May 18, 2010 (Santa Cruz, CA) – If today’s animated stage is any indication of what’s yet to come at the 2010 Tour of California, hold onto your energy drinks, there’s a big week of racing ahead down to LA.

With Levi Leipheimer (USA) Radioshack, Dave Zabriskie (USA) Garmin-Transitions and Michael Rogers (Aus) HTC-Columbia dominating the final 26km of Stage 3 from San Francisco to Santa Cruz, 113.3km, the crowds in Santa Cruz got a good look at some of the best time trialists in the world – save Fabian Cancellara (Sui) Saxo Bank who sat back in the peloton.

At the finish Zabriskie made a well-timed sprint gaining his first golden jersey at the Tour of California on a stellar sunny Santa Cruz boardwalk in contrast to San Francisco’s rain the day before.

And once again Francois Parisien (SpiderTech p/b Planet Energy) was the top Canadian claiming 9th while Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Transitions was close behind in 10th and is now 6th overall.

As yesterday’s tough conditions took their toll on many top GC contender including Cancellara, today’s race began on a mild cloudy morning on Ocean Beach in San Francisco. We talked with Canucks Ryan Anderson (Kelly Benefit Strategies) and Will Routley (Jelly Belly) before the race and as promised, they both shot out in a breakaway in the San Mateo mountains and stayed in the break group of five riders until just before the final Bonny Doon climb – 48km/30 miles from of the finish in Santa Cruz.

The 5-strong break with three Canadians including Routley, Eric Boily (SpiderTech) and Anderson saw Davide Frattini (Team Type 1) win all three KOMs. The five including Andy Jacques-Maynes (USA) Bissell were pushing hard to gain extra time with as much as 4:05 over the peloton, but a chase group formed with 34km to go. Routley earned the Most Courageous Jersey as he struck out on his own while the others were caught. Soon after the “Shack train” roared into Bonny Doon absorbing him. “I was feeling good this morning and as I’ve been training in these hills (of Santa Cruz) for a few months with the Jacques-Maynes brothers, I was ready to jump on the opportunity when I saw it. Usually the peloton would let me have two minutes at the bottom of the hill, but that didn’t work today.”

With 26km to go, Leipheimer attacked with Zabriskie and Rogers keeping pace, and they quickly gained 40 seconds on the chase group. Lance Armstrong (Radioshack) held the peloton at bay, slowing the pace and lulling it to sleep until it was too late to form an organized chase group, as Cervelo and Liquigas failed to make a last ditch effort.

Zabriskie stayed on Leipheimer and Rogers’ wheel from Bonny Doon to the end as Rogers tested them through the hills attacking with 23km to go. Canada’s Hesjedal tried one last attack to bridge before they hit the outskirts of Santa Cruz but got reeled back in.

The last km was a cat and mouse affair between the trio, but finally Zabriskie sprinted ahead by a wheel as he knew the last tight corner would decide the race. Rogers surged near the end and Zabriskie admitted, “I thought Mick beat me at the line, he’s a fierce competitor… but my plan this morning was to stay with Levi, not to win.”

Zabriskie rarely wins stage races, known predominantly for his ITT skills, so this win was a shock for a man few ever see surprised about anything. “Just to touch this jersey is an honour. I’m very excited and very proud of this win. I’ve never been in this position and this is my favorite Tour on the calendar this year. So hey, sure, I’d like to wear this in LA and take it home.”

Mick Rogers on Zabriskie: “He doesn’t look any stronger than Levi or myself – he just got the jump today… this race is far from over.”

Mark Cavendish on Rogers: “I feel like Mick is in the best shape of his life, he will absolutely contend for the title against Levi (this year).”

Levi weighed in: “They (Rogers and Zabriskie) are my most dangerous rivals, so it wasn’t surprising at all – the three of us are the biggest favourites in the race.”

Forecast: This is the third time in three days that the jersey changed hands. Zabriskie has his work cut out for him as Rogers is only four seconds behind and Leipheimer is down only six seconds. Armstrong is looking every part the lead lieutenant for Leipheimer he claimed he would be. The next few stages probably won’t change the GC standings much, but this Friday on Stage 6, in the gruesome San Gabriel mountains (Big Bear), attrition will be at play and whoever loves to suffer most may change it up.

That could open it up even more as the day after Big Bear is the Stage 7, Individual Time Trial, so Friday will be the day where the climbers rule and the top three will be marking each other closely before Saturday’s ITT.

