2009 Tour of California

2009 Tour of California UCI America Tour February 14–22, 2009 8+Prologue 780.44 mi 31h 28' 21" Levi Leipheimer USA AST 2009 yellow David Zabriskie USA GRM 2009 Michael Rogers AUS THR 2009a Jason McCartney USA SAX 2009 red Robert Gesink NED RAB 2009 white Mark Cavendish GBR THR 2009a green AST 2009 2008 2010 The 2009 Tour of California was the 4th running of the Tour of California, an annual cycling race contained within the state of California. The event was staged February 14–22 and began with a prologue in the state capital of Sacramento. The event was held as part of the schedule of both the UCI America Tour and USA Cycling Professional Tour. The race was won by Levi Leipheimer for the third consecutive year. Race details The Fourth Tour of California covered nine days and 780.44 mi km, starting with a flat 2.4 mi km prologue near the California State Capitol in Sacramento on February 14, 2009. Drawing many of the top cyclists from around the world, the Tour of California generated an estimated revenue of $100 million for the state of California. The AST 2009 team included two-time returning champion Levi Leipheimer, and seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong. The 2006 champion, Floyd Landis returned, riding for UHC 2009. Tour organizers have switched the route from year to year, hoping to reach out to fans in different parts of the state and maintain the challenge of the race. Santa Cruz, one of the cities added for the 2009 running, expected added costs of $100,000 to cover public services and accommodations for lodging and meals for the cycling teams, and was expecting 250,000 fans to attend the end of Stage 2. The sales and hotel taxes generated by drawing tourists at a traditionally slow time of the year were expected to help recover the costs of hosting the event.Staff. "Lance Armstrong to ride in Amgen, which stops in Santa Cruz", San Jose Mercury News, 25 September 2008. Accessed 26 January 2009. Stage 2 also took the peloton across the Golden Gate Bridge for the first time in the tour's history.Staff. "SAN JOSE STAGE REVERSES COURSE FOR 2009 TOUR OF CALIFORNIA", San Jose Mercury News, 24 July 2008. Accessed 26 January 2009. "The tour has revamped an 800-mile course that will cross the Golden Gate Bridge for the first time." In another first, Stage 4 includes an excursion through the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada foothills, starting in Merced, then passing through the foothill towns of Mariposa and Oakhurst, and finishing in Clovis (adjacent to Fresno). The tour organizers tried to integrate climbing into nearly every day's stage; only the prologue, time trial and Stage 5 — the tour's longest at 134.3 mi km — had no climbs. The 2009 Tour features at least one King of the Mountain summit on each other stage, with the Tour's technical director proclaiming that the difficult climbs in the course they designed having the potential to have the leader change on a daily basis. The eighth stage alone, the last of the tour, stretching nearly 100 mi km from Rancho Bernardo to Escondido featured four King of the Mountain summits including a climb of Palomar Mountain, home of the Palomar Observatory, which runs for 7 mi km, climbing 4200 ft m at an average grade of 7%, with 21 switchbacks on the mountain that reaches an elevation of 5123 ft m.Giesin, Dan. "Tour of California returning to San Francisco", San Francisco Chronicle, 5 December 2008. Accessed 26 January 2009. Teams UCI ProTour Teams ALM - ALM 2009 AST - AST 2009 GRM - GRM 2009 LIQ - LIQ 2009 QST - QST 2009 RAB - RAB 2009 SAX - SAX 2009 THR - THR 2009a UCI Professional Continental Teams BMC - BMC 2009 CTT - CTT 2009 UCI Continental Teams BPC - BPC 2009 COL - JSH 2009 FAS - Fly V Australia JBC - JBC 2009 OCM - UHC 2009 RRC - RRC 2009 TT1 - TT1 2009 Stages For the first time, the 2009 tour had an additional 8th stage meant to increase the competitiveness of the event.http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/Tour/about.html About the Tour Amgen Tour