Parisien finished 6th with GC favorites, Randell in the break of the day
Santa Rosa, CA: A rare cold rain shower in May made the roads glacial during today’s Stage 2 of the Amgen Tour of California, but the weather didn’t dampen the spirits of the frisky Canadians racing for Team SpiderTech powered by Planet Energy. After a long five-man break that included team captain Andrew Randell was caught in the closing kilometers of the 177.2-kilometer stage from Davis to Santa Rosa, Francois Parisien fought tenaciously to finish the stage in sixth place along side a select group of General Classification favorites. Brett Lancaster (Cervelo TestTeam) sprinted to the victory and also inherited the race leader’s golden fleece.
A dozen kilometers into the stage, Randell pedaled across to join the break that included Karl Menzies (UnitedHealthcare), Jay Robert Thomson (Fly V Australia), Michael Friedman (Jelly Belly) and Thomas Rabou (Team Type 1). The break worked well together as they built an advantage that peaked at over six-and-a-half minutes. Riders crashed in heaps throughout the long slog on technical descents that became even more treacherous due to the wet conditions. With the RadioShack team of three-time defending Amgen Tour of California champion Levi Leipheimer maintaining control of the field along with then race leader Mark Cavendish’s HTC-Columbia squad, an offensive was launched on the Trinity Grade climb by RadioShack and Garmin-Transitions, which decimated the field. Parisien held on and finished in an elite group that contained the overall race favorites, including Leipheimer, his teammate, seven-time Tour de France Champion Lance Armstrong, Michael Rogers (HTC-Columbia), David Zabriskie (Garmin-Transitions) and Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank).
“Today is further confirmation that we belong here (in the race). Andrew (Randell) did a great job in the break. I followed the RadioShack train and we caught Andrew’s group about five kilometers from the top of the final climb. There were only about fifteen riders left. The descent was quite dangerous. Andy Schleck missed a turn and went straight into a bush. As soon as we reached the bottom of the climb, our speed never went below fifty-five kilometers per hour. We took some risks. I analyzed who was there and prepared for the sprint. I’m happy about the result,” said the twenty-eight year-old Parisien.
Team SpiderTech director Steve Bauer was also pleased. “It was a good day for Team SpiderTech powered by Planet Energy with Francois contesting the stage victory in Santa Rosa with a select group of strongmen. Andrew rode strongly all day and I’m proud of Parisien’s sixth place amongst the elite GC contenders. It was a difficult finale under slippery conditions.”
Starting in the shadow of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, Stage 3 (May 18) pedals 182.3 kilometers from San Francisco down Highway 1 along the picturesque coastline adjacent to the majestic Pacific Ocean before finishing at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. En route, the peloton will battle in two early sprints before conquering four King of the Mountains climbs, including the final ascent of Bonny Doon Road. The eight-day, 1280-kilometer Amgen Tour of California is regarded as one of the most important races on the international calendar comprised of sixteen professional teams from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, and the U.S. For further information, please visit. www.amgentourofcalifornia.com.
Stage 2 results:
1. Brett Lancaster (Cervelo TestTeam)
2. Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Doimo)
3. Lars Boom (Rabobank)
6. Francois Parisien (Team SpiderTech)
