Olaf Pollack gave the T-Mobile men's team its second victory in a row in the seventh and final stage of the Tour of California, a circuit race around Redondo Beach. Pollack beat double stage winner Juan Jose Haedo (Toyota-United Pro Cycling), with Pollack's teammate André Greipel taking third in the bunch sprint.
"It was a nice feeling to win here in L.A. - so many people!" Pollack told Cyclingnews after the race. "What can I say, second one! [My team] made a big effort today. It was unbelievable."
Phonak's Floyd Landis cruised around Redondo Beach to become the first winner of the Tour of California - sitting at the front of the field with his teammates in control, as they have been for the last four days. "Our guys are pretty tired with the amount of work they have done, so we didn't have any plans for a stage win," Landis said. "We rode on the front because it is easier and safer - there was no plan for a lead-out. I had a strong team, but the field didn't make it easy on me. The days following the time trial were more difficult. I think that after a few days the peloton realized our team was stronger than they expected."
The first and only break of the day went at just three kilometres into the race when Glen Chadwick (Navigator's Insurance) attacked, and was joined by Aaron Olson (Saunier Duval-Prodir), Davide Frattini (Colavita) and Scott Zwizanski (Kodakgallery.com-Sierra Nevada). The quartet built a lead of nearly eight minutes, making Chadwick leader on the road for a lap, before Phonak, Davitamon-Lotto and T-Mobile pushed the pace and closed it down on last lap.
Also see: Stage 7 full results, report & photos, and Photos.
