California Tour 2012

California Tour 2012
Host country	United States
Competition period	May 13-20, 2012
Stages	8 stages
overall length	1,184 km
Starting field	158 in 16 teams
winner
Overall rating	1. Robert Gesink 30:42:32 h 2. David Zabriskie + 0:46 min 3. Tom Danielson + 0:54 min
Team evaluation	RadioShack Nissan
Scoring jerseys
total	Robert Gesink
offspring	Wilco Kelderman
mountain	Sébastian Salas
Points	Peter Sagan
← California Tour 2011	California Tour 2013 →

The 7th California Tour was an international bike race that took place May 13-20, 2012 in California . The stage race was divided into eight sections and ran over a distance of 733.5 miles (1180.5 kilometers). The tour was part of the UCI America Tour 2012 and classified there in the highest UCI category 2.HC.

After the tour was dominated in its first half by the five-time stage winner Peter Sagan , the Dutchman Robert Gesink won the individual classification in the end. The team ranking went to the Luxembourg RadioShack-Nissan-Trek team .

The Australian cyclist Robbie McEwen ended his career on the last stage of the tour.

Participating teams

16 UCI teams were at the start, eight of them in the highest international category, the ProTeams . In addition, four Professional Continental Teams and four American Continental Teams were invited by the organizer.

UCI ProTeams Ag2r BMC Racing Team Garmin Barracuda Liquigas-Cannondale

Omega Pharma-Quick Step Orica GreenEdge Rabobank Cycling Team RadioShack Nissan

UCI Professional Continental Teams Argos-Shimano team Colombia-Coldeportes SpiderTech-C10 UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team

UCI Continental Teams Bissell Cycling Bontrager Livestrong Team Team Exergy Team Optum-Kelly Benefit Strategies

Stages

stage	Day	Start finish	Type	km	Stage winner	Most courageous driver	Most aggressive driver
1st stage	May 13th	Santa Rosa - Santa Rosa		186.5	Peter Sagan	Levi Leipheimer	Ben Jacques-Maynes
2nd stage	May 14th	San Francisco - Santa Cruz County		188.5	Peter Sagan	Jeremy Vennell	Alexandre Geniez
3rd stage	May 15	San José - Livermore		185.6	Peter Sagan	Jeremy Vennell	Alexandre Geniez
4th stage	May 16	Sonora - Clovis		209.5	Peter Sagan	Markel Irízar	Yannick Eijssen
5th stage	17th of May	Bakersfield –Bakersfield ( EZF )		029.6	David Zabriskie	not forgiven	not forgiven
6th stage	May 18	Palmdale - Big Bear Lake		186.2	Sylvain Georges	Timothy Duggan	Sylvain Georges
7th stage	May 19th	Ontario - Mount Baldy		126.0	Robert Gesink	Christopher Horner	Darwin Atapuma
8th stage	May 20th	Beverly Hills - Los Angeles		071.9	Peter Sagan	Robbie McEwen	Jeremy Vennell

First stage on May 13, 2012: Santa Rosa – Santa Rosa

Start of the race in Santa Rosa

The first stage led from Santa Rosa in a first loop to Windsor , then in a larger loop through the hills of the California Pacific coast, past Fort Ross on California State Route 1 to the south and finally back to Santa Rosa. Just a few kilometers after the start, an eight-man breakaway group pulled away from the field. This included the Canadian David Boily from the SpiderTech-C10 team , who won all mountain ratings during the stage and thus took on the mountain guide's red jersey. On the last seven kilometers, the breakaway group, which at that time still consisted of three drivers, was overtaken by the field. Just five kilometers from the finish in Santa Rosa there was a crash in which a dozen riders - including the Australian Michael Matthews of the Rabobank Cycling Team  - were involved. Peter Sagan from Team Liquigas-Cannondale , who had a flat tire 10 kilometers from the finish and had to be brought back to the field by his teammates, was able to complete the stage just ahead of Heinrich Haussler (Team Garmin-Barracuda ) and Fred Rodriguez (Team Exergy Twenty12 ) win in the sprint.

