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Stage 3 Tour of California

Leipheimer drafting Armstrong

When the Tour of California bike racers zipped through Livermore yesterday, the rain had stopped for a bit. With brighter skies, photography was a bit easier, although I didn’t get the best location. A breakaway group of four riders came through four minutes ahead of the peloton which was led by Team Astana (with Leipheimer in the yellow jersey and Armstrong and Horner in contention should Levi falter).

The photo shows Leipheimer tucked right behind Armstrong. Earlier in the day, Levi touched wheels with Lance and went down in a heap. Team Astana is certainly a strong team. Tactics seem to dictate that riders who are in contention in the general classification don’t take pulls at the front of the peloton, and for Astana (with 3 riders in the top 10) that means fewer riders to do the work. In the latter part of this stage, other teams (that wanted to put one of their sprinters in contention for a stage win) took over the work of leading the peloton.

Armstrong’s opinion of the stage (from Twitter): “Another wet/nasty one. Made it home (to the finish) in one piece after some sketchy circuits. Btw, sierra road is steep!” I concur about Sierra Road. I’ve only ridden it once, and that was enough.

More photos are in the gallery below.

Posted in Outdoors.

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By Phil – February 18, 2009

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