5/18/2010

ATOC 3 - Zabriskie holds off Rogers to win in Santa Cruz

Garmin rider moves into race lead

The battle for the general classification hit a fevered pitch on the road to Santa Cruz for the third stage of the Amgen Tour of California. David Zabriskie (Garmin-Transitions) pulled out a powerful stage win from a three-man general classification battle over Michael Rogers (HTC-Columbia) and defending champion Levi Leipheimer (Radioshack).

The climb up Bonny Doon Road was once again the launching pad for Leipheimer but this time Zabriskie and Rogers, who last year finished second and third behind Leipheimer in the overall, were ready and able to match his attack.

With 25km remaining over the top, it was up to Rogers and Zabriskie to tow a reluctant Leipheimer to the line if they wanted to keep a gap over the rest of the field. The two did the lion's share of the work, with Zabriskie pushing the pace in the final kilometre and then narrowly taking the sprint over Rogers from the front out of the last turn.

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Credit: CyclingNews.com