Result of the 1st stage

	driver	team	time
1	Peter Sagan	Liquigas-Cannondale	4:42:35 h
2	Heinrich Haussler	Garmin-Sharp	+ 0:00 min
3	Fred Rodriguez	Team Exergy	+ 0:00 min
4th	Leigh Howard	Orica GreenEdge	+ 0:00 min
5	Greg Van Avermaet	BMC Racing Team	+ 0:00 min
6th	George Hincapie	BMC Racing Team	+ 0:00 min
7th	Ryan Anderson	SpiderTech-C10	+ 0:00 min
8th	Stijn Vandenbergh	Omega Pharma-Quick Step	+ 0:00 min
9	Lawson Craddock	Bontrager Livestrong Team	+ 0:00 min
10	Luis León Sánchez	Rabobank Cycling Team	+ 0:00 min

Overall ranking after the 1st stage

	driver	team	time
1	Peter Sagan	Liquigas-Cannondale	4:42:25 h
2	Heinrich Haussler	Garmin-Sharp	+ 0:04 min
3	Jeff Louder	UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team	+ 0:04 min
4th	Fred Rodriguez	Team Exergy	+ 0:06 min
5	Ben Jacques-Maynes	Bissell Cycling	+ 0:06 min
6th	Joshua Atkins	Bontrager Livestrong Team	+ 0:09 min
7th	Leigh Howard	Orica GreenEdge	+ 0:10 min
8th	Greg Van Avermaet	BMC Racing Team	+ 0:10 min
9	George Hincapie	BMC Racing Team	+ 0:10 min
10	Ryan Anderson	SpiderTech-C10	+ 0:10 min

Second stage on May 14, 2012: San Francisco – Santa Cruz County

The field of drivers on the second stage of the tour

The second stage led from the Marina District in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge over the southern suburbs of San Francisco along the Pacific coast to Davenport and from there inland through Santa Cruz County to the destination in Aptos . Up to then overall leader Peter Sagan was able to win this stage again in the sprint. After the race, Sagan was surprised by his new stage win: "With two climbs at the end of today's stage, I am really happy to have won today." A breakaway group of two riders attacked at the beginning of the race and managed to maintain their lead of around two minutes but do not expand. As in the first stage, there was a fall in the last section of the route. Matthew Busche , 2011 American road race champion, vented his disappointment after crossing the finish line. When asked about his fall, he was frustrated: “I have no idea how that could happen. I was behind it and drove in. ”Sagan's win was his fifth stage win in the Tour of California.

Result of the 2nd stage

	driver	team	time
1	Peter Sagan	Liquigas-Cannondale	4:42:35 h
2	Heinrich Haussler	Garmin Barracuda	+ 0:00 min
3	Leigh Howard	Orica GreenEdge	+ 0:00 min
4th	Koen de Kort	Argos-Shimano team	+ 0:00 min
5	Fred Rodriguez	Team Exergy	+ 0:00 min
6th	Greg Van Avermaet	BMC Racing Team	+ 0:00 min
7th	Lawson Craddock	Bontrager Livestrong Team	+ 0:00 min
8th	Marc de Maar	UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team	+ 0:00 min
9	Tom Dumoulin	Argos-Shimano team	+ 0:00 min
10	Peter Velits	Omega Pharma-Quick Step	+ 0:00 min

Overall ranking after the 2nd stage

	driver	team	time
1	Peter Sagan	Liquigas-Cannondale	9:44:15 h
2	Heinrich Haussler	Garmin Barracuda	+ 0:08 min
3	Leigh Howard	Orica GreenEdge	+ 0:13 min
4th	Jeff Louder	UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team	+ 0:14 min
5	Fred Rodriguez	Team Exergy	+ 0:16 min
6th	Ben Jacques-Maynes	Bissell Cycling	+ 0:16 min
7th	Marc de Maar	UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team	+ 0:17 min
8th	Markel Irízar	RadioShack Nissan	+ 0:19 min
9	Joshua Atkins	Bontrager Livestrong Team	+ 0:19 min
10	Greg Van Avermaet	BMC Racing Team	+ 0:20 min

Third stage on May 15, 2012: San José – Livermore

The third stage led from San José via Livermore and from there north over Mount Diablo in Contra Costa County . In a circuit it then went back to Livermore, where the Slovak Peter Sagan celebrated his third sprint win in the current California tour. After the climb to Mount Diablo, the toughest mountain classification in the tour to date, four riders were able to work their way out of the field by 8 minutes. Team Bissell Cycling's Jeremy Vennell said after the race ended that his rivalry with Pat McCarty of Canada's SpiderTech-C10 team had prevented the breakaway riders from winning. Still 25 km from the finish line, the last escapees finally gave up their attempt and were then caught by the field. The finish sprint in Livermore was ultimately very close. Peter Sagan reached the finish line shortly before Heinrich Haussler from Garmin-Barracuda and Tom Boonen from the Belgian team Omega Pharma-Quickstep . With the time bonus of the stage winner, Sagan was able to further extend his lead in the overall standings.

