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It hasn’t been easy for Floyd Landis and his Phonak team to defend his lead in the Amgen Tour of California for the past two days, but with the week’s major climbs now completed he’s almost ready to be crowned the historic first winner of America’s richest-ever race. Like Landis, Discovery Channel’s George Hincapie has used the new event to open his season in confident form, adding the stage victory in Santa Barbara Friday three days after he scored a similar success in San José.

Belgian Tom Boonen (Quick Step) is widely considered the man to beat in Saturday’s 61st running of Het Volk. The world champion, who says he is not yet at 100 percent, picks compatriot Peter van Petegem (Davitamon-Lotto) as his main rival for the 201km Belgian season-opener. Should the race come down to a sprint, Boonen will have to be wary of Van Petegem’s Aussie teammate, speedster Robbie McEwen. And Boonen’s teammate Nick Nuyen, who won Het Volk last year, could benefit from all the attention certain to be paid to his team leader. This year's race will feature 14 ProTour teams and

Stage 5 of the Amgen Tour of California was a busy one. Gerolsteiner's Levi Leipheimer and Discovery's George Hincapie both took their best shots at Floyd Landis, but the race leader and his Phonak team just rolled with the punches. And while their efforts paid off in lesser coin, with Leipheimer wearing the climber's jersey and Hincapie winning his second stage, it was Landis who pulled on the golden leader's jersey once again at day's end. Ace shooter Casey Gibson was there to capture the action; here's what he saw.

Hincapie wins his second stage

Rolling through the California countryside

The right break?

The quartet works it

Leipheimer throws caution to the wind

Landis was well protected

Hincapie punches it

Leipheimer and Ricco

The long Lycra line

Discovery lines it out

UCI President Pat McQuaid came over for the big event...

... and chats with Health Net's Gord Fraser.

George Hincapie signs autographs

JJ Haedo and Harm Jensen check out the race photos in the morning paper.

Young fans head to the course.

A classic California shot

Mariano Friedick on the final descent.

Leipheimer charges off on the final descent

Jens Voight leads the chase after Levi on the descent.

Leipheimer keeps the climber's jersey

The world’s No. 1-ranked rider, Oenone Wood, (Team Nürnberger) has won Australia’s Geelong Tour for the third straight year finishing the four stage three day race five seconds clear of second placed Melissa Holt of New Zealand with Russian Svetlana Bubnenkova taking third. Wood went into Thursday's final stage, a 114km ride out and back from Lara, with a ten second margin over Holt and her defense of the lead was made slightly easier by the withdrawal of Austrian Christiane Soeder who had been ranked second at nine seconds but did not line up for the final stage. "I don't think it

Perfect weather, postcard scenery and a long day in the saddle marked the Amgen Tour of California’s fourth stage, from Monterey to San Luis Obispo, on Thursday. After 131 miles — 140 miles, to be exact, after a 9-mile neutralized parade section through Monterey — Toyota-United’s Argentinean sprinter Juan Jose Haedo, winner of stage 1 in Santa Rosa, proved he’s the man to beat in fast finishes at this tour, crossing the line ahead of Davitamon-Lotto’s Fred Rodriguez.

"Everywhere you look is another great scenic," says photographer Casey Gibson, who is covering the Amgen Tour of California. And today was no exception, as the peloton rolled from Monterey down the California coast and inland to San Luis Obispo. Enjoy.

Haedo outkicks Rodriguez at the end of the queen stage

Peloton meets Pacific

Landis retains the overall lead

Hasta la vista to Monterey's Cannery Row

And hello to the California coastline

Another coastal shot

The break rolls along

Some camera time for Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home

McCartney up front

Does Landis look worried?

Not with Phonak on the job

Toyota-United Pro's Haedo does it again . . .

. . . and cools off afterward

Horner wasn't exactly welcome in the break

Gusev and Chadwick

Phonak clocks in

Going up

Landis and O'Neill

Showing the flag

The world's No. 1 ranked rider, Oenone Wood, (Team Nurnberger) has taken over the lead in Australia's Geelong Tour after Wednesday's incident-packed third stage at Barwon Heads on Victoria's Surfcoast. Wood, the defending Tour champion, went into the 76km stage - five laps of a scenic coastal circuit - trailing overnight leader, Austrian Christiane Soeder (Univega) by three seconds but with sprint bonuses on offer through four intermediate sprints and for the stage finish, Wood used her speed to snatch the leader's purple jersey from her overseas rival. Wood won the

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.ESPN2 coverage is a bad betEditor:In Houston I waited until 1 a.m. last night to catch the ESPN2 highlights for day two of the Tour of California. After advertisements, I estimate about 40 minutes of actual highlights. What kind of commitment does ESPN call that? I can’t believe that

Five minutes after he crossed the line in a blur, warmed down, pulled up to his Phonak team soigneur for a jacket, and signed some autographs for a couple of fans, Floyd Landis was ready to talk. He was anxious to find out how he had done in the crucial 27km time trial stage of the Amgen Tour of California. "Did I get it?" he asked his team helper. "We’ll find out in a minute," he was told, knowing he had already beaten stage favorite Dave Zabriskie of CSC by half a minute and that Discovery Channel’s race leader George Hincapie was about to finish.

