February 18, 2007 (San Francisco, CA) — American Levi Leipheimer, riding for the first time in his second tenure with the Discovery Channel Cycling Team, provided a near five-minute dose of déjà vu today, leading a top-three USA sweep at the 2007 Amgen Tour of California Prologue.

Leipheimer, who left the squad formerly sponsored by the U.S. Postal Service for the 2002 season, made his successful return when he completed the 1.9-mile primarily uphill circuit to Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill in 4:49.05 at an average speed of 23.994 mph for the victory today.

First-year pro Jason Donald (Slipstream) of Brighton, Colo., the eighth of 144 riders on the course, set the early best time and eventually finished second in 4:50.49. Ben Jacques-Maynes (Priority Health) of San Jose, Calif., was third in 4:54.26.

Ryder Hesjedal (Health Net) led the three Canadian riders in the field, finishing 11th, nine seconds behind Leipheimer. Michael Barry (T-Mobile) finished 90th in 5:20.42, with Charles Dionne (Coalvita/Sutter Home) placing 133rd in 5:38.63.

Leipheimer, a three-time top-10 Tour de France finisher, was the last rider on the course to defend his stage win as he won the 2006 ToC prologue. By the time he was on course 2-1/2 hours after the first rider started, the winds had shifted and he lost the tailwind advantage from earlier in the day.

“I told the team, “˜don’t tell me’,” Leipheimer said of the conditions. “I felt good and knew that I was ready to give it everything I had. It worked.”

Donald, an unheralded rider whose last victory occurred two years ago at the Tour of the Gila, a second-tier pro race in New Mexico, held his fastest time in favorable tailwinds until the very end.

Leipheimer will wear the race leader’s jersey at tomorrow’s Stage 1, a 97.1-mile road race from Sausalito to his hometown in Santa Rosa. A former Tour of Germany winner, Leipheimer finished sixth in the inaugural Tour of California, one minute and 10 seconds behind winner Floyd Landis.

Australia’s Rory Sutherland (Health Net) placed fourth in the prologue in 4:54.22. Fabian Cancellara (CSC) of Switzerland, the reigning world time trial champion, was fifth in 4:55.09.

David Zabriskie (CSC) of Salt Lake City, who finished second overall in 2006 and is the leading returning rider in the ToC field, placed 14th in 4:59.16.

