Rinaldo Nocentini claimed the yellow jersey on a day race favorite Alberto Contador flexed his muscles in the Tour de France’s first mountain stage.

France’s Brice Feillu won stage seven, a 224km hike from Barcelona to Andorra, but it is what went on just behind the gutsy Agritubel rider that will grab the headlines as Contador asserted his authority as Astana team leader ahead of team-mate Lance Armstrong, the record seven-time Tour winner.

AG2R La Mondiale’s Nocentini, part of a nine-man breakaway group which included Feillu and led the field almost all stage, finished fourth and far enough clear of the big guns at the top of the general classification to take the maillot jaune.

Stage 7 Results
1 Brice Feillu (Fra) Agritubel - 6:11:31
2 Christophe Kern (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne - 0:00:05
3 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Milram - 0:00:25
4 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale - 0:00:26
5 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi - 0:00:45
6 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale - 0:01:05
7 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Quick Step - 0:02:32
8 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne - 0:03:14
9 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana - 0:03:26
10 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto - 0:03:47

Read the rest of this entry �

Stage 7 top-five finishers:
1) Rinaldo Nocentini (ITA), AG2R La Mondiale
2) Hayden Roulston (NZL), Cervelo Test Team
3) Pieter Weening (NED), Rabobank
4) Markus Zberg (SUI), BMC Racing Team
5) Martin Elmiger (SUI), AG2R La Mondiale

Post Stage 7 Quotes - I don’t think this race has been given the credit it deserves. I personally that it has been world-class from the start in 2006
inaldo Nocentini (ITA), Stage 7 Winner
AG2R-La Mondiale
On the race overall:
“I have definitely been very impressed by the Amgen Tour of California. The mountains have been hard for me. I crashed on the second day and the rain has been hard, but I made good preparations, and for me, this victory was very, very important.” Read more here…

Two-Time Defending Champion Levi Leipheimer Retains Amgen Leader Jersey Heading into Final Stage of 2009 Amgen Tour of California
Fans in Pasadena came out in droves to witness the finish to Stage 7 of the 2009 Amgen Tour of California, which included five, five-mile laps on a very demanding circuit through the area surrounding the Rose Bowl. Read more here…

Post Race Press Conference Video -
Floyd Landis of Team Ouch Presented by Maxxis

Christian Vande Velde of Garmin-Slipsteam

Stage 7 Gallery -
kwc gallery - Santa Clarita to Pasadena

Keep an eye on our Tour of California Coverage for more to come from today!

World-Class, Accomplished Teams to Compete in February 14-22 Stage Race

‘Best Field Ever to Compete on U.S. Soil Anticipated For Nine Day Stage Race’

LOS ANGELES, CA – The 2009 Amgen Tour of California will once again bring together a world-class field of cycling teams from multiple nations, including eight of the sport’s top-rated ProTour teams. Race organizers confirmed today that entries for the fourth annual race will include Lance Armstrong and the Amgen Tour of California’s two-time defending champion Levi Leipheimer’s team, Astana, along with two of the top U.S.-based teams, Garmin-Slipstream (new to the ProTour circuit) and Columbia Highroad (formerly Team High Road). Also racing will be Team Saxo Bank, which finished in the top-three of the world rankings last season and Quick Step, which claimed 55 victories in the 2008 season.

The 2009 Amgen Tour of California roster includes the following eight ProTour professional cycling teams:

• Ag2r-La Mondiale (FRA)
• Astana (LUX)
• Garmin-Slipstream (USA)
• Liquigas (ITA)
• Quick Step (BEL)
• Rabobank (Netherlands)
• Columbia Highroad (USA)
• Team Saxo Bank (DEN)

The recently expanded 750-mile, nine-day stage race, considered to be the most important and popular race held on U.S. soil, will take the world’s top professional cycling teams from Sacramento to San Diego County from February 14-22, 2009.

Read the rest of this entry �