of California 2009-01-19 https://web.archive.org/web/20090106152948/http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com./Tour/about.html 2009-01-06 dead Prologue thumb|Fabian Cancellara won the prologue Saturday, February 14 Sacramento Start Time: 1:30 PM Miles: 2.4 KM: 3.9 End ETA: 4:00 PMhttp://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/Archives/2009-archive/stages/prologue.html Prologue | Amgen Tour of California 2011-09-10 https://archive.today/20120718202127/http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/Archives/2009-archive/stages/prologue.html 2012-07-18 dead Prologue Result CyclistTeamTime1Fabian Cancellara SUI20px|Cancellara was awarded the yellow jersey as general classification leader after this stageSAX 2009 4' 32"2Levi Leipheimer USA20px|Leipheimer was awarded the green jersey as sprints classification leader after this stageAST 2009 + 1"3David Zabriskie USAGRM 2009 + 2"4Michael Rogers AUSTHR 2009a + 2"5Thor Hushovd NORCTT 2009 + 3"6George Hincapie USATHR 2009a + 3"7Tom Boonen BELQST 2009 + 3"8Mark Renshaw AUSTHR 2009a + 4"9Svein Tuft CANGRM 2009 + 4"10Lance Armstrong USA20px|Armstrong was awarded the blue jersey as the stage's most courageous riderAST 2009 + 4" Stage 1 Sunday, February 15 Davis to Santa Rosa Start Time: 12:00 noon Miles: 107.6 KM: 173.2 End ETA: 3:56–5:01 PMhttp://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/Archives/2009-archive/stages/stage1.html Stage 1 Amgen Tour of California 2011-09-10 https://web.archive.org/web/20110513095251/http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/Archives/2009-archive/stages/stage1.html 2011-05-13 dead Francisco Mancebo of Rock Racing broke away after 5 miles of racing, and stayed away almost all day. He was briefly joined by Tim Johnson and David Kemp in his breakaway effort, but he later broke away from them as well, and they were reabsorbed by the peloton. A 23-man chase group formed as Mancebo neared Santa Rosa, which included four members of Astana, working for two-time defending race champion Levi Leipheimer, as well as some other overall favorites such as Ivan Basso. Race officials decided to extend the "crash zone", the area in which riders would be granted the same finishing time as the group they were in on crashing (should they crash) from the final lap of the Santa Rosa circuit to the first, since the road was saturated by a steady downpour of rain. The chase group started out 12 minutes behind Mancebo and closed the time gap to 1'07" at the beginning of the first lap of the Santa Rosa circuit. They subsequently slowed at the end of the first circuit (since the only thing left to gain was the stage win - the group that was together at the beginning of the first circuit were all given the same finishing time, relative to Mancebo) and allowed some riders to attack, chief among them Vincenzo Nibali and Jurgen Van de Walle, who joined Mancebo at the beginning of the last lap. Mancebo managed to outsprint Nibali and Van de Walle to the line. Stage placings were taken on the first time the riders crossed the finish line, but Van de Walle and Nibali were awarded identical sprint classification points for finishing second and third as the riders credited with finishing second and third, Leipheimer and Michael Rogers. Stage 1 Result CyclistTeamTime1Francisco Mancebo ESPRRC 20094h 11' 07"2Levi Leipheimer USAAST 2009+ 1' 07"3Michael Rogers AUSTHR 2009a+ 1' 07"4Jens Voigt GERSAX 2009+ 1' 07"5Chris Horner USAAST 2009+ 1' 07"6Steve Morabito SUIAST 2009+ 1' 07"7Óscar Sevilla ESPRRC 2009+ 1' 07"8Vincenzo Nibali ITALIQ 2009+ 1' 07"9Andy Schleck LUXSAX 2009+ 1' 07"10Lance Armstrong USA20px|Armstrong wore the blue jersey as the previous stage's most courage rider during this stageAST 2009+ 1' 07"General Classification after Stage 1 CyclistTeamTime1Francisco Mancebo ESP20px|Mancebo was awarded the yellow jersey as general classification leader after this stage20px|Mancebo was awarded the red jersey as mountains classification leader after this stage20px|Mancebo was awarded the green