J Haedo makes it look easy
Slipstream-Chipotle splits the pack and the GC
By Ben Delaney
Posted Feb. 18, 2008
Yellow jersey Fabian Cancellara had both hands up in the air well before any of the sprinters crossed the stage 1 Tour of California finish line — his CSC teammate JJ Haedo had the clear win.
After three laps of a crowd-packed Santa Rosa circuit, Haedo hit from his CSC leadout coming up from an underpass. “When you see that last 200 meters you just go as hard as you can, and you don’t look back, otherwise you can lose,” Haedo said. High Road’s Gerald Ciolek finished second on the stage up from Sausalito, with Gerolsteiner’s Heinrich Haussler in third.
With the win, Haedo took a record fifth California stage win after scoring two a piece in 2006 and 2007. Cancellara not only finished in the front group to retain the jersey, but took some hard pulls on the front in the final laps to set up Haedo. “Fabian is a little impatient,” Haedo said. “He’s got so much power in the legs you’ve got to tell that guy to hold on. I try to keep him patient.”
After the flat, 2.1-mile prologue, stage 1 began with a handful of riders within seconds of the lead. With time bonuses available at three intermediate sprints and then the final, Slipstream’s Tyler Farrar and High Road’s Mark Cavendish were ready and able to take advantage of their sprints to snag some valuable seconds.
Velonews
