April 17, 2004 (Laguna Seca, Monterey CA) – Both the men's and women's fields raced on a 100-mile course with three major climbs. Besides the distance, riders faced strong winds.

In the women's race, Canada's Lyne Bessette (Quark) turned out a convincing sprint among a small breakaway of three riders: herself, Kristin Armstrong (T-Mobile) and Christine Thorburn (Webcor). The break happened on the final climb to the finish, after a very uneventful 120km. Attacks had been attempted, but the wind was too strong and no one was able to stay away. Winners of this stage also make up the final GC for the women: Bessette won the overall, followed by Armstrong and Thornburn.

The men's race was much more eventful as Chris Horner (Webcor) crossed the finish line with a sizeable lead over Mike Jones (Health Net/Maxxis) and Canada's Charles Dionne (Webcor) finishing third.

Women
1. Lyne Bessette (Quark)
2. Kristin Armstrong (T-Mobile)
3. Christine Thorburn (Webcor)
4. Jenny Ayerman (Red 5)
5. Gabriela Gonzalez de Ferret (Velobella)

Men
1. Chis Horner (Webcor)
2. Michael Jones (Health Net)
3. Charles Dionne (Webcor)
4. Brice Jones (Health Net)
5. Jason Lokkesmoe (Health Net)