Results

1. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery 4.49.50
2. Jason Donald (USA) Team Slipstream 0.01.00
3. Benjamin Jacques-Maynes (USA) Priority Health 0.04.73
4. Rory Sutherland (Aus) Health Net Maaxis 0.05.20
5. Fabian Cancellara (Swi) CSC 0.06.48
6. Adam Hansen (Aus) T-Mobile 0.06.55
7. Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano (Col) Rabobank 0.07.41
8. Hilton Clarke (Aus) Navigators Insurance 0.07.46
9. George Hincapie (USA) Discovery 0.07.74
10. Ben Day (Aus) Navigators Insurance 0.07.80
11. Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Health Net Maaxis 0.08.62
12. Michael Rogers (Aus) T-Mobile 0.09.06
13. Jens Voigt (Ger) CSC 0.09.65
14. David Zabriskie (USA) CSC 0.09.67
15. Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Navigators Insurance 0.09.78
16. Stuart O’Grady (Aus) CSC 0.09.92
17. Thomas Danielson (USA) Discovery 0.10.33
18. Timothy Johnson (USA) Health Net Maaxis 0.12.12
19. Taylor Tolleson (USA) Team Slipstream 0.12.65
20. Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas 0.12.86
21. Veleriy Kobzarenko (Ukr) Navigators Insurance 0.13.23
22. Bobby Julich (USA) CSC 0.13.72
23. Ivan Basso (Ita) Discovery 0.13.85
24. Christopher Baldwin (USA) Toyota United Pro 0.14.25
25. Christopher Horner (USA) Predictor-Lotto 0.14.30
26. Karl Menzies (Aus) Health Net Maaxis 0.14.35
27. Kim Kirchen (Lux) T-Mobile 0.15.08
28. Chris Wherry (USA) Toyota United Pro 0.14.80
29. Heath Blackgrove (NZl) Toyota United Pro 0.15.06
30. Ian Mckissick (USA) BMC 0.15.97
31. Manuel Quinziato (Ita) Liquigas 0.16.70
32. Christian Vandevelde (USA) CSC 0.17.00
33. Karsten Kroon (Ned) CSC 0.17.07
34. Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Liquigas 0.17.35
35. Brian Vandborg (Den) Discovery 0.17.90
36. Fred Rodriguez (USA) Predictor-Lotto 0.18.19
37. Danny Pate (USA) Team Slipstream 0.18.40
38. Thomas Peterson (USA) Team Slipstream 0.19.43
39. Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Predictor-Lotto 0.18.65
40. Jason Mccartney (USA) Discovery 0.18.70
41. Mads Kaggestad (Nor) Credit Agricole 0.19.23
42. Allan Davis (Aus) Discovery 0.19.38
43. Shawn Milne (USA) Health Net Maaxis 0.20.48
44. Jean Marc Marino (Fra) Credit Agricole 0.19.83
45. Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic 0.20.27
46. Justin England (USA) Toyota United Pro 0.20.31
47. Anthony Colby (USA) Colavita/Sutter Home 0.20.36
48. Tom Zirbel (USA) Priority Health 0.21.00
49. Aaron Olsen (USA) T-Mobile 0.21.03
50. Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner 0.21.21
51. Thor Hushovd (Nor) Credit Agricole 0.22.27
52. William Frischkorn (USA) Team Slipstream 0.22.00
53. Jonathan Patrick Mc Carty (USA) Team Slipstream 0.22.44
54. Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas 0.22.64
55. Kirk O’bee (USA) Health Net Maaxis 0.22.85
56. Philip Zajicek (USA) Navigators Insurance 0.22.86
57. Christophe Kern (Fra) Credit Agricole 0.22.97
58. Charly Wegelius (GBr) Liquigas 0.23.44
59. Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Predictor-Lotto 0.23.72
60. Bram De Groot (Ned) Rabobank 0.24.29
61. Russell Downing (GBr) Health Net Maaxis 0.24.92
62. David Vitoria (Swi) BMC 0.25.04
63. Grischa Jan Niermann (Ger) Rabobank 0.25.08
64. Greg Henderson (NZl) T-Mobile 0.25.31
65. Leonardo Scarselli (Ita) Quick Step-Innergetic 0.25.42
66. Bram Tankink (Ned) Quick Step-Innergetic 0.25.50
67. Geert Verheyen (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic 0.25.69
68. Juan José Haedo (Arg) CSC 0.25.82
69. Bart Dockx (Bel) Predictor-Lotto 0.26.23
70. Jakob Piil (Den) T-Mobile 0.26.42
71. Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 0.26.48
72. Tyler Wren (USA) Colavita/Sutter Home 0.26.73
