Horner takes 4th in the Stage, 4th in the GC and Leipheimer retains 3rd overall, after a superb tactical race
Stage 8 Circuit of Thousand Oaks-Westlake Village-Agoura Hills 135 kms / 85 miles
Half way through the 4 circuits the stage had a lead group of:
Yaroslav Popovych (RSH)
Sebastian Langeveld (RAB)
Carlos Barredo Llamazales (QST)
George Hincapie (BMC)
Oscar Pujol Munoz (CTT)
Jeremy Vennell (Bissell) and
Thomas Rabou (TT1)
The group had a 45s lead over the following yellow jersey group.
And then the unexpected – Cancellara abandoned the stage. Meanwhile Popovych really beat a path that added to the lead; he took it to 1m 20s.
In the peloton Leipheimer sat behind McCartney and Horner in the front 5 riders. Zabriskie (GRM) was just behind Leipheimer and Rogers (HTC) right behind him. Janez Brajkovic joined his team mates in support of Leipheimer.
The escape group had a gap of 2m with 36 miles to ride and stretched it to 2m 55s as the third circuit climb started in earnest. The crowd was deep, enthusiastic and boisterous on the hill. Martin (HTC) led the peloton once again and not for the first time in this Tour; Levi Leipheimer and the RadioShack group stayed close to the leading man and marked each pedal stroke. Horner was relaxed, turning to smile at the moto-camera. On the descent Horner and Leipheimer had a talk, perhaps discussing tactics. Leipheimer then sprints up the side of the peloton – something was a-foot.
40 kms / 25 miles to go and the leading group splinters with Hincapie, Popovych and Pujol pulling away from the others at a frightening speed. At the foot of the descent the breakaway got back together just before the bell for the 4th and final circuit. They had a 3m lead.
Stringing out, the peloton picked up pace. Eighteen miles to ride and the gap to the breakaway was down to 2m 30s. Horner sat 8th in the peloton line. Two miles further on and the gap fell to 2m 05s. Brajkovic and Horner exchanged places to keep a RadioShack presence at the front of the pack. Levi Leipheimer was riding 12th in line.
The RadioShackers sat in 7th, 11th, 12th & 13th places in the peloton with 13 miles to ride and the climb in front of them. Levi punctured with 11 miles to ride. No panic. Levi shot off to rejoin the peloton, passing Jason McCartney, before the climb made it too hard. Brajkovic and Horner helped bring Leipheimer back.
In the breakaway Vennell slipped but Popovych rode strongly. Vennell and Rabou fell away from the breakaway as the climb became steeper. Popovych also slipped a few hundred metres further on.
From the peloton Leipheimer took off. Rogers followed quickly. The two rode away. Zabriskie tried to ride back to Leipheimer but Horner shadowed him to help his team mate. Vennell is passed by the chasing 4. Hesjedal joins the four and Rabou is passed.
Leipheimer helped cut the gap to 55s from the breakaway. Popovych hung back and led Levi and added a third RadioShack man to the chasing pack. Rogers was alone, Zabriskie had a team mate.
Zabriskie attacked the chasing group. Rogers followed. Popovych fell away. Leipheimer and Horner are there.Hesjedal takes off and Horner took his wheel. Leipheimer was a little further down the road with Rogers.
Zabriskie attacked again. Leipheimer reacts. Popovych started to rejoin the group to help his team mate. The Leipheimer leapt off the front. Zabriskie met Leipheimer on the road. The pace was amazingly high.
Hincapie led the descent. Horner and Hesjedal were 20s behind. Leipheimer led the second chasing group. Horner and Hesjedal joined the Hincapie leading group.
Liepheimer and Popovych cycled together in the chasing group 45s behind the leaders with just 2 miles to ride. Horner slowed and kept looking behind. Barredo took off. All came together again. Leipheimer and Popovych led the chasers.
Horner led the way but Hesjedal exploded over the line; Horner goes over in 4th place. Leipheimer retained his 3rd overall GC place. An exciting days racing; and one which cemented RadioShack’s position as a force to be reckoned with.
By Julian Winn, staff writer
To me the hero of this entire Radioshack team was Chris Horner.
Once again he has proven his versatility and strength in a one day race that tested all the top riders. Jumping form eighth overall to 4th is an amazing accomplishment. The fact that he finished in front of all the favorites speaks volumes to his ability. Lance made a wise decision when he added Chris to this team roster. Too bad that Levi could not pull off the miracle win that it would of taken to overcome the time differences in his two closest rivals, but nevertheless Team RadioShack is a great team, and I personally can’t wait to see the rest of the season.
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I completely agree with you Jeff. I am a TRS fan but Horner has been an outstanding performer this year. There is a problem of course … with so much talent in the Team who will Johan send to the rest of this years major events? I’d pick Chris Horner every time … but he’d get very tired competing in every Tour or Classic! Seriously though, he has been a superb Team and individual cyclist. What a year for RSH so far – what opportunity lies ahead.
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Wholeheartedly concur w/ J & J; however, am unaware of TRS’s expectations for Chris Horner in the ToC. Clearly, there were very high expectations for L.L. but was Chris only to be in a support role? I thought he rode impressively well and was excited to see his late Stage 8 charge and break the Top 5 GC. Continued success Chris!!
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