Stage 7: Long Beach
ROUTE DETAILS
Day: Sunday, Feb 25
Start: Long Beach
Finish: Long Beach
Start Time: 1:00 PM
Miles: 77.5
KM: 124.7
Finish ETA: 3:46 PM
| February 25, 2007 |
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Discovery Channel Pro's Levi Leipheimer Rides To Victory In 2007 Amgen Tour Of California Finale As Race Tops Record For Largest Single Sporting Event In California History
Nearly 1.6 Million Fans Turned Out Across California to Take Part in Cycling History and Cheer for the Best Field Ever Assembled on U.S. SoilAfter eight days leading the peloton of 144 elite, international cyclists that included Olympic medalists and world champions, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team's Levi Leipheimer (USA) was crowned as champion of the 2007 Amgen Tour of California today with a total time of 24 hours, 57 minutes and 24 seconds. A resident of Santa Rosa, Calif., Leipheimer is the second consecutive Californian to win the title.
"It's one of my most satisfying victories because our team really had to fight hard. I don't know if any other team could have done it besides the Discovery Channel team," said Leipheimer.
The race continued to attract record crowds, besting its own record of 1.3 million fans last year, and shoring its place as the most attended cycling race in the U.S.
"In only its second year, the Amgen Tour of California continues to grow as the largest cycling event in America, and we've been proud to host the best field of cyclists ever to race on U.S. soil," said Shawn Hunter, president of AEG Sports, presenters of the race. "We love this sport, and we are committed to making it bigger and better every year to come. We want this race to be as important on U.S. soil as the Tour de France is in that country one day."
Patrick Dempsey (Grey's Anatomy) was one of the cycling fans on hand today, in support of Amgen's Breakaway from CancerTM complementary initiative.
“The 2007 Amgen Tour of California has been a thrilling race that saw the world’s best cyclists battle it out on some of the most punishing and spectacular terrain that California has to offer,” said George Morrow, Amgen executive vice president, global commercial operations.
The seventh and final stage of the Amgen Tour of California was held in Long Beach, Calif., with enthusiastic crowds lining the ten laps of a 7.75-mile (12.5 km) circuit.
Leipheimer maintained a 21-second lead over Team CSC's Jens Voigt (GER) in the general classification to put Voigt second overall, with Discovery Channel Pro's Jason McCartney (USA) placing third overall. Team CSC riders took the next three spots, securing a win for Team CSC in the team classification.
“It's been an interesting race, and first of all I want to say the courses are very good. There is great potential in this race. I think it has a big future," said Bjarne Riis, Team CSC's Directeur Sportif.
Agoura Hills, Calif.-based Ivan Dominguez (CUB) of the Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team won the stage in an electrically charged sprint to the finish. He outpaced Rabobank's Graeme Brown (AUS) and T-Mobile's Gerald Ciolek (GER), who took second and third in the stage.
The attacks in today’s stage began within the first minute of racing, and before halfway through the first lap, a breakaway group of seven riders had formed, including Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle's Danny Pate (USA), who was voted by journalists as the Adobe Most Aggressive Rider.
For the first four laps, the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team chased alone, but were eventually joined by Team BMC, then Rabobank and Team CSC. The gap slowly closed, absorbing the breakaway riders by the final lap, when sprinters were moved up to the front of the peloton by their teams for the final sprint to the line.
Team CSC's Juan Jose "J.J." Haedo (ARG) appeared to be boxed in approaching the line and finished tenth in the stage, but claimed the Herbalife Sprints classification jersey. Other jerseys awarded today included the Union Bank Best Young Rider Jersey to Rabobank's Robert Gesink (NED) and the California Travel and Tourism King of the Mountains Jersey to Credit Agricole's Christophe Laurent (FRA).
Race title sponsor Amgen created the Breakaway from CancerTM initiative in 2005 as a complementary component to its title sponsorship to the Amgen Tour of California. The initiative raises awareness and funds for vital non profit services and programs supporting people affected by cancer.
