Photo by Ken Conley

V Australia p/b Successful Living claim 9th place in Stage 4 of 2009 Tour of California

Clovis, California — Fly V Australia p/b Successful Living’s Bernie Sulzberger claimed ninth place in today’s 185 kilometre fourth stage of the 2009 Amgen Tour of California. On a day when the sun finally showed itself, Australian Criterium Champion Sulzberger fought hard to take his place among the world’s top sprinters with a tight top 10 finish in the field sprint in the stage from Merced to Clovis.

The stage was won by Mark Cavendish (Columbia Highroad), winner of four stages in the 2008 Tour de France, from Tom Boonen (Quick Step) and Juan José Haedo (Saxo Bank). Showing his renowned sprint craft honed while competing in his native Tasmania’s world famous Christmas track racing carnivals, Sulzberger came from an impossible position in a knock ‘em down, no-holes-barred sprint contest to get to the line ahead of a number of ”big reputation” sprinters.

The mountainous stage featured five KOM and two sprint bonuses as it criss-crossed the Sierra Nevadas, and was animated from the get-go as riders took full advantage of the dry conditions and attacked from the gun. Eventually a break containing Serge Pauwels (Cervélo), Jason McCartney (Saxo Bank), and US Champion Tyler Hamilton (Rock Racing) powered clear and set the tone for the day’s racing.

However with the warmer weather and a stage profile ideally suited to a sprint finish, the all-star teams of the fancied sprinters set to work and reeled in the break three kilometres from the finish. Sulzberger, with support from Ben Day, fought hard to make position in the finale as the bunch thundered to the line at over 70 kilometres per hour. Speaking about his ride soon after the finish, Sulzberger said, “Man, that was chaotic and fast! The big teams were absolutely driving it, all Ben Day and I could do was hang on for the ride. It was almost impossible to move up. At about 800 metres from the line, a gap opened. To finish up ninth coming from 30th wheel inside the last kilometre in this quality field … I guess I’ve got to be happy with that.”

Sulzberger went on to add, “Hopefully I’ll have another chance to show what I can do in a sprint finish. This experience has whetted my appetite and I’m having fun.” With upcoming stages likely to favour the sprinters, Sulzberger is likely to get his wish.

Photo by Ken Conley

Photo by Ken Conley

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Photo by Ken Conley

Officials Estimate Total Crowds for First Five Days to be Approximately 875,000

CLOVIS, CA – Considered by many as the world’s fastest cyclist, Mark Cavendish (GBR) of Team Columbia-Highroad sprinted to an impressive win in Stage 4 of the 2009 Amgen Tour of California. Two-time defending champion Levi Leipheimer (USA) of Astana was able to retain the overall lead and will wear the Amgen Leader Jersey heading into Stage 5 of the race. The impressive and challenging Stage 4 course, which took the riders from Merced to Clovis, included five King of the Mountain (KOM) and two sprint competitions.

After a fast and furious start to the race, which began with immediate attacks, Cavendish celebrated a narrow victory over Tom Boonen (BEL) of Quick Step.

“This win was massive for me and for the team,” said Cavendish. “I was really driven and I wanted this win bad. The team stayed so well together on every climb and it played into our ends today.”

Though the 115.8-mile stage saw no major changes in the overall general classification, the field faced multiple challenging aspects, including the five categorized climbs between the morning start in Merced and the final flat run-in to the finish line in Clovis.

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Mark Cavendish (GBR), First Place, Stage 4
Team Columbia-Highroad
On today’s win:
“This win was massive for me and for the team. I was really driven and I wanted this win bad. The team stayed so well together on every climb and it played into our ends today. I was looked after so well after the climbs; my team really put me in a perfect position. Mark Renshaw helped me; it was the first time we got the lead-out right. We went straight past the whole Cervelo Test Team on the right, which was amazing because we knew they were so strong from yesterday.”

“To be truthful, I wasn’t planning on getting anywhere near the finish today. I like to make sure I know who is there for the final kilometer. It was hard in the beginning, but the break kind of played into my hands. My team stayed with me and gave me the encouragement to get over climbs. The team set me up perfect, and when I got to the last climb, I knew I had a chance.”

On yesterday’s bunch sprint at the finish:
“Yesterday, there were lots of factors in play, and if anyone one of those goes wrong, you’re not in contention. Bad stuff happens and you have to make amends, and that’s what happened today.”

