Serguei Ivanov of Team Katusha broke away from a 13 man group of breakaway riders to solo to his second ever tour stage win. American George Hincapie looked as though he all but had the yellow jersey, but missed out on the jersey by only 5 seconds when the peloton ramped up the pace near end of the stage.

Stage 14 Results
1 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) Team Katusha - 4:37:46
2 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale - 0:00:16
3 Hayden Roulston (NZl) Cervelo TestTeam
4 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Garmin - Slipstream
5 Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
6 Daniele Righi (Ita) Lampre - NGC
7 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Française des Jeux
8 George Hincapie (USA) Team Columbia - HTC
9 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas
10 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Milram - 0:00:22

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Mark Cavendish strengthened his grip on the Tour de France sprints when he won the 11th stage on Wednesday to equal Barry Hoban’s British record of eight victories in the world’s greatest race.

The Isle of Man rider outsprinted American Tyler Farrar and Yauheni Hutarovich of Belarus to win his fourth stage at this years tour.

Rinaldo Nocentini remains in yellow, 6 seconds ahead of Alberto Contador and 8 seconds ahead of Lance Armstrong.

Stage 11 Results
1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team Columbia - HTC - 4:17:55
2 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Slipstream
3 Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) Française des Jeux
4 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank
5 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team
6 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
7 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Milram
8 Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
9 William Bonnet (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom
10 Nikolai Troussov (Rus) Team Katusha

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Team Columbia-HTC’s Mark Cavendish sprinted to his third stage win at this years Tour de France at the end of a technology free stage 10. Lead out by Mark Renshaw, Cavendish admitted even he thought he may have started the sprint too soon, but it didn’t matter, because green jersey holder Thor Hushovd could only follow Cavendish to the line.

Rinaldo Nocentini remains in the Maillot Jaune.

Stage 10 Results
1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team Columbia - HTC - 4:46:43
2 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team
3 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Slipstream
4 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
5 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne
6 Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
7 Kenny Robert van Hummel (Ned) Skil-Shimano
8 William Bonnet (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom
9 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas
10 Saïd Haddou (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom

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Former French champion Pierrick Fedrigo won the 160.5-km ninth stage of the Tour de France, from St Gaudens to Tarbes on Sunday.

His breakaway companion Franco Pellizotti of Italy was second while Spaniard Oscar Freire outsprinted the main bunch to snatch third place.

Stage 9 Results
1 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom - 4:05:31
2 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas
3 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank - 0:00:34
4 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) Team Katusha
5 Peter Velits (Svk) Team Milram
6 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne
7 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Silence - Lotto
8 Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Agritubel
9 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre - NGC
10 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale

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Caisse d’Epargne’s Luis Leon Sanchez outsprinted his breakaway companions to win Stage 8 of this year’s Tour de France, a 176.5-km stage from Andorra to St Girons, the tour’s second day in the Alps.

Sanchez’s team-mate Oscar Pereiro, the 2006 Tour winner, abandoned today as well. Rinaldo Nocentini remains in the Maillot Jaune.

Stage 8 Results
1 Luis León Sánchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne - 4:31:50
2 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux
3 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
4 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale - 0:00:03
5 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne - 0:01:54
6 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
7 Peter Velits (Svk) Team Milram
8 Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
9 Jérémy Roy (Fra) Française des Jeux
10 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom

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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

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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!