Governor, thousands of fans applaud thrilling finish
to Stage 2 of Amgen Tour of California in Sacramento

With thousands of cheering fans lining the streets of downtown Sacramento, Belgian superstar Tom Boonen raced to victory in Tuesday’s second stage of the Amgen Tour of California professional cycling event.

With a furious sprint down L Street, Boonen, riding for the Quick Step team, edged Heinrich Haussler of Gerolsteiner. Italian legend Mario Cipollini was a close third. Boonen covered the 116 miles of the Santa Rosa-to-Sacramento stage in 5 hours, 9 minutes and 35 seconds. Sixth-place finisher Tyler Farrar took the overall lead after three stages.

Amgen officials said crowds for the first three days of the Amgen Tour reached 425,000.
Across the street from his state Capitol office, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger attended the post-race ceremonies in Sacramento. This marked the second straight year in which the capital city hosted the finish of Stage 2 in the nation’s biggest professional cycling race.

Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo and County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jimmy Yee were also on hand to present awards to the top cyclists.

“The Amgen Tour of California is a wonderful experience for California and is great for our tourism,” Schwarzenegger said. “The Amgen Tour of California showcases the state, which has some of the most beautiful places in the world. Thank you to the enthusiastic crowd for being here and being such great fans.”

Having spent most of the nearly 116-mile race chasing Scott Nydam (USA) of Team BMC, the field roared into Sacramento resigned to settle the matter in a bunch sprint. As the peloton poured around the final corner, Gerald Ciolek (GER) of High Road opened a large gap on the tightly bunched group. Reigning World Champion Paolo Bettini (ITA) of QuickStep charged after Ciolek with Boonen in tow.

When Boonen finally broke loose, he focused on the revered Cipollini, who came out of a three-year retirement to race for the American Rock Racing team.

“Racing in America seems less stressful; people approach the race differently,” said Boonen. “I think we’ll be coming back to the Amgen Tour of California for the next couple of years.”

Despite Boonen’s impressive win, U.S. riders Tyler Farrar and Scott Nydam shared the spotlight. Nydam, who lives in Santa Rosa, Calif., provided a bright spot on a rainy day for the enthusiastic fans who braved the weather to come out and cheer.

Imitating the Stage 1 performance of his teammate Jackson Stewart (USA), Nydam broke away from the field and rode solo after only 10 miles, gaining a lead that grew to as much as 15 minutes. Yet, as the peloton went into the final flats of the stage, he was reeled in and finally caught 15 miles from the finish after a brave 90-mile bid for victory.

Then, the rush began as the cyclists started on the three finishing circuit laps in downtown Sacramento. The roar of spectators, which were 10 deep at points along the route, seemed to notch up the speed of the field.

With two laps to go, Team CSC, which had riders that won each of the first two days and held the overall lead, suffered a catastrophe when its sprinter J.J. Haedo (ARG), who won Stage 2 in 2007 and captured the first stage in Santa Rosa this year, punctured a tire. Unselfishly, overall race leader Fabian Cancellara (SUI) of Team CSC gave his wheel to Haedo, and remarkably Haedo caught up and surged to the front to contest the sprint, finishing in an impressive fifth place, just behind Mark Cavendish (GBR) of High Road.

Farrar, who finished third in Sunday’s Prologue, moved up the general classification rankings into the Amgen Leader Jersey, replacing Cancellara.

“This win probably tops any win I’ve ever had; it’s a pretty big deal for me,” said Farrar. “I’m ecstatic to be racing in America, and to be wearing the Amgen Leader Jersey is a big deal for me and for the team.”

Stewart held onto the “King of the Mountain” jersey for a second day.
As part of Amgen’s effort to celebrate cancer survivors and continue to raise awareness about its Breakaway from Cancer™ initiative, the Sacramento finish featured a Breakaway Mile that touched and inspired the Sacramento crowd. The one-mile honorary ride was led by local cancer survivor Stephanie Hineline. She was joined by the team of people who supported her during her battle, including her daughter, brother and former boss, retired Senator Deborah Ortiz, as well as Amgen scientist David Lacey, who plays a crucial role in developing innovative medicines.

Participants also rode in memory of Stephanie’s husband, Marty, who lost a 2½-year battle with bladder cancer last spring. Amgen’s Breakaway from Cancer initiative raises awareness of the valuable services and programs, provided free of charge, that help people living with cancer.

The Amgen Tour of California concludes Feb. 24 with the seventh stage from Santa Clarita to Pasadena.