On his strategy for the finish sprints:
“There isn’t room for a ‘plan B’ in a sprint. There are five or six factors you need for a sprint, and if one of those goes bad, you’re in a bad way. If two go wrong, you’re not going to win. A sprint is a collection of split-second decisions, and you have no time to reflect on the decision you just made a second before. If you’re concentrating too hard on your decisions, you’re not going to win. At that point, I just look at the finish line; not the other riders. You have to do your own thing and let your team get you into the best position and finish it off.”

On the race overall:
“You know, it’s just about consistently being up there. It’s been a really tough course this year. You have to come with not just one guy in contention for the general classification. The time trial is still to come, and that shouldn’t shake things up too much, but a little bit. You can see that the best riders are up there anyway (in the top general classification), so we’re lucky that we’ve been able to get the stage wins along the way. If you can finish good on the hard stages, then you’ll be up there.”

On people’s perception of him:
“Some people think I have a reputation for being cocky or arrogant, but I think I’m just a realist. I’m the first to say when I’m bad at something, but I’m also the first to say when I think I’m good at something. My goals are my goals, not dreams; they are targets and I’ll do whatever necessary to make those targets. So when somebody asks me if I’m the fastest, I think I am. But I need to be put in a position where I can finish it. I think I’m unrivaled.”

On teammate Kim Kirchen’s crash:
“I got back with Kim (Kirchen) on the crash. It was a freak accident and he ended up breaking his collarbone. It’s a shame because I thought he was going to have a good year. I send my best wishes to Kim and I’m glad we won the stage for him.”

On this win today:
“I can simply say that a win for me is a win; I’m greedy in that way. I want to be the best and I always want to cross that finish first. I want to be the first no matter who is here or what race I’m in. I want to be first and it doesn’t matter who is there.”

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Photo by Ken Conley

Clovis, CA - Having weathered another unpredictable stage at the Tour of California, BMC feels lucky that the day turned out as relatively well as possible. The crash Scott Nydam suffered with 30 kilometers to go severely tempers the satisfaction the team can feel at placing Markus Zberg well enough that he grabbed 6th place in the full-on sprint finish.

Even with the loss of Nydam and Jonathan Garcia who withdrew earlier in the day, the remaining BMC team members were able to protect their two best placed riders on the GC, Ian McKissick and Thomas Frei, while delivering Zberg to the perfect sprint position. In the end, Mark Cavendish chalked up his first ever victory at the Tour of California though Tom Boonen nearly pipped the Columbia rider at the line.

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Stage 4 top-five finishers:
1 - Mark Cavendish (GBR), Team Columbia-High Road
2 - Tom Boonen (BEL), Quick Step
3 - Juan José “J.J.” Haedo (ARG), Team Saxo Bank
4 - Thor Hushovd (NOR), Cervelo Test Team
5 - Tyler Farrar (USA), Garmin-Slipstream

General Classification top-five standings as of Stage 4:
1 - Levi Leipheimer (USA), Astana
2 - Michael Rogers (AUS), Team Comumbia-High Road
3 - David Zabriskie (USA), Garmin-Slipstream
4 - Lance Armstrong (USA), Astana
5 - Christopher Horner (USA), Astana

Stage 4 jersey winners include:
Amgen Race Leader Jersey- Levi Leipheimer (USA), Astana
Amgen’s Breakaway from Cancer Most Courageous Rider Jersey- Tyler Hamilton (USA), Rock Racing
Herbalife Sprint Jersey- Francisco Mancebo (ESP), Rock Racing
Rabobank Best Young Rider Jersey- Robert Gesink (NED), Rabobank
California Travel & Tourism Commission King of the Mountain (KOM) Jersey- Francisco Mancebo (ESP), Rock Racing

LOS ANGELES, CA – AEG announced today that for the first time the 2009 Amgen Tour of California professional cycling race will be broadcast internationally. The race will be broadcast live in more than 90 countries, which includes more than 200 million households across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Oceania and Africa. The unprecedented coverage is due to the partnership established with the Amaury Sport Organisation (owners of the Tour de France) which has assisted AEG with the international television distribution of the 2009 Amgen Tour of California, further strengthening the partnership between the two cycling tour owners, which was announced in June 2008.

Amongst the line-up of broadcasters, Eurosport, the leader in cycling broadcast coverage in Europe, will broadcast the race live in 77 countries throughout Europe and Asia-Pacific. Abu Dhabi Sports in the Middle East, HiSports in Nigeria, J-Sports in Japan, SBS in Australia and Sky TV in New Zealand are also amongst the race’s international broadcast partners. In addition to the live coverage, highlights will be made available to fans in a total of 201 countries and territories, in 22 languages by a total of 23 channels.

Additionally, the race will be broadcast to international military bases.
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