Staying with the breaks for 125 miles into a spitting rain paid off for Dominique Rollin on Thursday when he launched a solo break near the finish and won Stage 4 of the Amgen Tour of California.
Levi Leipheimer retained the leader's golden jersey, due to the efforts of his Astana team riding at the head of peloton and controlling the race.
If there is glamour in the sport of cycling, it wasn't in evidence in Thursday's stage. In addition to many cyclists being ravaged by stomach flu, the rest of the peloton spent the day pedaling down Pacific Coast Highway into rain and head- and side-winds for 135 miles between Seaside and San Luis Obispo.
How bad was it? The final results show that 15 riders dropped out during the stage, in addition to 3 who couldn't start in the morning. Among the drop-outs, Tom Danielson from Slipstream and Jackson Stewart (BMC Racing), who had just reclaimed the King of the Mountains jersey before climbing into an ambulance to be treated for hypothermia. ... more »