“Amgen is proud to sponsor this hugely successful race, which is helping advance the popularity of cycling in America,” Morrow added. “As a company dedicated to tapping the power of pioneering science to fight serious illness, we are equally proud of our Breakaway from Cancer™ initiative.”
At the conclusion of today’s race, in celebration of the initiative, Breakaway from Cancer™ spokesperson and "Grey’s Anatomy" television star Patrick Dempsey took the stage to recognize Amgen and the non profit organizations that are benefiting from the initiative this year: The National Coalition of Cancer Survivorship, the oldest survivor led advocacy organization in the nation, and The Wellness Community, an international organization dedicated to providing support, education and hope to people affected by cancer.
“I’m pleased and proud to be a part of the Breakaway from Cancer™ initiative as it raises awareness and funds for the extremely valuable resources and services offered by both The Wellness Community and The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship,” said Dempsey.
“Through the Breakaway from Cancer™ initiative, Amgen, The Wellness Community and The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship have reached hundreds of thousands of people with hope and information about vital services for those affected by cancer,” said Cynthia Schwalm, vice president and general manager, Amgen Oncology. “We plan to continue the Breakaway from Cancer™ initiatives throughout the year and will continue to raise awareness and support for organizations that provide support and resources for people affected by cancer.”
For the latest information on the Breakaway from Cancer initiative and ways to support those living with the illness, visit www.breakawayfromcancer.com.
RESULTS
Rider DOMINGUEZ Ivan BROWN Graeme CIOLEK Gerald PAOLINI Luca FRSTER Robert HUSHOVD Thor RODRIGUEZ Fred VOGELS Henk JONES Brice HAEDO Juan Jos ACTON Alejandro BETTINI Paolo REISTAD Nicolar CANDELARIO Alexander PELTONEN Garrett RAPINSKI Viktar GASPAROTTO Enrico KOBZARENKO Veleriy DOWNING Russell JUFRE POU Josep BARRY Michael O'GRADY Stuart TOLLESON Taylor HATTON Peter DE GROOT Bram BOOKWALTER Brent KRAUSS Sven FOFONOV Dimitri TANKINK Bram DAY Ben ARDILA CANO Mauricio Alberto VOIGT Jens WHERRY Chris O'BEE Kirk HESJEDAL Ryder SUTHERLAND Rory LEIPHEIMER Levi VAN DE WALLE Jurgen ROGERS Michael VERHEYEN Geert HORNER Christopher FAIRLY Caleb PELLIZOTTI Franco POWERS Jeremy CRUZ Antonio HAYMAN Mathew PIIL Jakob KAGGESTAD Mads WEGMANN Fabian ORDOWSKI Volker LEMOINE Cyril DANIELSON Thomas KERN Christophe MILNE Shawn EUSER Lucas MC CARTY Jonathan Patrick COLBY Anthony MCCARTNEY Jason FRATTINI Davide FACCI Mauro KOHL Bernhard DONALD Jason PATE Danny WROLICH Peter FRISCHKORN William JULICH Bobby KIRCHEN Kim VANDEVELDE Christian ZAUGG Oliver DOCKX Bart BALDWIN Christopher HINAULT Sbastien AERTS Mario GESINK Robert TOSATTO Matteo KING Edward VANDBORG Brian MENZIES Karl JACQUES-MAYNES Benjamin PETERSON Thomas WREN Tyler MANION Caleb JOHNSON Timothy NIERMANN Grischa Jan LAURENT Christophe ELTINK Theo LLOYD Matthew HANSEN Adam BASSO Ivan VITORIA David GRITTERS Kyle ENGLAND Justin HENDERSON Greg BAJADALI Andrew QUINZIATO Manuel MOOS Alexandre WEGELIUS Charly RASMUSSEN Michael LILL Darren DA DALTO Mauro CARLSTRM Kjell HANSON Ken COZZA Steven KROON Karsten VISCONTI Giovanni OLSEN Aaron ZAJICEK Philip GATES Nicolas LAGUTIN Sergey STEWART Jackson MARINO Jean Marc SULLIVAN Sean CANCELLARA Fabian