Results

1. David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin-Transitions 4:26:09
2. Michael Rogers (Aus) HTC-Columbia
3. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Radioshack
4. Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Doimo 0:17
5. Rory Sutherland (Aus) Unitedhealthcare p/b Maxxis
6. Heinrich Haussler (Ger) Cervélo Testteam
7. Jens Voigt (Ger) Saxo Bank
8. Christopher Horner (USA) Radioshack
9. François Parisien (Can) SpiderTech p/b Planet Energy
10. Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Transitions
11. Jeremy Venell (Nzl) Bissell
12. Steve Morabito (Sui) BMC Racing Team
13. Lars Bak Ytting (Den) HTC-Columbia
14. Lance Armstrong (USA) Radioshack
15. Christopher Jones (USA) Team Type 1
16. Peter Stetina (USA) Garmin-Transitions
17. Tony Martin (Ger) HTC-Columbia
18. Marc De Maar (Ned) Unitedhealthcare p/b Maxxis
19. Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Radioshack
20. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Saxo Bank
21. José Luis Rubiera Vigil (Esp) Radioshack
22. Phil Zajicek (USA) Fly V Australia
23. Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin-Transitions
24. Francesco Bellotti (Italy) Liquigas-Doimo
25. Lucas Euser (USA) SpiderTech p/b Planet Energy
26. Brian Vandborg (Den) Liquigas-Doimo 0:37
27. Valery Kobzarenko (Ukr) Team Type 1 0:17
28. Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank 1:41
29. David Boily (Can) SpiderTech p/b Planet Energy
30. Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel) Quickstep
31. Paul Martens (Ger) Rabobank
32. George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team
33. Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank
34. Christopher Baldwin (USA) Unitedhealthcare p/b Maxxis
35. Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Esp) Quickstep
36. Paul Mach (USA) Bissell
37. Oscar Pujol (Esp) Cervélo Testteam 1:56
38. Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Bissell 4:36
39. Rob Britton (Can) Bissell
40. Scott Zwizanski (USA) Kelly Benefit Strategies
41. Max Jenkins (USA) Unitedhealthcare p/b Maxxis
42. Kiel Reijnen (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
43. Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Fly V Australia
44. Chris Butler (USA) BMC Racing Team
45. Chad Beyer (USA) BMC Racing Team
46. Nikolas Maes (Bel) Quickstep 4:40
47. Bernard Sulzberger (Aus) Fly V Australia
48. Stef Clement (Ned) Rabobank 8:13
49. Ben Day (Aus) Fly V Australia 8:58
50. Darren Lill (RSA) Fly V Australia
51. Brett Lancaster (Aus) Cervélo Testteam
52. Simon Zahner (Sui) BMC Racing Team
53. Reid Mumford (USA) Kelly Benefit Strategies
54. Thomas Rabou (Ned) Team Type 1
55. Jackson Stewart (USA) BMC Racing Team
56. Charles Dionne (Can) Fly V Australia
57. Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Radioshack
58. Dominique Rollin (Can) Cervélo Testteam 12:52
59. Thomas Peterson (USA) Garmin-Transitions
60. David Veilleux (Can) Kelly Benefit Strategies
61. Andy Schleck (Lux) Saxo Bank 16:10
62. Tejay Van Garderen (USA) HTC-Columbia
63. Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team 16:24
64. Bernhard Eisel (Aut) HTC-Columbia
65. Michael Friedman (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
66. Will Routley (Can) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
67. Mark Cavendish (Gbr) HTC-Columbia
68. Kurt Hovelynck (Bel) Quickstep
69. Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank
70. Daniel Holloway (USA) Bissell
71. Aaron Kemps (Aus) Fly V Australia
72. Elia Viviani (Italy) Liquigas-Doimo
73. Davide Cimolai (Italy) Liquigas-Doimo
74. Andy Jacques-Maynes (USA) Bissell
75. Bernard Van Ulden (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
76. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) BMC Racing Team
77. Bert Grabsch (Ger) HTC-Columbia
78. Mark Renshaw (Aus) HTC-Columbia
79. Ryan Anderson (Can) Kelly Benefit Strategies
80. Juan José Haedo (Arg) Saxo Bank
81. Maarten Wynants (Bel) Quickstep
82. Matti Breschel (Den) Saxo Bank
83. Francesco Chicchi (Italy) Liquigas-Doimo
84. Tom Boonen (Bel) Quickstep
85. Zach Bell (Can) Kelly Benefit Strategies
86. Ivan Santaromita (Italy) Liquigas-Doimo
87. Manuel Quinziato (Italy) Liquigas-Doimo
88. Jeremy Powers (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
89. Theo Bos (Ned) Cervélo Testteam
90. Alex Candelario (USA) Kelly Benefit Strategies
91. Neil Shirley (USA) Kelly Benefit Strategies
92. João Correia (Por) Cervélo Testteam
93. Andreas Stauff (Ger) Quickstep
94. Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Quickstep
95. Ken Hanson (USA) Team Type 1
96. Guillaume Boivin (Can) SpiderTech p/b Planet Energy
97. Ino Ilesic Aldo (Slo) Team Type 1
98. Fabian Cancellara (Sui) Saxo Bank
99. André Steensen (Den) Saxo Bank
100. Stuart O’Grady’ (Aus) Saxo Bank
101. Peter Latham (Nzl) Bissell
102. Bradley White (USA) Unitedhealthcare p/b Maxxis
103. Jason McCartney (USA) Radioshack
104. Cody O’reilly (USA) Bissell
105. Karl Menzies (Aus) Unitedhealthcare p/b Maxxis
106. Matthew Crane (USA) Unitedhealthcare p/b Maxxis
107. Bruno Langlois (Can) SpiderTech p/b Planet Energy
108. Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Radioshack
109. Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Rabobank
110. Tom Leezer (Ned) Rabobank
111. William Dickeson (Aus) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
112. Martin Gilbert (Can) SpiderTech p/b Planet Energy
113. Philip Deignan (Irl) Cervélo Testteam
114. Eric Boily (Can) SpiderTech p/b Planet Energy
115. Matthew Wilson (Aus) Garmin-Transitions
116. Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin-Transitions
117. Steven Cozza (USA) Garmin-Transitions
118. Robert Thomson Jay (RSA) Fly V Australia
119. Jeremy Hunt (Gbr) Cervélo Testteam
120. Scott Stewart (USA) Team Type 1
121. Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Rabobank
122. Andrew Randell (Can) SpiderTech p/b Planet Energy
123. Javier Meijas Leal (Esp) Team Type 1
124. Davide Frattini (Italy) Team Type 1
DNF Jesse Anthony (USA) Kelly Benefit Strategies
DNF Sean Mazich (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda

GC after Stage 3

1. David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin-Transitions 13:09:33
2. Michael Rogers (Aus) HTC-Columbia 0:04
3. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Radioshack 0:06
4. Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Doimo 0:21
5. Marc De Maar (Ned) Unitedhealthcare p/b Maxxis 0:24
6. Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Radioshack 0:27
7. Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Transitions
8. Peter Stetina (USA) Garmin-Transitions
9. Rory Sutherland (Aus) Unitedhealthcare p/b Maxxis
10. Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin-Transitions
11. José Luis Rubiera Vigil (Esp) Radioshack
12. Lance Armstrong (USA) Radioshack
13. Christopher Horner (USA) Radioshack
14. Lars Bak Ytting (Den) HTC-Columbia
15. Francesco Bellotti (Italy) Liquigas-Doimo
16. Phil Zajicek (USA) Fly V Australia
17. François Parisien (Can) SpiderTech p/b Planet Energy
18. Steve Morabito (Sui) BMC Racing Team
19. Jens Voigt (Ger) Saxo Bank
20. Tony Martin (Ger) HTC-Columbia 1:44
21. Valery Kobzarenko (Ukr) Team Type 1
22. Christopher Jones (USA) Team Type 1
23. Lucas Euser (USA) SpiderTech p/b Planet Energy
24. Jeremy Venell (Nzl) Bissell
25. Heinrich Haussler (Ger) Cervélo Testteam
26. Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank 1:47
27. Paul Mach (USA) Bissell 1:49
28. George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team 3:08
29. Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel) Quickstep
30. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Saxo Bank 3:14
31. Brian Vandborg (Den) Liquigas-Doimo 3:34
32. Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank 4:38
33. Scott Zwizanski (USA) Kelly Benefit Strategies 4:46
34. Max Jenkins (USA) Unitedhealthcare p/b Maxxis 6:03
35. Bernard Sulzberger (Aus) Fly V Australia 6:07
36. Brett Lancaster (Aus) Cervélo Testteam 8:58
37. Thomas Rabou (Ned) Team Type 1 9:04
38. David Boily (Can) SpiderTech p/b Planet Energy 9:05
39. Stef Clement (Ned) Rabobank 9:40
40. Simon Zahner (Sui) BMC Racing Team 10:25
41. Ben Day (Aus) Fly V Australia 11:18
42. Paul Martens (Ger) Rabobank 12:24
43. Christopher Baldwin (USA) Unitedhealthcare p/b Maxxis 12:25
44. Kiel Reijnen (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda 13:57
45. Thomas Peterson (USA) Garmin-Transitions 14:19
46. Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Bissell 14:25
47. Chad Beyer (USA) BMC Racing Team 15:17
48. Rob Britton (Can) Bissell 15:20
49. Chris Butler (USA) BMC Racing Team
50. Andy Schleck (Lux) Saxo Bank 16:20
51. Jackson Stewart (USA) BMC Racing Team 16:22
52. Karl Menzies (Aus) Unitedhealthcare p/b Maxxis 16:25
53. André Steensen (Den) Saxo Bank 16:34
54. Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Fly V Australia 16:53
55. Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Esp) Quickstep
56. Darren Lill (RSA) Fly V Australia 17:01
57. Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team 17:51
58. Davide Cimolai (Italy) Liquigas-Doimo
59. Aaron Kemps (Aus) Fly V Australia
60. Ryan Anderson (Can) Kelly Benefit Strategies
61. Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Radioshack 19:06
62. Will Routley (Can) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda 19:21
63. Davide Frattini (Italy) Team Type 1
64. Bernard Van Ulden (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda 19:26
65. Oscar Pujol (Esp) Cervélo Testteam 19:34
66. Reid Mumford (USA) Kelly Benefit Strategies 21:15
67. Nikolas Maes (Bel) Quickstep 22:10
68. Charles Dionne (Can) Fly V Australia 24:10
69. Philip Deignan (Irl) Cervélo Testteam 25:45
70. Juan José Haedo (Arg) Saxo Bank 27:02
71. Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank 27:04
72. Andrew Randell (Can) SpiderTech p/b Planet Energy 27:06
73. Peter Latham (Nzl) Bissell 27:08
74. Steven Cozza (USA) Garmin-Transitions
75. Robert Thomson Jay (RSA) Fly V Australia
76. Michael Friedman (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
77. David Veilleux (Can) Kelly Benefit Strategies 28:04
78. Dominique Rollin (Can) Cervélo Testteam
79. Bert Grabsch (Ger) HTC-Columbia 28:41
80. Jeremy Powers (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda 28:41
81. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) BMC Racing Team 31:30
82. Alex Candelario (USA) Kelly Benefit Strategies 31:36
83. Matthew Wilson (Aus) Garmin-Transitions
84. Maarten Wynants (Bel) Quickstep
85. Bradley White (USA) Unitedhealthcare p/b Maxxis
86. Fabian Cancellara (Sui) Saxo Bank
87. Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Quickstep
88. Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Rabobank
89. Mark Cavendish (Gbr) HTC-Columbia 33:40
90. Tejay Van Garderen (USA) HTC-Columbia
91. Bernhard Eisel (Aut) HTC-Columbia 33:52
92. Mark Renshaw (Aus) HTC-Columbia 33:54
93. Andreas Stauff (Ger) Quickstep
94. Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin-Transitions
95. Guillaume Boivin (Can) SpiderTech p/b Planet Energy
96. Francesco Chicchi (Italy) Liquigas-Doimo
97. Elia Viviani (Italy) Liquigas-Doimo
98. Manuel Quinziato (Italy) Liquigas-Doimo
99. Theo Bos (Ned) Cervélo Testteam
100. Ken Hanson (USA) Team Type 1
101. Martin Gilbert (Can) SpiderTech p/b Planet Energy
102. Tom Leezer (Ned) Rabobank
103. Zach Bell (Can) Kelly Benefit Strategies
104. Eric Boily (Can) SpiderTech p/b Planet Energy
105. Andy Jacques-Maynes (USA) Bissell
106. Ino Ilesic Aldo (Slo) Team Type 1
107. Kurt Hovelynck (Bel) Quickstep
108. Neil Shirley (USA) Kelly Benefit Strategies
109. Ivan Santaromita (Italy) Liquigas-Doimo
110. Daniel Holloway (USA) Bissell
111. João Correia (Por) Cervélo Testteam
112. Scott Stewart (USA) Team Type 1
113. Matti Breschel (Den) Saxo Bank
114. Bruno Langlois (Can) SpiderTech p/b Planet Energy
115. Cody O’Reilly (USA) Bissell
116. Tom Boonen (Bel) Quickstep
117. Jason McCartney (USA) Radioshack
118. Jeremy Hunt (Gbr) Cervélo Testteam
119. Stuart O’Grady’ (Aus) Saxo Bank
120. William Dickeson (Aus) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
121. Matthew Crane (USA) Unitedhealthcare p/b Maxxis
122. Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Rabobank 34:14
123. Javier Meijas Leal (Esp) Team Type 1 34:32
124. Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Radioshack