Tour of California Stage 3: Zabriskie takes stage and overall lead

David Zabriskie capped a great day for his Garmin-Transitions team, whose sprinter Tyler Farrar had earlier picked up his second stage victory at the Giro d’Italia, by winning Stage 3 of the Tour of California in Santa Cruz yesterday.

The 31-year-old, who finished second overall in last year’s race, held on from defending champion Levi Leipheimer of Team RadioShack and Mick Rogers of HTC-Columbia, and with the three riders crossing the line 17 seconds ahead of the chasing peloton, that and the time bonus was enough to put Zabriskie in the race leader’s yellow jersey.

The trio had got away on the day’s final ascent, the category 2 Boon Donny climb, on a day that showcased some beautiful Californian scenery as the peloton journeyed south from San Francisco, often along the PCH1 Pacific highway with the ocean on one side and redwood forests on the other.

Mark Cavendish of HTC-Columbia won the day’s opening sprint in Pacifica and came third in the following sprint in Half Moon Bay to claim the Herbalife Sprint Jersey.

Today’s Stage 4 will cover 195.5km from San Jose to Modesto, with the Sierra Road climb at the start of the stage expected to be one of the critical moments in this year’s race.

Tour of California Stage 3 San Francisco-Santa Cruz

1  ZABRISKIE David          GRM 04.26'09"
2  ROGERS Michael           THR 00.00'00"
3  LEIPHEIMER Levi          RSH 00.00'00"
4  SAGAN Peter              LIQ 00.00'17"
5  SUTHERLAND Rory          UHC 00.00'17"
6  HAUSSLER Heinrich        CTT 00.00'17"
7  VOIGT Jens               SAX 00.00'17"
8  HORNER Christopher       RSH 00.00'17"
9  PARISIEN Francois        CSM 00.00'17"
10 HESJEDAL Ryder           GRM 00.00'17"
11 VENNELL Jeremy           BPC 00.00'17"
12 MORABITO Steve           BMC 00.00'17"
13 BAK Lars Ytting          THR 00.00'17"
14 ARMSTRONG Lance          RSH 00.00'17"
15 JONES Christopher        TT1 00.00'17"
16 STETINA Peter            GRM 00.00'17"
17 MARTIN Tony              THR 00.00'17"
18 DE MAAR Marc             UHC 00.00'17"
19 BRAJKOVIC Janez          RSH 00.00'17"
20 FUGLSANG Jakob           SAX 00.00'17

Overall Standings after Stage 3

1  ZABRISKIE David          GRM 13.09'33"
2  ROGERS Michael           THR 00.00'04"
3  LEIPHEIMER Levi          RSH 00.00'06"
4  SAGAN Peter              LIQ 00.00'21"
5  DE MAAR Marc             UHC 00.00'24"
6  HESJEDAL Ryder           GRM 00.00'27"
7  BRAJKOVIC Janez          RSH 00.00'27"
8  SUTHERLAND Rory          UHC 00.00'27"
9  STETINA Peter            GRM 00.00'27"
10 DANIELSON Thomas         GRM 00.00'27"
11 RUBIERA VIGIL Jose Luis  RSH 00.00'27"
12 ARMSTRONG Lance          RSH 00.00'27"
13 HORNER Christopher       RSH 00.00'27"
14 BAK Lars Ytting          THR 00.00'27"
15 BELLOTTI Francesco       LIQ 00.00'27"
16 ZAJICEK Phil             VAU 00.00'27"
17 PARISIEN Francois        CSM 00.00'27"
18 VOIGT Jens               SAX 00.00'27"
19 MORABITO Steve	    BMC 00.00'27"
20 MARTIN Tony	            THR 00.01'44"