jersey as sprints classification leader after this stageRRC 20094h 15' 46"2Levi Leipheimer USAAST 2009+ 1' 02"3David Zabriskie USAGRM 2009+ 1' 03"4Michael Rogers AUSTHR 2009a+ 1' 03"5Lance Armstrong USAAST 2009+ 1' 05"6Chris Horner USAAST 2009+ 1' 05"7Thomas Lövkvist SWETHR 2009a+ 1' 13"8José Luis Rubiera ESPAST 2009+ 1' 13"9Vincenzo Nibali ITALIQ 2009+ 1' 13"10Robert Gesink NED20px|Gesink was awarded the white jersey as youth classification leader after this stageRAB 2009+ 1' 14" Stage 2 thumb|The peloton crossing Golden Gate Bridge thumb|Tom Peterson won the stage Monday, February 16 Sausalito to Santa Cruz Start Time: 8:30 AM Miles: 115.9 KM: 186.6 End ETA: 12:52–2:03 PM Note: For the first time, the peloton rode across the Golden Gate Bridge.http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/Archives/2009-archive/stages/stage2.html Stage 2 | Amgen Tour of California 2011-09-10 https://archive.today/20120723111609/http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/Archives/2009-archive/stages/stage2.html 2012-07-23 dead After a few unsuccessful breakaway attempts immediately following the neutral zone, Rabobank's Grischa Niermann was the first rider to break free of the peloton. He was quickly joined by Garmin-Slipstream's Steven Cozza and eight other riders, to form a ten-man break that held a four- to five-minute advantage over the peloton for most of the stage. The best placed rider in the break was Ben Jacques-Maynes of Bissell, 5'05" behind race leader Francisco Mancebo, whose Rock Racing team paced the peloton calmly, content to let the breakaway get a lead. When the peloton reached the beginning of the climb of Bonny Doon road, Astana took over the pace, and the time gap to the breakaway fell precipitously. On their respective ways up the climb, Carlos Barredo attacked from the leading group of ten and Levi Leipheimer from the peloton, each coming free. Leipheimer gradually overtook members of the day's breakaway as they faltered on the climb, eventually reaching Barredo, Tom Peterson, and Jason McCartney (Peterson and McCartney had themselves caught Barredo only moments earlier) to take first position on the road. Leipheimer was the first to the top of the climb, and he and Peterson stayed together on the descent. A 17-man chase group paced by Lance Armstrong reabsorbed all the other members of the morning breakaway. Peterson took the stage win uncontested, with Leipheimer just behind him, and the Armstrong group having closed to 20 seconds behind them. Stage 2 Result CyclistTeamTime1Tom Peterson USAGRM 20095h 06' 21"2Levi Leipheimer USAAST 2009s.t.3Michael Rogers AUSTHR 2009a+ 20"4Chris Horner USAAST 2009+ 20"5Óscar Sevilla ESPRRC 2009+ 20"6Kevin Seeldraeyers BELQST 2009+ 20"7Tom Danielson USAGRM 2009+ 20"8Robert Gesink NED20px|Gesink wore the white jersey as youth classification leader during this stageRAB 2009+ 20"9Grischa Niermann GERRAB 2009+ 20"10David Zabriskie USAGRM 2009+ 20"General Classification after Stage 2 CyclistTeamTime1Levi Leipheimer USA20px|Leipheimer was awarded the yellow jersey as general classification leader after this stageAST 20099h 23' 02"2Michael Rogers AUSTHR 2009a+ 24"3David Zabriskie USAGRM 2009+ 28"4Lance Armstrong USAAST 2009+ 30"5Chris Horner USAAST 2009+ 34"6Janez Brajkovič SLOAST 2009+ 38"7Thomas Lövkvist SWETHR 2009a+ 38"8José Luis Rubiera ESPAST 2009+ 38"9Vincenzo Nibali ITALIQ 2009+ 38"10Robert Gesink NED20px|Gesink was awarded the white jersey as general classification leader after this stageRAB 2009+ 39" Stage 3 thumb|The breakaway comprising Louder, White, Vandborg and Mollema Tuesday, February 17 San Jose to Modesto Start Time: 12:00 noon Miles: 104.2 KM: 167.7 End ETA: 3:53–4:55 PMhttp://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/Archives/2009-archive/stages/stage3.html Stage 3 | Amgen Tour of California 2011-09-10 https://archive.today/20120728162359/http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/Archives/2009-archive/stages/stage3.html 2012-07-28 dead A 4-man breakaway formed immediately after the