Fourth stage on May 16, 2012: Sonora – Clovis

On the fourth day of the tour, the field started for the first time in the history of the California tour from Sonora , one of the gold rush towns in the California gold rush and now the administrative seat of Tuolumne County . At over 130 miles (around 209.6 km), the stage was the longest of the 2012 California Tour and contained six mountain and two sprint classifications. The route led first southeast through Mariposa County and then - past the southernmost point of Yosemite National Park - through Madera County and Fresno County to Clovis . The stage took place on the hottest day of the tour to date. At temperatures of up to 32 ° C, the first breakaway group came together on the first major climb of the day, but was caught up again by the field on the descent. Later, a total of eleven drivers came together to form another breakaway group, which dominated the course of the race for long stretches of the day. After the descent from the sixth and last mountain classification of the day, this breakaway group was finally overtaken by the field on a sloping road. Team Omega Pharma-Quickstep worked for a stage win for Tom Boonen , who ultimately had to admit defeat to overall leader Peter Sagan . After the end of the race, Sagan was surprised by his renewed victory: “I didn't think I could get another victory. [...] Now we are very happy and [I] thank my entire team. "

Fifth stage on May 17, 2012: individual time trial in Bakersfield

On the fifth day of the tour the individual time trial took place in Bakersfield . The 29.7 kilometer long course led from Bakersfield College Park over the Alfred Harrel Highway to the Bakersfield Golf Course and from there back to Bakersfield College. With a time of 35 minutes 59 seconds and 21 tenths of a second, the then reigning American time trial champion David Zabriskie won the day's stage. He took first place in the overall standings from the previous leader, Peter Sagan, who finished 52nd in the individual time trial. Second place in the time trial went to German Jens Voigt, less than half a minute behind Zabriskie. Third was Tejay van Garderen of the American BMC Racing Team, 34 seconds back. Due to the results in the individual time trial, there were shifts and surprises in the overall standings: Last year's winner Christopher Horner from the Luxembourg RadioShack-Nissan-Trek team lost almost three minutes to Zabriskie and fell behind in the overall standings due to his poor performance. The Californian local hero Levi Leipheimer , on the other hand, finished with a gap of 1 minute 44 on Zabriskie and showed a passable performance.

Sixth stage on May 18, 2012: Palmdale – Big Bear Lake

The sixth stage led from Palmdale on the northern city limits of Los Angeles along to Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino National Forest . Early on in the race, a top group of seven was able to break away from the field and work out a gap of eight minutes to the other drivers. In the course of Wrightwood's climb, the Garmin-Barracuda team was able to cut this lead in half. After five of the outliers fell behind from the top group, only Sebastian Salas from Team Optum presented by Health Kelly Benefit Strategies and the Frenchman Sylvain Georges from ag2r La Mondiale remained. After Salas couldn't keep up with Georges, he started the last climb to Big Bear Lake for a solo ride. Although the field had moved within sight of the French on the last kilometer, the Frenchman saved his lead at the finish. When asked about the final climb after the race, Georges admitted: “That was the toughest 15 kilometers of my life.” At the same time, he was delighted with the victory of his team-mate Sébastien Hinault , who won the Circuit de Lorraine 2012 on the same day : “Sebastian Hinault is the team captain and I often get advice from him; Winning on the same day as him makes it very special for me and the team. "

Seventh stage on May 19, 2012: Ontario – Mount Baldy

The future overall winner Robert Gesink from Team Rabobank (here before the start of the third stage)

As it climbed from the city of Ontario east of Los Angeles to Mount Baldy , the seventh stage represented the final major effort for the riders of the tour. Announced by the organizers as "one of the most difficult stages in the history of cycling in the United States" , the tour section was designed to bring about a decision in the battle for overall victory. For long stretches of the day, the race was dominated by the American and last year's winner Christopher Horner and his RadioShack-Nissan-Trek team. The Colombian Darwin Atapuma Horner was only able to leave behind in the last section of the race . But then Atapuma was defeated by the eventual overall winner of the tour, Robert Gesink of the Rabobank Cycling Team in the sprint to the finish. After a fracture of the thigh bone in October 2011, Gesink was completely recovered and in top form. After the race was over, he told journalists: “I'm back. I've been working really, really hard over the past few months. It didn't always work out in the beginning and it's tough for an athlete who is always aiming to win. Now I have returned to my highest form and being the best on the mountain is incredible. "

Ratings in the course of the tour

The table shows the leader in the respective classification after the respective stage.

stage	Overall rating	Young talent evaluation	Mountain scoring	Scoring	Team evaluation
1	Peter Sagan	Peter Sagan	David Boily	Peter Sagan	BMC Racing Team
2
3			Sébastian Salas
4th
5	David Zabriskie	Luke Durbridge			Garmin Barracuda
6th
7th	Robert Gesink	Wilco Kelderman			RadioShack Nissan
8th

