time chasing back to the other six. By the time he got back, they were still attacking each other and the gap was down to 30 seconds. And 93 riders came together for the final charge into town.
Friday’s time trial
Race leader Leipheimer was surprisingly outspoken at the post-race press conference, saying, "I feel like I’m the best rider in the race. I know Jens [Voigt] has pretty high expectations too, but I’m confident I can win."
Leipheimer said that during the recent Discovery Channel training camp in Solvang he rode the 14.5-mile TT course on his time-trial bike three times in one day.
"It’s kind of a tough course," he said. "There should be some decent gaps."
The chances are that Leipheimer will increase his three-second margin over Voigt to keep the Amgen leader’s jersey, but the American may have to concede the stage win to CSC’s world champ Fabian Cancellara, while Rogers is also motivated.
"I know the course quite well because we spent a week training in Solvang," said the big Australian.
But Leipheimer feels that he has the advantage over Rogers and Voigt because he will start last of the 127 riders, two minutes after Voigt, so he will know exactly how hard he has to go. It should be a great battle!
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Amgen Tour of California
Stage 4
Top 10
Amgen Tour of California
Stage 4
1. Paolo Bettini (I), Quick Step-Innergetic, 213.4km in 5:05:47
2. Gerald Ciolek (G), T-Mobile, same time
3. Juan José Haedo (Arg), CSC, s.t.
4. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Crédit Agricole, s.t.
5. Graeme Brown (Aus), Rabobank, s.t.
6. Stuart O'Grady (Aus), CSC, s.t.
7. Henk Vogels (Aus), Toyota United, s.t.
8. Robert Förster (G), Gerolsteiner, s.t.
9. Mathew Hayman (Aus), Rabobank, s.t.
10. Fred Rodriguez (USA), Predictor-Lotto, s.t.
Overall
1. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Discovery Channel, 17:52:12
2. Jens Voigt (G), CSC, at 0:03
3. Rory Sutherland (Aus), Health Net-Maxxis, at 0:15
4. Christopher Horner (USA), Predictor-Lotto, at 0:16
5. Ardila Cano Mauricio Alberto (Col), Rabobank, at 0:17
6. Ben Day (Aus), Navigators Insurance, at 0:18
7. Ryder Hesjedal (Can), Health Net-Maxxis, at 0:19
8. Michael Rogers (Aus), T-Mobile, s.t.
9. Sergey Lagutin (Uzb), Navigators Insurance, at 0:20
10. Stuart O'Grady (Aus), CSC, s.t.
Jerseys
Leader: Levi Leipheimer (USA), Discovery Channel
Points: J.J. Haedo (Arg), CSC
KOM: Christophe Laurent (F), Crédit Agricole
Best young rider: Matthew Lloyd (Aus), Predictor-Lotto
Team: CSC
