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Road Racing

Levi: “Light it up, Popo”

Defending champion Levi Leipheimer (Astana) seized the lead of the 2009 Amgen Tour of California on Monday with a daring attack on the steeps of Bonny Doon just outside the finish in Santa Cruz. Thomas Peterson (Garmin-Slipstream) won stage 2, a 115.9-mile ride from Sausalito to Santa Cruz, with Michael Rogers (Columbia-Highroad) finishing third on the day and slotting into second overall. But the race clearly belonged to Leipheimer, who shot away from his rivals to chase down a disintegrating break and snatch the leader’s jersey from Rock Racing’s Francisco Mancebo.

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Road

Chodroff, Miller clinch Valley of the Sun; Garcia, Koch take finale

Jonathan Chodroff (OUCH-Maxxis) and Amanda Miller (Lip Smacker) wrapped up the overall titles in the 17th John Earley Memorial Valley of the Sun stage race on Sunday outside Phoenix. Jose Garcia (Rock Racing) and Shannon Koch (Metro Volkswagen) won the finale, a criterium in the West Valley town of Buckeye that saw both the men's and women's races end in two-up sprints. The 70-minute men’s race was a highly controlled affair that saw few breaks last more than a handful of laps on the 0.8-mile, L-shaped course.

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Road

Napolitano takes Ruta stage, Posthuma seizes lead

Danilo Napolitano nabbed yet another victory for the upstart Katusha team, this time in the first stage at the Vuelta a Andalucía/Ruta del Sol in Spain. Thanks to a top-notch leadout from teammates Filippo Pozzato and Gert Steegmans, the brawny Italian sprinter easily out-kicked Tom Veelers (Skil-Shimano) to win the 169.2km first stage from La Guardía de Jaén to Humilladero. Jurgen Roelandts (Silence-Lotto) came through third while overnight leader Xavier Tondo (Andalucía-CajaSur) finished out of the top-10 and forfeited the race leader’s jersey.

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Road

On Tap at AToC, Stage 2: Chasing Mancebo

It’s hard to imagine a more scenic race start than a crossing of the Golden Gate Bridge, which is exactly how stage 2 of the Amgen Tour of California kicks off. The 115.9-mile stage from Sausalito down the coast to Santa Cruz is something right out of a tourism book, visiting San Francisco streets, redwood forests and miles and miles of Pacific Ocean coastline.

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CAS upholds Ascani suspension

The International Court of Arbitration upheld a two-year doping ban against deposed Italian time-trial champion Luca Ascani in a ruling issued Monday. The court, however, moved the start date of the suspension back to August 4, 2007, instead of February 27, 2008. The Italian cyclist had appealed against a doping ban, imposed by the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) after he tested positive for blood-boosting drug EPO following the time trial at the Italian road cycling championships on June 26, 2007.

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Road

Live Report Archive: 2009 AToC Stage 1 (Davis to Santa Rosa)

  • 12:02 PM: Good day and welcome

    to VeloNews.com's Live Coverage of the first stage of the 2009 Amgen Tour of California, a rainy, rainy ride from Davis to Santa Rosa.

    It's been raining for hours here in Northern California and riders are being called to the line. The boys from Saxo Bank, however, are among many who seem content to remain hunkered down in their busses. But the formal start should be soon.

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Road Racing

Swedish champ Emilia Fahlin wins a wet Amgen women’s criterium in Santa Rosa

Twenty-year-old Swedish national champion Emilia Fahlin (Team Columbia - High Road) received the perfect lead-out from veteran teammate, Kim Anderson, as she took the sprint win from a 13-woman break in the Amgen Tour of California’s Women’s Criterium in downtown Santa Rosa on Sunday. This put her two steps higher than she was on the podium at least year’s inaugural race just ahead of second placed Lauren Tamayo (Team Tibco) and Rachel Lloyd (Proman).

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Road Racing

AToC Tech: Rock Racing has a new bike (and a new race leader)

From the beginning of this Amgen Tour of California, questions have surrounded Rock Racing. Up until a couple of weeks ago, one of the questions was simply, “What will they ride?” The answer arrived with an announcement that Kestrel would provide RT900 frames and forks, and Shimano would provide wheels and components. However, a visit to the team trailer to check out the new bikes invited only more mystery.

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Road Racing

Rock Racing’s Francisco Mancebo wins after a long soggy day

Rock Racing's Francisco Mancebo won stage 1 of the 2009 Amgen Tour of California, a 107.6-mile stage held in brutal weather that not only affected racers, but the race itself. A long, Hail Mary solo effort earned Mancebo the stage and the leader’s jersey, and put Astana and the rest of the teams on the defensive, with a shattered field coming into the drenched finishing circuits in Santa Rosa. At day’s end, the list of general classification contenders shortened drastically, to those among the 18 riders who finished 67 seconds behind Mancebo.

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