stage's neutral zone, comprising Bauke Mollema of Rabobank, Jeff Louder of BMC, Bradley White of OUCH, and Brian Vandborg of Liquigas. The best-placed among them was Mollema, two minutes behind race leader Levi Leipheimer (the rest were nearly 24 minutes behind Leipheimer). King of the Mountains leader Francisco Mancebo joined them shortly thereafter and topped the climb up Sierra Road in first position, padding his lead. He then rejoined the peloton. The breakaway's lead extended to nearly six minutes, which was increased partially because Leipheimer crashed at the front of the peloton at about the 30 mile mark causing the Astana-paced bunch to slow to allow him to rejoin them. The time gap held steady at between four and five minutes for most of the stage, until Team Columbia-High Road, Quick Step, and Cervélo TestTeam came forward after the descent of the second climb of the day to take the pace, working to get the field together so their respective strong sprinters would have a chance at the stage win. Louder attacked from the leading group on the way into Modesto, and only Mollema could answer. They were subsequently caught in the middle of the Modesto circuit, and a classic bunched sprint saw the stage win go to Thor Hushovd. Stage 3 Result CyclistTeamTime1Thor Hushovd NORCTT 20094h 28' 13"2Óscar Freire ESPRAB 2009s.t.3Mark Renshaw AUSTHR 2009as.t.4Tyler Farrar USAGRM 2009s.t.5Mark Cavendish GBRTHR 2009as.t.6Brett Lancaster AUSCTT 2009s.t.7Sebastian Haedo ARGJSH 2009s.t.8Fred Rodriguez USARRC 2009s.t.9Markus Zberg SUIBMC 2009s.t.10Pedro Horrillo ESPRAB 2009s.t.General Classification after Stage 3 CyclistTeamTime1Levi Leipheimer USA20px|Leipheimer was awarded the yellow jersey as general classification leader after this stageAST 200913h 51' 14"2Michael Rogers AUSTHR 2009a + 24"3David Zabriskie USAGRM 2009 + 28"4Lance Armstrong USAAST 2009 + 30"5Chris Horner USAAST 2009 + 34"6Janez Brajkovič SLOAST 2009 + 38"7Thomas Lövkvist SWETHR 2009a + 38"8José Luis Rubiera ESPAST 2009 + 38"9Vincenzo Nibali ITALIQ 2009 + 38"10Robert Gesink NED20px|Gesink was awarded the white jersey as youth classification leader after this stageRAB 2009 + 39" Stage 4 Wednesday, February 18 Merced to Clovis Start Time: 11:00 AM Miles: 115.4 KM: 185.7 End ETA: 3:19–4:29 PMhttp://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/Archives/2009-archive/stages/stage4.html Stage 4 Amgen Tour of California 2011-09-10 https://web.archive.org/web/20120323111320/http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/Archives/2009-archive/stages/stage4.html 2012-03-23 dead Several unsuccessful breakaway attempts occurred in the first hour of racing. The breakaway that got away involved Francisco Mancebo, Jason McCartney, Serge Pauwels, and Tyler Hamilton. Mancebo took maximum points in the climbs and intermediate sprints available to him. After topping the fourth climb of the day, Mancebo dropped and rejoined the peloton. The breakaway's biggest advantage was close to six minutes before the peloton, paced chiefly by Team Columbia-High Road, began to chase in earnest, on the descent from the fifth and last climb. The catch occurred with about two miles left to race. A Rabobank rider attacked with the last half mile but was caught by Mark Cavendish, who launched his sprint early but held on in a photo finish for the stage win. Stage 4 Result CyclistTeamTime1Mark Cavendish GBRTHR 2009a4h 42' 38"2Tom Boonen BELQST 2009s.t.3Juan José Haedo ARGSAX 2009s.t.4Thor Hushovd NORCTT 2009s.t.5Tyler Farrar USAGRM 2009s.t.6Markus Zberg SUIBMC 2009s.t.7Fred Rodriguez USARRC 2009s.t.8Sebastian Haedo ARGJSH 2009s.t.9Bernard Sulzberger AUSFly V Australias.t.10Martin Elmiger SUIALM 2009s.t.General Classification after Stage 4 CyclistTeamTime1Levi Leipheimer USA20px|Leipheimer was awarded the yellow jersey as general classification leader after this stageAST 200918h 33' 52"2Michael Rogers AUSTHR 2009a + 24"3David Zabriskie USAGRM 2009 + 28"4Lance Armstrong USAAST 2009 + 30"5Chris Horner USAAST 2009 + 34"6Janez Brajkovič SLOAST 2009 + 38"7Thomas