73. Alejandro Acton (Arg) Colavita/Sutter Home 0.26.91
74. Lucas Euser (USA) Team Slipstream 0.27.32
75. Mauro Facci (Ita) Quick Step-Innergetic 0.27.69
76. Theo Eltink (Ned) Rabobank 0.27.87
77. Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quick Step-Innergetic 0.28.41
78. Garrett Peltonen (USA) Priority Health 0.28.46
79. Tejay Van Garderen (USA) USA Development Team 0.29.14
80. Brian Dziewa (USA) Jelly Belly 0.29.68
81. Christophe Laurent (Fra) Credit Agricole 0.29.64
82. Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Credit Agricole 0.29.74
83. Edward King (USA) Priority Health 0.29.80
84. Davide Frattini (Ita) Colavita/Sutter Home 0.30.04
85. Viktar Rapinski (Blr) Navigators Insurance 0.30.20
86. Frederik Willems (Bel) Liquigas 0.30.40
87. Peter Hatton (Aus) Colavita/Sutter Home 0.30.76
88. Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Quick Step-Innergetic 0.30.79
89. Sébastien Hinault (Fra) Credit Agricole 0.30.79
90. Michael Barry (Can) T-Mobile 0.30.92
91. Oliver Zaugg (Swi) Gerolsteiner 0.31.41
92. Robert Förster (Ger) Gerolsteiner 0.32.22
93. Antonio Cruz (USA) Discovery 0.31.65
94. Kyle Gritters (USA) Health Net Maaxis 0.31.87
95. Luca Paolini (Ita) Liquigas 0.31.97
96. Brice Jones (USA) Jelly Belly 0.32.38
97. Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank 0.33.31
98. Darren Lill (RSA) Navigators Insurance 0.32.69
99. Dimitri Fofonov (Kaz) Credit Agricole 0.32.77
100. Jackson Stewart (USA) BMC 0.33.01
101. Andrew Bajadali (USA) Jelly Belly 0.33.18
102. Steven Cozza (USA) Team Slipstream 0.33.79
103. Sean Sullivan (Aus) Toyota United Pro 0.33.86
104. Alexandre Moos (Swi) BMC 0.34.11
105. Glen Alan Chadwick (Aus) Navigators Insurance 0.34.21
106. Kjell Carlström (Fin) Liquigas 0.35.22
107. Nic Ingels (Bel) Predictor-Lotto 0.36.03
108. Ivan Dominguez (Cub) Toyota United Pro 0.36.05
109. Brent Bookwalter (USA) USA Development Team 0.36.98
110. Gerald Ciolek (Ger) T-Mobile 0.36.63
111. Jeremy Powers (USA) Jelly Belly 0.36.88
112. Gustavo Artacho (Arg) Colavita/Sutter Home 0.37.03
113. Scott Zwizanski (USA) Priority Health 0.37.45
114. Scott Nydam (USA) BMC 0.37.71
115. Mathew Hayman (Aus) Rabobank 0.38.48
116. David Mccann (Irl) Colavita/Sutter Home 0.39.43
117. Nicolar Reistad (USA) Jelly Belly 0.39.01
118. Nicolas Gates (Aus) Predictor-Lotto 0.41.02
119. Michael Jones (USA) Jelly Belly 0.41.20
120. Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner 0.41.30
121. Torsten Hiekmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner 0.41.80
122. Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step-Innergetic 0.42.08
123. Caleb Manion (USA) Toyota United Pro 0.42.65
124. Alexander Candelario (USA) Jelly Belly 0.42.67
125. Sven Krauss (Ger) Gerolsteiner 0.43.21
126. Brian Sheedy (USA) Priority Health 0.43.27
127. Volker Ordowski (Ger) Gerolsteiner 0.43.36
128. John Devine (USA) USA Development Team 0.44.93
129. Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank 0.45.94
130. Omer Kem (USA) Priority Health 0.46.92
131. Scott Stewart (USA) USA Development Team 0.47.23
132. Christopher Stockburger (USA) USA Development Team 0.48.35
133. Charles Dionne (Can) Colavita/Sutter Home 0.49.13
134. Sheldon Deeny (USA) USA Development Team 0.50.24
135. Bryce Mead (USA) Jelly Belly 0.52.96
136. Peter Wrolich (Aut) Gerolsteiner 0.53.66
137. Ken Hanson (USA) BMC 0.54.66
138. Mario Aerts (Bel) Predictor-Lotto 0.54.91
139. Michael Sayers (USA) BMC 0.55.66
140. Henk Vogels (Aus) Toyota United Pro 0.55.71
141. Emile Abraham (Tri) Priority Health 0.59.25
142. Caleb Fairly (USA) USA Development Team 0.59.85
143. Jonathan Garcia (USA) BMC 1.05.62
144. Chad Beyer (USA) USA Development Team 1.09.50

