TEAM HIGH ROAD WITH 2 IN THE TOP 5

BOONEN WINS STAGE 2 OF TOC; TEAM HIGH ROAD WITH 2 IN THE TOP 5
Sacramento CA (February 19, 2008) – Dark skies and a steady chilly rain didn’t prevent the riders of the Amgen Tour of California from storming into Sacramento. After 116 miles and 3 laps around the capitol, the tour has a new overall leader.

Slipstream’s Tyler Farrar took over the yellow jersey by virtue of sprint bonuses he accumulated on the route.

Winning the 2nd Stage was Quick Step’s Tom Boonen. Gerolsteiner’s Henrich Haussler, who placed third in Stage 1, took second in today’s stage. And finishing third was the Lion King, 41 year-old Mario Cippolini, out of retirement and riding for Rock Racing.

Team High Road’s Gerald Ciolek led out team mate Mark Cavendish with less than 300 meters to go…but it was a sprint that left just a bit too early. Cavendish couldn’t hold off the charge and faded as the peloton approached the finish line, finishing fourth. Still, Bradley Wiggins and Gerald Ciolek are ranked 4th and 5th in the race for the yellow jersey, just :05 and :07 seconds respectively behind leader Farrar.

Ciolek still leads the overall Best Young Rider classification, and Team High Road still leads the Team Classification by :02 seconds of CSC.

In a related story, today on Cyclingnews.com there is a feature story on High Road rider Adam Hansen, who is the 2008 Australian Time Trial champion and is riding in the Tour of California. The 23-year old Hansen talks about his surprise at being the champ in his home country. Go to:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/feb08/california08/?id=/riders/2008/interviews/adam_hansen_feb08