San Francisco to Santa Cruz Ride Included Scenic Landmarks Such As The Golden Gate Bridge
The Omega Pharma-QuickStep team rolls through scenic Northern California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Peter Sagan is on a roll.
After sprinting to the finish on the first day of the 2012 Amgen Tour of California, he followed that up with a win in Stage 2. Sagan, of (SVK) of Liquigas-Cannondale, finished first in the 117-mile second stage.
“I am feeling good.” he said. “I will see tomorrow (to make it three straight wins).”
Heinrich Haussler (AUS) of Garmin-Barracuda (USA) was second and third was Leigh Howard (AUS) of Orica-GreenEDGE (AUS). Overall, Sagan leads Haussler 9h44’15″ to 9h44’23.”
After leaving San Francisco, riders headed toward the coast and the first sprint of the day in Pacifica, where Howard, Maarten Tjallingii (NED) of Rabobank Cycling Team and Bradley White (USA) of UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team were the first three to cross the line. Shortly thereafter, six racers, including White; Jeremy Vennell (NZL) of Bissell Pro Cycling; Michael Creed (USA) of Team Optum Powered by Kelly Benefit Strategies; Lloyd Mondory (FRA) of AG2R La Mondiale; Juan Pablo Suarez (COL) of Colombia-Coldeportes; and Alexandre Geniez (FRA) of Team Argos-Shimano established a breakaway. This breakaway swept the second sprint points with White, Vennell and Mondory crossing in that order.
Fifty miles into the race, the break had a comfortable lead of nine minutes and 45 seconds ahead of the peloton; however, after passing through the feed zone, the group began reeling them back in, and as the breakaway group closed in on Bonny Doon and the first King of the Mountain (KOM) climb of the day, the gap was narrowed to five minutes and 50 seconds. As the cyclists began to climb, Garmin-Barracuda worked hard at the front of the peloton for their leader Tom Danielson (USA). After a few attacks, only three riders were left in the break – White, Vennell and Geniez – with a lead of four minutes and 20 seconds. Sitting in and out of the saddle while climbing, Geniez went out in front of the break alone.
While on the climb, a crash occurred, taking down several riders, including Sagan. At the end, even with an attack by Rory Sutherland (AUS) of UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team at the finish, Sagan managed to outsprint the pack to take the win.
The next stage goes from in San Jose to Livermore and is 115.3 miles. The finish line is 55 S. L Street in Livermore, and includes a festival with food, entertainment and a beer garden. There are a total of eight stages, ending Sunday, May 20, with a ride from Beverly Hills, through Hollywood and finishing at LA Live.
LINKS:
• Amgen Tour Site
• Festivals & Beer Garden Information