Michael Rogers claims jersey at 2010 Tour of California
After a wait of eight long days full of thrill, anticipation, fun and adventure, we finally have the winner of the Amgen Tour of California. After covering a distance of more than 800 miles through the beautiful sceneries and breathtaking sights of California, Michael Rogers of the HTC-Columbia Team has been crowned this year’s champion.
The action continued for thirty-three hours, eight minutes and thirty seconds before Rogers could get hold of one of the highly desirable titles of all bicycle-racing championships. The enormous crowds cheered while cycle lovers roared in their Thousand Oaks, which is the home for the sponsor company Amgen, as Rogers finished at the first place. Previously, Roger’s best performance under the same banner came in the 2009 version when the cyclist finished at third place.
This year, cycling fans in the United States witnessed some of the best cyclists participating under one umbrella. From Tour de France winners, medallists from the Olympics to World Champions from various countries fought it out against each other. After this win, Rogers commented that this is the world’s biggest event after the Tour de France. On a personal note, he stated that after grabbing this victory, he could walk away from the Amgen Tour of California with a big smile on his face.
The other American racer David Zabriskie of Garmin-Transitions concluded for the second consecutive year at the second place. His overall time difference was nine seconds behind Rogers. Levi Leipheimer of Team RadioShack, who had been the three-time champion, finished third, twenty-five seconds behind the winner.
Leipheimer however seemed happy with the final day as he said that the Amgen Tour of California ended on a fabulous note. He added that the stage was exceptional; the cheerful crowds reminded him of the Tour de France while there was loads of excitement in the air. Leipheimer happily noted that he could not ask for more excitement and adventure in a cycling race. He also concluded that as per his opinion, the Amgen Tour of California was growing rapidly as the biggest race in the history of cycling.
The last stage of the 2010 edition of the cycling race had four circuits, each having a distance of twenty-one mile, which drifted through the communities of Thousand Oaks, the streets of the Westlake Village and finally along the winding tracks of the Agoura Hills. After crossing the scenic landscape, cyclists have to undergo the unforgettable and challenging test. The King of the Mountains climb better known as the "Rock Store Climb" by local cyclists is a make or break stage where only the fittest can survive and maintain their position in the race.
The start of the day was a neutral one but soon, it caught a break. The first few attempts were completely unsuccessfully for Hincapie, Barredo and Pujol to break the leaders pack. However, after a little stronger push, they were able to get off the front and successfully created a gap of one minute from the second pack. At that very moment, Hesjedal rushed to join Leipheimer, Rogers, Zabriskie and Horner, leaving the chase group behind. Horner and Hesjedal kept moving with the same pace whereas the remaining riders from the initial break began to fall back to the big group. Langeveld, from the Rabobank team, who was in the actual break, could not keep up and fell back to provide a little shelter to the race leader Rogers, as the attacks came and passed away.
The final stage of the race brought an end to the competition for the jersey of the Amgen Tour of California. Rogers stood tall for the Amgen Race Leader’s jersey. Peter Sagan of Liquigas-Doimo grabbed the Herbalife Sprint Jersey while the Rabobank Best Young Rider Jersey went to Thomas Rabou of Team Type 1. Robert Bradway, the President and Chief Operating Officer of the Amgen Company proudly presented the final Amgen Leader Jersey of 2010 to Rogers.
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