Lövkvist SWETHR 2009a + 38"8José Luis Rubiera ESPAST 2009 + 38"9Vincenzo Nibali ITALIQ 2009 + 38"10Robert Gesink NED20px|Gesink was awarded the white jersey as youth classification leader after this stageRAB 2009 + 39" Stage 5 thumb|Members of the Rabobank team cycling through the San Joaquin Valley southwest of Visalia Thursday, February 19 Visalia to Paso Robles Start Time: 10:00 AM Miles: 134.3 KM: 216.1 End ETA: 3:00–4:22 PMhttp://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/Archives/2009-archive/stages/stage5.html Stage 5 Amgen Tour of California 2011-09-10 https://web.archive.org/web/20120323111325/http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/Archives/2009-archive/stages/stage5.html 2012-03-23 dead This was a rather straightforward day of racing, on a course without even a single categorized climb. After five miles, a six-man breakaway formed, that was eventually whittled to four: Matthew Crane, Glen Chadwick, Pieter Weening, and Cameron Evans. Racing under clear blue skies for the first time in the Tour, the four were caught with about three miles to left to race, as the teams of the prominent sprinters ratcheted up the pace in the peloton to bring them back. The finish was contested in another mass sprint, won for the second day in a row by Mark Cavendish. Stage 5 Result CyclistTeamTime1Mark Cavendish GBRTHR 2009a5h 07' 28"2Tom Boonen BELQST 2009s.t.3Pedro Horrillo ESPRAB 2009s.t.4Francesco Chicchi ITALIQ 2009s.t.5Thor Hushovd NORCTT 2009s.t.6Sebastian Haedo ARGJSH 2009s.t.7Fred Rodriguez USARRC 2009s.t.8Martin Elmiger SUIALM 2009s.t.9Bernard Sulzberger AUSFly V Australias.t.10Karl Menzies AUSUHC 2009s.t.General Classification after Stage 5 CyclistTeamTime1Levi Leipheimer USA20px|Leipheimer was awarded the yellow jersey as general classification leader after this stageAST 200923h 41' 20"2Michael Rogers AUSTHR 2009a+ 24"3David Zabriskie USAGRM 2009+ 28"4Lance Armstrong USAAST 2009+ 30"5Chris Horner USAAST 2009+ 34"6Janez Brajkovič SLOAST 2009+ 38"7Thomas Lövkvist SWETHR 2009a+ 38"8José Luis Rubiera ESPAST 2009+ 38"9Vincenzo Nibali ITALIQ 2009+ 38"10Robert Gesink NED20px|Gesink was awarded the white jersey as youth classification leader after this stageRAB 2009+ 39" Stage 6 Friday, February 20 Solvang - Time Trial Start Time: 12:00 noon Miles: 15 KM: 24 End ETA: 2:50 PMhttp://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/Archives/2009-archive/stages/stage6.html Stage 6 Amgen Tour of California 2011-09-10 https://web.archive.org/web/20091101034033/http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/Archives/2009-archive/stages/stage6.html 2009-11-01 dead Early times to beat were set by Saxo Bank riders Jens Voigt and Gustav Larsson, with Larsson 13 seconds better of the two (though Voigt's ride was enough to propel him into fourth place in the General Classification). They stood for almost the whole stage, with noted time trial specialists such as George Hincapie and Stef Clement failing to top them. Even former world time trial champion Michael Rogers could not beat Larsson's time. The reigning American national champion David Zabriskie was the first to beat Larsson, by nine seconds. Yellow jersey wearer and two-time defending Tour of California and Solvang time trial champion Levi Leipheimer was the last man to take the course. He was two seconds better than Zabriskie at the intermediate time check and had eight seconds on him at the line, winning the stage. Stage 6 Result CyclistTeamTime1Levi Leipheimer USA20px|Leipheimer wore the yellow jersey as general classification leader during this stageAST 200930' 41"2David Zabriskie USAGRM 2009+ 8"3Gustav Larsson SWESAX 2009+ 17"4Michael Rogers AUSTHR 2009a+ 22"5Jens Voigt GERSAX 2009+ 30"6George Hincapie USATHR 2009a+ 36"7Tom Zirbel USABPC 2009+ 39"8Jason McCartney USASAX 2009+ 41"9Stef Clement NEDRAB 2009+ 43"10Thomas Lövkvist SWETHR 2009a+ 51"General Classification after Stage 6 CyclistTeamTime1Levi Leipheimer USA20px|Leipheimer was awarded the yellow jersey as general classification leader after this