Tour of California Stage 2 results

It's a rainy and cold day in northern California for the 3rd Stage from Santa Rosa to Sacramento. In spite of the wet conditions, there were good crowds in Santa Rosa, along the mountain roads, the bike friendly college town of Davis and at the finish line in Sacramento. Scott Nydam (BMC) broke away and held the lead for much of the race through the hills which he held until after the peloton passed through the town of Davis.


Trinity Grade.
The final laps were fast and furious and rain slick streets. JJ Haedo was in 6th place when he flatted. He grabbed a team mate's bike quick as a flash but used up all of his reserves just to catch up to the pack. Haedo managed to get back up near the lead in the final laps.

Team High Road owned the final laps when Cavendish broke free in the last kilometer and pulled off a yards long lead. It was elbow to elbow for Boonen, Cipo, Gerolsteiner's Hostler as they worked to catch up, with Tom Boonen (Quick Step) dashing across the finish line for the win, Gerolsteiner's Heinrich Haussler coming in second and Rock Racing's Mario Cipollini showing he still got the mojo with his 3rd place finish.

Watch KWC for finish line photos from Sacramento; Steephill.TV for the collection of links to Stage 2 news, photos and video; Bicycle.net and The FredCast.


Governor Schwarzenegger on the podium with Mario Cipollini.
Tomorrow will be another wet day, with snow even possible on the summit of Mount Hamilton. The crowds will be thick on Sierra Road coming into San Jose so it should be another exciting day in the Tour of California.

All photos are Copyright by Ken Conley. Click on the photos for more information and other viewing options.