GC after Stage 1

1. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery 4.49
2. Jason Donald (USA) Team Slipstream 0.01
3. Benjamin Jacques-Maynes (USA) Priority Health 0.05
4. Rory Sutherland (Aus) Health Net Maaxis
5. Fabian Cancellara (Swi) CSC 0.07
6. Adam Hansen (Aus) T-Mobile 0.06
7. Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano (Col) Rabobank 0.07
8. Hilton Clarke (Aus) Navigators Insurance 0.08
9. George Hincapie (USA) Discovery
10. Ben Day (Aus) Navigators Insurance
11. Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Health Net Maaxis 0.09
12. Michael Rogers (Aus) T-Mobile
13. Jens Voigt (Ger) CSC 0.1
14. David Zabriskie (USA) CSC
15. Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Navigators Insurance
16. Stuart O’Grady (Aus) CSC
17. Thomas Danielson (USA) Discovery
18. Timothy Johnson (USA) Health Net Maaxis 0.12
19. Taylor Tolleson (USA) Team Slipstream 0.13
20. Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas
21. Veleriy Kobzarenko (Ukr) Navigators Insurance
22. Bobby Julich (USA) CSC 0.14
23. Ivan Basso (Ita) Discovery
24. Christopher Baldwin (USA) Toyota United Pro
25. Christopher Horner (USA) Predictor-Lotto
26. Karl Menzies (Aus) Health Net Maaxis
27. Kim Kirchen (Lux) T-Mobile 0.15
28. Chris Wherry (USA) Toyota United Pro
29. Heath Blackgrove (NZl) Toyota United Pro
30. Ian Mckissick (USA) BMC 0.16
31. Manuel Quinziato (Ita) Liquigas 0.17
32. Christian Vandevelde (USA) CSC
33. Karsten Kroon (Ned) CSC
34. Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Liquigas
35. Brian Vandborg (Den) Discovery 0.18
36. Fred Rodriguez (USA) Predictor-Lotto
37. Danny Pate (USA) Team Slipstream
38. Thomas Peterson (USA) Team Slipstream 0.19
39. Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Predictor-Lotto
40. Jason Mccartney (USA) Discovery
41. Mads Kaggestad (Nor) Credit AgriColavita/Sutter Homee
42. Allan Davis (Aus) Discovery
43. Shawn Milne (USA) Health Net Maaxis 0.21
44. Jean Marc Marino (Fra) Credit AgriColavita/Sutter Homee 0.2
45. Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic
46. Justin England (USA) Toyota United Pro
47. Anthony Colby (USA) Colavita/Sutter Home
48. Tom Zirbel (USA) Priority Health 0.21
49. Aaron Olsen (USA) T-Mobile
50. Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner
51. Thor Hushovd (Nor) Credit AgriColavita/Sutter Homee 0.22
52. William Frischkorn (USA) Team Slipstream
53. Jonathan Patrick Mc Carty (USA) Team Slipstream
54. Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas 0.23
55. Kirk O’bee (USA) Health Net Maaxis
56. Philip Zajicek (USA) Navigators Insurance
57. Christophe Kern (Fra) Credit AgriColavita/Sutter Homee
58. Charly Wegelius (GBr) Liquigas
59. Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Predictor-Lotto 0.24
60. Bram De Groot (Ned) Rabobank
61. Russell Downing (GBr) Health Net Maaxis 0.25
62. David Vitoria (Swi) BMC
63. Grischa Jan Niermann (Ger) Rabobank
64. Greg Henderson (NZl) T-Mobile
65. Leonardo Scarselli (Ita) Quick Step-Innergetic
66. Bram Tankink (Ned) Quick Step-Innergetic 0.26
67. Geert Verheyen (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic
68. Juan José Haedo (Arg) CSC
69. Bart Dockx (Bel) Predictor-Lotto
70. Jakob Piil (Den) T-Mobile
71. Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 0.27
72. Tyler Wren (USA) Colavita/Sutter Home
