Hincapie takes lead with time bonus
George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) is the new leader in the Tour of California after winning the second stage between Martinez and San José. Hincapie powered across the line ahead of Davitamon-Lotto pair Chris Horner and Josep Jufre Pou, with overnight leader Levi Leipheimer coming in just behind them. Hincapie, thanks to a 10 second time bonus, took over the leader's jersey from Leipheimer with tomorrow's 27 km San José Time Trial expected to shake thins up even more.
The stage was marked by the tough climb of Sierra Road at 30 km to go. The early break with Michael Creed (TIAA-CREF), Ben Jaques-Maynes (Kodakgallery.Com-Sierra Nevada) and Mads Kaggestad (Credit Agricole) was chased down halfway up the climb, as the GC riders tried to crack each other. Leipheimer, Floyd Landis (Phonak) and Bernard Kohl (T-Mobile) opened up a small gap over the top, but were chased down by Hincapie and his Discovery Channel cohorts, and Team CSC.
At the finish, Hincapie was given a perfect lead out by Michael Barry, and was able to hold off Horner and Jufre for his first win of the season. "It was tough," Hincapie told Cyclingnews just after the race. "Those guys were going pretty good. My climbing is not as good as [Levi] right now. We stayed pretty close, and I knew it was a long way from the top of the climb and to the end. It was really steep."
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