stageAST 200924h 12' 00"2David Zabriskie USAGRM 2009+ 36"3Michael Rogers AUSTHR 2009a+ 46"4Jens Voigt GERSAX 2009+ 1' 10"5Thomas Lövkvist SWETHR 2009a+ 1' 29"6Lance Armstrong USAAST 2009+ 1' 46"7Robert Gesink NED20px|Gesink was awarded the white jersey as youth classification leader after this stageRAB 2009+ 1' 54"8Janez Brajkovič SLOAST 2009+ 1' 59"9Chris Horner USAAST 2009+ 2' 13"10Francisco Mancebo ESP20px|Mancebo was awarded the red jersey as mountains classification leader after this stageRRC 2009+ 2' 15" Stage 7 Saturday, February 21 Santa Clarita to Pasadena Start Time: 12:00 noon Miles: 88.9 KM: 143 End ETA: 3:17–3:50 PMhttp://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/Archives/2009-archive/stages/stage7.html Stage 7 | Amgen Tour of California 2011-09-10 https://archive.today/20120721223733/http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/Archives/2009-archive/stages/stage7.html 2012-07-21 dead A very aggressive first hour of racing saw many attempted attacks reeled in by the race leader's Astana team. It wasn't until nearly the half the stage, about 40 miles, had been covered that a successful breakaway group of ten formed. They attained a maximum advantage of four minutes, but for the better part of the stage the time gap held steady between two and three minutes, as Astana was content to let them get that lead. On the descent of the one climb of the day, King of the Mountains leader Francisco Mancebo clipped a small rock and tumbled off his bike, suffering a concussion and elbow and hand fractures, which forced him to abandon the race and surrender the KOM lead to Jason McCartney. The riders took five laps on a finishing circuit in the city of Pasadena. On the second lap, an even split in the breakaway formed, with five riders coming 20 seconds clear of the others, but by the end of the third, the group was one again. On the fourth lap, Fränk Schleck attacked from the back of the group and got clear for several minutes, but was eventually caught. The last split saw Rinaldo Nocentini, Hayden Roulston, and Pieter Weening come free on the sprint toward the finish, with Nocentini winning the stage. The other members of the breakaway finished 7 seconds back, and the peloton was 2' 19" behind the stage winner. Stage 7 Result CyclistTeamTime1Rinaldo Nocentini ITAALM 2009 3h 24' 44"2Hayden Roulston NZLCTT 2009 s.t.3Pieter Weening NEDRAB 2009 s.t.4Markus Zberg SUIBMC 2009 + 7"5Martin Elmiger SUIALM 2009 + 7"6Chris Baldwin USARRC 2009 + 7"7George Hincapie USA20px|Hincapie wore the blue jersey as the previous stage's most courageous rider during this stageTHR 2009a + 7"8Fränk Schleck LUXSAX 2009 + 7"9Christian Vande Velde USAGRM 2009 + 7"10Addy Engels NEDQST 2009 + 7"General Classification after Stage 7 CyclistTeamTime1Levi Leipheimer USA20px|Leipheimer was awarded the yellow jersey as general classification leader after this stageAST 2009 27h 39' 02"2David Zabriskie USAGRM 2009+ 36"3Michael Rogers AUSTHR 2009a+ 45"4Jens Voigt GERSAX 2009+ 1' 10"5Thomas Lövkvist SWETHR 2009a+ 1' 29"6Lance Armstrong USAAST 2009+ 1' 46"7Robert Gesink NED20px|Gesink was awarded the white jersey as youth classification leader after this stageRAB 2009+ 1' 54"8Janez Brajkovič SLOAST 2009+ 1' 59"9Chris Horner USAAST 2009+ 2' 13"10Vincenzo Nibali ITALIQ 2009+ 2' 24" Stage 8 Sunday, February 22 Rancho Bernardo to Escondido Start Time: 12:00 noon Miles: 96.8 KM: 155.8 End ETA: 3:34–4:43 PMhttp://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/Archives/2009-archive/stages/stage8.html Stage 8 Amgen Tour of California 2011-09-10 https://web.archive.org/web/20091101034044/http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/Archives/2009-archive/stages/stage8.html 2009-11-01 dead What was called the Tour of California's queen stage again saw very early attacking. Jason McCartney joined a three-man break that came free of the peloton almost immediately and topped the first two of four categorized climbs on the course in first position, assuring his victory in the King of the Mountains