Landis stays aero, even in a tight corner

It wasn't Leipheimer's day, out there in the wind - he finished ninth at 1:16

Rogers, resplendent in the rainbow stripes, finished 26th at 2:18

Danielson, 12th at 1:43

Even when suffering, Horner smiles

Hincapie, fourth at 55 seconds, is still honing his time-trial skills

Zabriskie was second, 26 seconds slower than Landis

On Sunday, just as his Colavita-Sutter Home teammates were starting their 2006 road campaign on the streets of San Francisco in the Tour of California prologue, Jonathan Page was cleaning the last bit of Belgian dirt out of his teeth after the final UCI cyclo-cross race of the 2005-06 season in Oostemalle, Belgium. While Page (who races 'cross for Liberty Seguros-Cérvélo) finished 12th in Oostemalle, the GVA Series finale, his 7th place result from Saturday in the eighth and concluding SuperPrestige Series race in Vorselaar vaulted the former three-time U.S. Elite champion into some

Austrian Christiane Soeder (Univega) claimed opening honors in stage one of the Geelong Tour Tuesday, an 8km time trial at bayside Portarlington. Soeder, who in a former sporting career claimed the German title in 800m and 1500m running and has medaled twice at the World Duathlon Championships, posted a time of 11:07.510c to defeat Russian Svetlana Bubnenkova by five seconds with New Zealand's Melissa Holt third in 11:12.820. Soeder, a qualified doctor, has been in Australia during the summer to take advantage of the good weather and training conditions in her bid to be in top form this

George Hincapie of the Discovery Channel team lit up the Amgen Tour of California stage race on Tuesday with an electrifying sprint win in downtown San Jose. Hincapie’s win came with a 10-second time bonus, which leapfrogged him past race leader Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) and into the golden race leader’s jersey.

The overall lead changed hands at the Tour of California on Tuesday as George Hincapie and his Discovery Channel teammates took command of the95-mile stage to San Jose, at precisely the point most would have predicted. Designated as the make-or-break mark in the stage, the steep climb up Sierra Road rose 1800 feet in just 3.8 miles for an average pitch of 10 percent, with a couple of points along the way hitting 16 percent. As always, photographer Casey Gibson was there to record the action from start to finish. Yesterday's Gallery

It's been a great year for Page.

Hincapie proves fastest in the finale

The Discovery Channel captain takes the overall lead from Gerolsteiner's Levi Leipheimer

Kaggestad, Creed and Jacques-Maynes launched an early break

Creed leads

Savoldelli working on Hincapie's behalf

There are worse places to race your bicycle

Kohl, Leipheimer and Landis, going up ...

... and the same trio rolling it toward San Jose

Leipheimer gave no ground on the hills

Credit Agricole's Saul Raisin signs an autograph for a fan

Freddie Rodriguez takes a look up the climb and doesn't like what he sees.

Man of many talents: CSC director Bjarne Riis does a little bit of everything. Here he pushes Cancellara back into the race after an early crash.

Discovery's Tom Danielson leads the climbers above San Jose.

Hincapie suffering to stay with the leaders and get to the finishing sprint...

Nicely recovered, Hincapie makes his move in the final meters...

... and takes the stage and the leader's jersey.

Our latest reader-submitted Photo Gallery is now up for your viewing pleasure. Of course, a new gallery also means the naming of the winner of ourmost recent contest. Take the time to wander through that gallery and see if you agree or disagree with our choice of winner. We especially liked “Tennessee District RR,” By Bill Parsons.” Yeah sure, the guy was bound to be caught, but we appreciate and empathize with the desire to make the break. Congratulations Bill! Once you thaw out, drop us a note at Rosters@InsideInc.com to work out the details and we’ll send you a copy of Graham

Havana - Cuba's longserving president Fidel Castro won't be able to excuse himself from physical exercise after he was given a bike by Belgian cycling legend Eddy Merckx on Monday. Castro, who will be 80 in August, was given the bike by the five-time Tour de France winner for his promotion of the sport in the country. Merckx, known as the 'Cannibal' during his bicycling days and who was anointed best cyclist of the 20th century by the sport's governing body the UCI, presented the blue Merckx, adorned with two small Cuban flags, to the President of the Cuban Olympic

It didn’t take long for the upstart Toyota-United team to make an impact on the American road-racing scene. Just a couple of weeks after announcing its team name and roster, Toyota-United’s four-time Argentinean champion, Juan Jose Haedo, scored the biggest win of his career in Monday’s opening road stage at the Amgen Tour of California, an 81.5-mile jaunt north from Sausalito to Santa Rosa.

Boulder, CO, February 20, 2006 — Discovery Channel rider Michael Barry and Graham Watson, the internationally known cycling photographer, will autograph copies of their books on the last day of the Amgen Tour of California. On Sunday, February 26, both authors will meet fans and autograph their books at the VeloNews booth in the expo area, which is near the stage finish in Redondo Beach, CA. Barry wrote Inside the Postal Bus about his experience riding with Lance Armstrong and the U.S. Postal Cycling Team during the 2004 season. Barry will meet fans and autograph copies of Inside the Postal