73. Alejandro Acton (Arg) Colavita/Sutter Home
74. Lucas Euser (USA) Team Slipstream
75. Mauro Facci (Ita) Quick Step-Innergetic 0.28
76. Theo Eltink (Ned) Rabobank
77. Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quick Step-Innergetic
78. Garrett Peltonen (USA) Priority Health 0.29
79. Tejay Van Garderen (USA) USA Development Team
80. Brian Dziewa (USA) Jelly Belly 0.3
81. Christophe Laurent (Fra) Credit AgriColavita/Sutter Homee
82. Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Credit AgriColavita/Sutter Homee
83. Edward King (USA) Priority Health
84. Davide Frattini (Ita) Colavita/Sutter Home
85. Viktar Rapinski (Blr) Navigators Insurance
86. Frederik Willems (Bel) Liquigas
87. Peter Hatton (Aus) Colavita/Sutter Home 0.31
88. Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Quick Step-Innergetic
89. Sébastien Hinault (Fra) Credit AgriColavita/Sutter Homee
90. Michael Barry (Can) T-Mobile
91. Oliver Zaugg (Swi) Gerolsteiner
92. Robert Förster (Ger) Gerolsteiner 0.32
93. Antonio Cruz (USA) Discovery
94. Kyle Gritters (USA) Health Net Maaxis
95. Luca Paolini (Ita) Liquigas
96. Brice Jones (USA) Jelly Belly
97. Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank 0.33
98. Darren Lill (RSA) Navigators Insurance
99. Dimitri Fofonov (Kaz) Credit AgriColavita/Sutter Homee
100. Jackson Stewart (USA) BMC
101. Andrew Bajadali (USA) Jelly Belly
102. Steven Cozza (USA) Team Slipstream 0.34
103. Sean Sullivan (Aus) Toyota United Pro
104. Alexandre Moos (Swi) BMC
105. Glen Alan Chadwick (Aus) Navigators Insurance
106. Kjell Carlström (Fin) Liquigas 0.35
107. Nic Ingels (Bel) Predictor-Lotto 0.36
108. Ivan Dominguez (Cub) Toyota United Pro
109. Brent Bookwalter (USA) USA Development Team 0.37
110. Gerald Ciolek (Ger) T-Mobile
111. Jeremy Powers (USA) Jelly Belly
112. Gustavo Artacho (Arg) Colavita/Sutter Home
113. Scott Zwizanski (USA) Priority Health 0.38
114. Scott Nydam (USA) BMC
115. Mathew Hayman (Aus) Rabobank 0.39
116. David Mccann (Irl) Colavita/Sutter Home
117. Nicolar Reistad (USA) Jelly Belly
118. Nicolas Gates (Aus) Predictor-Lotto 0.41
119. Michael Jones (USA) Jelly Belly
120. Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner
121. Torsten Hiekmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner 0.42
122. Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step-Innergetic
123. Caleb Manion (USA) Toyota United Pro 0.43
124. Alexander Candelario (USA) Jelly Belly
125. Sven Krauss (Ger) Gerolsteiner
126. Brian Sheedy (USA) Priority Health
127. Volker Ordowski (Ger) Gerolsteiner
128. John Devine (USA) USA Development Team 0.45
129. Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank 0.46
130. Omer Kem (USA) Priority Health 0.47
131. Scott Stewart (USA) USA Development Team
132. Christopher Stockburger (USA) USA Development Team 0.48
133. Charles Dionne (Can) Colavita/Sutter Home 0.49
134. Sheldon Deeny (USA) USA Development Team 0.5
135. Bryce Mead (USA) Jelly Belly 0.53
136. Peter Wrolich (Aut) Gerolsteiner 0.54
137. Ken Hanson (USA) BMC 0.55
138. Mario Aerts (Bel) Predictor-Lotto
139. Michael Sayers (USA) BMC 0.56
140. Henk Vogels (Aus) Toyota United Pro
141. Emile Abraham (Tri) Priority Health 0.59
142. Caleb Fairly (USA) USA Development Team 1
143. Jonathan Garcia (USA) BMC 1.06
144. Chad Beyer (USA) USA Development Team 1.1