classification. Numerous splits occurred going up the mammoth Mount Palomar climb, with race leader Levi Leipheimer isolated from his teammates at one point, for the first and only time in the Tour, as he had to answer attacks from David Zabriskie and Michael Rogers. A group of GC leaders, along with most of team Astana, consolidated on the descent. Four riders came clear and were in the lead approaching the last climb of the day - Vincenzo Nibali, Fränk Schleck, Bauke Mollema, and Glen Chadwick. Nibali, 2' 21" behind Leipheimer, was a small threat to the race lead, but the Astana-paced leading group kept the time gap at around one minute. After numerous attacks, only Nibali and Schleck remained out front. The chase from the Astana-led group proved too slow to catch Nibali and Schleck, and they were able to survive to finish and contest the stage win between themselves. Schleck opened up a small gap on the Italian in the final straightaway and won the stage. Stage 8 Result CyclistTeamTime1Fränk Schleck LUXSAX 20093h 48' 40"2Vincenzo Nibali ITALIQ 2009+ 0"3George Hincapie USATHR 2009a+ 39"4Rory Sutherland AUSUHC 2009+ 39"5Grischa Niermann GERRAB 2009+ 39"6José Luis Rubiera ESPAST 2009+ 39"7Yaroslav Popovych UKRAST 2009+ 39"8Jens Voigt GERSAX 2009+ 39"9Levi Leipheimer USA20px|Leipheimer wore the yellow jersey as general classification leader during this stageAST 2009+ 39"10Hubert Dupont FRAALM 2009+ 39"Final General Classification CyclistTeamTime1Levi Leipheimer USA20px|Leipheimer was awarded the final yellow jersey as general classification winnerAST 200931h 28' 21"2David Zabriskie USAGRM 2009+ 36"3Michael Rogers AUSTHR 2009a+ 45"4Jens Voigt GERSAX 2009+ 1' 10"5Thomas Lövkvist SWETHR 2009a+ 1' 29"6Vincenzo Nibali ITALIQ 2009+ 1' 35"7Lance Armstrong USAAST 2009+ 1' 46"8Robert Gesink NED20px|Gesink was awarded the final white jersey as youth classification winnerRAB 2009+ 1' 54"9Tom Danielson USAGRM 2009+ 2' 24"10José Luis Rubiera ESPAST 2009+ 2' 48" Classification leadership In the 2009 Tour of California, five different jerseys were awarded. For the general classification, calculated by adding the finishing times of the stages per cyclist, the leader received a yellow jersey. This classification is considered the most important of the Tour of California, and the winner of the general classification is considered the winner of the Tour of California. Additionally, there was also a sprints classification, akin to what is called the points classification in other races, which awarded a green jersey. In the sprints classification, cyclists received points for finishing in the top 10 in a stage. The winner got 15 points, second place 12, third 10, fourth 7, and one point less per place down the line, to a single point for tenth. In addition, some points could be won in intermediate sprints. There was also a mountains classification, which awarded a red jersey. In the mountains classifications, points were won by reaching the top of a mountain before other cyclists. Each climb was categorized, either first, second, third, or fourth category, with more points available for the harder climbs. There was also a youth classification. This classification is calculated the same way as the general classification, but only young cyclists (under 23) are in. The leader of the young rider classification received a white jersey. The fifth jersey was not awarded on the basis of a time or points-based classification. It was for each stage's "Most Courageous" rider, akin to the combativity award in the Tour de France. The rider who received this award wore a blue jersey in the next stage. Unlike the Tour de France's combativity award, there was no overall award given. There was also a classification for teams. In this classification, the times of the best three cyclists per stage were added, and the team with the lowest time was leader. Stage Winner General Classification Youth Classification Mountains Classification Sprint Classification Team Classification Most Courageous P Fabian Cancellara Fabian Cancellara Mark