- News
- Reviews
- Bikes
- Components
- Bar tape & grips
- Bottom brackets
- Brake & gear cables
- Brake & STI levers
- Brake pads & spares
- Brakes
- Cassettes & freewheels
- Chains
- Chainsets & chainrings
- Derailleurs - front
- Derailleurs - rear
- Forks
- Gear levers & shifters
- Groupsets
- Handlebars & extensions
- Headsets
- Hubs
- Inner tubes
- Pedals
- Quick releases & skewers
- Saddles
- Seatposts
- Stems
- Wheels
- Tyres
- Tubeless valves
- Accessories
- Accessories - misc
- Computer mounts
- Bags
- Bar ends
- Bike bags & cases
- Bottle cages
- Bottles
- Cameras
- Car racks
- Child seats
- Computers
- Glasses
- GPS units
- Helmets
- Lights - front
- Lights - rear
- Lights - sets
- Locks
- Mirrors
- Mudguards
- Racks
- Pumps & CO2 inflators
- Puncture kits
- Reflectives
- Smart watches
- Stands and racks
- Trailers
- Clothing
- Health, fitness and nutrition
- Tools and workshop
- Miscellaneous
- Buyers Guides
- Features
- Forum
- Recommends
- Podcast
news
ToC 4: Cavendish crosses the line ahed of Boonen (pic Courtesy Photosport International)ToC Stage 4: Cavendish beats Boonen at the death
Mark Cavendish grabbed his first stage win at this year's Tour of California when he took stage 4 by a couple of inches from Tom Boonen.
Yesterday's winner Thor Hushovd looked to have everything lined up for the win as the race entered the final kilometre, but Rabobank's Pieter Weening jumped off the front of the field well inside the final kilometre and everything was suddenly back in the mix.
In the final metres it all came together for Cavendish as the Columbia High Road train hit the front and he took the win from arch-rival, Boonen in what race fans will no doubt hope is one of many head to heads between these two in the coming season.
The lead up to the final sprint seemed to be following a similar pattern to the previous day's stages with an early break swept up in the final kilometres. This time though in a departure from this year's script the sun came out. Jason McCartney (Saxo Bank), Serge Pauwels (Cervelo test Team) and Tyler Hamilton (Rock Racing) were the riders in today's break; at one point they had over 6 minutes on the chasing Peloton, but as yesterday there was to be no denying the sprinter's and the Columbia High Road and Quick Step teams were doing much of the work at the front and were rewarded by getting their star men – Cavendish and Boonen respectively – into the final shakedown.
Race leader Levi Leipheimer finished safely in the pack to retain his lead in the overall classification. Leipheimer got through today's stage without falling off his bike, but others weren't so lucky and the day was marred by a number of crashes, Oscar Freire of Rababobank and Kim Kirchen of Columbia both ended up in hospital after one particularly nasty incident which also saw Floyd Landis (Team Ouch!) and Aaron Olson (Colavita/Sutter homes) involved as was Christian Vande Velde (Garmin Slipstream) was also hurt. In a later incident Scott Nydam of Team BMC also finished up in hospital after crashing on a descent as the field raced for the finish.
Top 10 ToC Stage 4
1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team Columbia - Highroad 4.42.38 (39.289 km/h)
2 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step
3 Juan José Haedo (Arg) Team Saxo Bank
4 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervélo TestTeam
5 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Slipstream
6 Markus Zberg (Swi) BMC Racing Team
7 Freddy Rodriguez (USA) Rock Racing
8 Lucas Sebastian Haedo (Arg) Colavita / Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light
9 Bernard Sulzberger (Aus) Fly V Australia
10 Martin Elmiger (Swi) AG2R La Mondiale
Top 10 Toc General Classification after stage 4
1 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana 18.33.52
2 Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Columbia - Highroad 0.24
3 David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin - Slipstream 0.28
4 Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana 0.30
5 Christopher Horner (USA) Astana 0.34
6 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana 0.38
7 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Team Columbia - Highroad
8 José Luis Rubiera (Spa) Astana
9 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas
10 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 0.39
road.cc'snder and first editor, nowadays to be found riding a spreadsheet. Tony's journey in cycling media started in 1997 as production editor and then deputy editor of Total Bike, acting editor of Total Mountain Bike and then seven years as editor of Cycling Plus. He launched his first cycling website - the Cycling Plus Forum at the turn of the century. In 2006 he left C+ to head up the launch team for Bike Radar which he edited until 2008, when he co-launched the multi-award winning road.cc - finally handing on the reins in 2021 to Jack Sexty. His favourite ride is his ‘commute’ - which he does most days inc weekends and he’s been cycle-commuting since 1994. His favourite bikes are titanium and have disc brakes, though he'd like to own a carbon bike one day.
Um...no. Spitting is grim and there is never any excuse.
Q36.5 Gregarius Essential Bib Knickers fit the bill: 3/4 length bib tights for warm weather.
Jolly good. Only it hasn't been and it is still a public bridleway. Feel free to look it up.
"...it feels more like a £100+ jersey". It's almost as if cycling apparel is over priced.
I've had a few Lezyne bits and bobs over the years and while it's true I've never bothered to return anything under warranty, I've had a couple of...
There's a transition period. For the benefit in kind (BIK) tax to the employee, it will be treated as a goods vehicle as it is now (rather than a...
Parents say East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood makes roads '100 times safer' for children:...
Isn't basically all carbon recycled? From stars?
As witnessed at so many infrastructure improvement projects similar to this one, all those who object should ignore the consultation and pray at...
It's a DLO to those in the trade.