Mark Cavendish escaped at least two crashes in the final circuit around Sacramento on Sunday to win Stage 1 of the Amgen Tour of California.

The speedster from HTC-Columbia just barely bested Juan Jose Haedo, who rode Cavendish's slipstream toward the finish but faded when he tried to pass.

With HTC-Columbia leading out their sprinter at the head of the peloton, there was no danger of him being caught in the carnage back in the field. Other well-known sprinters like Tom Boonen and Stuart O'Grady weren't so lucky, however.

One crash occurred soon after the bell lap started and the second occurred within sight of the finish line. So many riders went down or were held up by the collisions ....   more »