Web links

Commons : Tour of California 2012  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

• Official website

Individual evidence

1. ↑ For the stage profile cf. Amgen Tour of California - Stage 1: Santa Rosa Overall Start ( Memento of the original from May 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , last accessed on May 13, 2012.  
2. ↑ On this and the following cf. Amgen Tour of California 2012 ( Memento of the original from May 17, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , in: Cyclingnews of May 13, 2012, last accessed on May 13, 2012  
3. ↑ For the stage profile cf. Amgen Tour of California - Stage 2: San Francisco to Santa Cruz County, May 14 ( Memento of the original from May 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , last accessed on May 14, 2012.  
4. ↑ On this and the following cf. Sagan wins in Santa Cruz ( Memento of the original from May 17, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , in: Cyclingnews of May 14, 2012, last accessed on May 14, 2012.  
5. ^ "With two climbs in the end of the stage today, I am really happy to win", quoted here from Sagan wins in Santa Cruz ( memento of the original from May 17, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , in: Cyclingnews of May 14, 2012, last accessed on May 14, 2012.  
6. ↑ "I don't know what happened [...] I was behind it and ran into it.", Quoted here from Sagan wins in Santa Cruz ( memento of the original from May 17, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link became automatic used and not yet tested. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , in: Cyclingnews of May 14, 2012, last accessed on May 14, 2012.  
7. ↑ For the stage profile cf. Amgen Tour of California - Stage 3: San Jose to Livermore, May 15 ( Memento of the original from May 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , last accessed on May 27, 2012.  
8. ↑ On this and the following cf. Sagan three-peats in Livermore ( Memento of the original from May 16, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , in: Cyclingnews of May 15, 2012 (with updates of May 16), last accessed on May 27, 2012.  
9. ↑ For the stage profile cf. Amgen Tour of California - Stage 4: Sonora to Clovis, May 16 ( Memento of the original from May 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , last accessed on May 27, 2012.  
10. ↑ On this and the following cf. Sagan sizzles in Clovis ( Memento of the original from May 31, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , in: Cyclingnews of May 16, 2012 (updated May 18), last accessed on May 27, 2012.  
11. ↑ "I didn't think I would get another victory [...] Now we are very happy and thank you for all my team.", Quoted here from Sagan sizzles in Clovis ( Memento of the original from May 31, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , in: Cyclingnews of May 16, 2012 (updated May 18), last accessed on May 27, 2012.  
12. ↑ For the stage profile cf. Amgen Tour of California - Stage 5: Bakersfield Individual Time Trial, May 17 ( Memento of the original from May 21, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , last accessed on May 27, 2012.  
13. ↑ On this and the following cf. Tour of California: Dave Zabriskie blasts into race lead ( Memento of the original from May 19, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , in: Cyclingnews of May 17, 2012 (updated May 18), last accessed on May 27, 2012.  
14. ↑ For the stage profile cf. Amgen Tour of California - Stage 6: Palmdale to Big Bear Lake, May 18 ( Memento of the original from August 17, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , last accessed on May 27, 2012.  
15. ↑ On this and the following cf. Tour of California: Sylvain Georges roars into Big Bear Lake ( Memento of the original from May 21, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , in: Cyclingnews of May 18, 2012 (updated May 21), last accessed on May 27, 2012.  
16. ↑ "Sebastian Hinault is a leader of the team and I take advice from him often, so to win on the same day as him makes it extra special for me and the team.", Quoted here from Tour of California: Sylvain Georges roars into Big Bear Lake ( Memento of the original from May 21, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , in: Cyclingnews of May 18, 2012 (updated May 21), last accessed on May 27, 2012.  
17. ↑ "one of the most difficult stages in the history of bicycle racing in the United States", quoted here from Amgen Tour of California - Ontario to Mt. Baldy, May 19 ( Memento of the original from October 25, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info : The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , last accessed on May 27, 2012.  
18. ↑ On this and the following cf. Gesink climbs to Tour of California stage 7 victory atop Mt Baldy ( Memento of the original from May 21, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , in: Cyclingnews of May 19, 2012 (with updates of May 20), last accessed on May 27, 2012.  
19. ^ "I'm back, I've been working really, really hard the last months. It didn't always work out in the beginning and that's difficult on an athlete, always wanting to win. Now to be back at the highest level and to be the best uphill like this is unbelievable. ", Quoted here from Gesink climbs to Tour of California stage 7 victory atop Mt Baldy ( Memento of the original from May 21, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info : The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , in: Cyclingnews of May 19, 2012 (with updates of May 20), last accessed on May 27, 2012.