Cavendish none Levi Leipheimer THR 2009a Lance Armstrong 1 Francisco Mancebo Francisco Mancebo Robert Gesink Francisco Mancebo Francisco Mancebo AST 2009 Ivan Basso 2 Tom Peterson Levi Leipheimer Ben Jacques-Maynes3 Thor Hushovd Bradley White4 Mark Cavendish Tyler Hamilton5 Mark Cavendish Mark Cavendish Matthew Crane6 Levi Leipheimer George Hincapie7 Rinaldo Nocentini Jason McCartney Christian Vande Velde8 Fränk Schleck Fränk Schleck FinalLevi LeipheimerRobert GesinkJason McCartneyMark CavendishAST 2009n/a Jersey wearers when one rider is leading two or more competitions If a cyclist leads two or more competitions at the end of a stage, he receives all those jerseys. The next stage, he can only wear one jersey, and he wears the jersey representing leadership in the most important competition (yellow first, then green, then red, then white). The other jerseys that the cyclists holds are worn in the next stage by the second-placed rider (or, if needed, third- or fourth-placed rider) of that classification. After stage 1, Francisco Mancebo received the yellow jersey, the green jersey, and the red jersey, because he was leading the general, sprints, and mountains classifications. In stage 2, he wore the yellow jersey, Tim Johnson wore the green jersey, and David Kemp wore the red jersey. In stages 3 and 5, Jason McCartney wore the red jersey. In stage 4, Bauke Mollema wore the red jersey. Final standings General Classification #RiderTeamTime1Levi Leipheimer USA 20px|Leipheimer was awarded the final yellow jersey as general classification winnerAST 2009 31h 28' 21"2David Zabriskie USAGRM 2009+ 36"3Michael Rogers AUSTHR 2009a+ 45"4Jens Voigt GERSAX 2009+ 1' 10"5Thomas Lövkvist SWETHR 2009a+ 1' 29"6Vincenzo Nibali ITALIQ 2009+ 1' 37"7Lance Armstrong USAAST 2009+ 1' 46"8Robert Gesink NED20px|Gesink was awarded the final white jersey as youth classification winnerRAB 2009+ 1' 54"9Tom Danielson USAGRM 2009+ 2' 24"10José Luis Rubiera ESPAST 2009+ 2' 48" Teams Classification #TeamTime1AST 200994h 28' 50"2 SAX 2009 + 1' 40"3 GRM 2009 + 1' 49"4 THR 2009a + 2' 46"5 RAB 2009 + 4' 45"6 QST 2009 + 7' 18"7 RRC 2009 + 7' 54"8 CTT 2009 + 34' 55"9 ALM 2009 + 36' 22"10 UHC 2009 + 39' 50" King of the Mountains Classification #RiderTeamPoints1Jason McCartney USA 20px|McCartney was awarded the final red jersey as mountains classification winnerSAX 2009392 Tyler Hamilton USA RRC 2009 223 Serge Pauwels BEL CTT 2009 214 Levi Leipheimer USA20px|Leipheimer was awarded the final yellow jersey as general classification winner AST 2009 205 Bauke Mollema NED RAB 2009 156 Jens Voigt GER SAX 2009 127 Tim Johnson USA UHC 2009 108 Fränk Schleck LUX SAX 2009 99 Steven Cozza USA GRM 2009 910 Robert Gesink NED20px|Gesink was awarded the final white jersey as youth classification winner RAB 2009 8 Young Rider Classification #RiderTeamTime1Robert Gesink NED20px|Gesink was awarded the final white jersey as youth classification winnerRAB 2009 31h 30' 15"2Kevin Seeldraeyers BELQST 2009 + 1' 03"3Bauke Mollema NEDRAB 2009 + 3' 50"4Andy Schleck LUXSAX 2009 + 17' 18"5Tom Peterson USAGRM 2009 + 21' 29"6Steven Cozza USAGRM 2009 + 25' 41"7Mathias Frank SUIBMC 2009 + 26' 59"8Mark Cavendish GBR20px|Cavendish was awarded the final green jersey as sprints classification winnerTHR 2009a + 44' 35"9Matthew Crane USAJelly Belly Cycling Team + 47' 16"10Kiel Reijnen USAJelly Belly Cycling Team + 47' 38" Sprint Classification #RiderTeamPoints1Mark Cavendish GBR20px|Cavendish was awarded the final green jersey as sprints classification winnerTHR 2009a 362Vincenzo Nibali ITALIQ 2009 223Fränk Schleck LUXSAX 2009 194Pieter Weening NEDRAB 2009 185Tyler Farrar USAGRM 2009 166Rinaldo Nocentini ITAALM 2009 157Tom Peterson USAGRM 2009 158Markus Zberg SUIBMC 2009 159Martin Elmiger SUIALM 2009 1510Levi Leipheimer USA20px|Leipheimer was awarded the final yellow jersey as general classification winnerAST 2009 14 References 2 External links http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com 2009 Tour of California 2009 Tour of California 2009 Tour of California