Dramatic Finish: Landis Wins Gold

Stage 7 Results | Photos + Video | Press Release

The first seven stages of the Tour of California were exciting, and the  final stage didn't disappoint, either. An early attack by Glen Chadwick of Navigators  built an advantage of almost 8 minutes after a big pileup in the peloton on the first lap. The peloton went neutral, meaning they slowed their pace to let the fallen riders get back up and catch up. But the break kept going. Chadwick, joined by Aaron Olsen of Prodir, Scott Zwizanksi of OSN Kodak and Davide Frattini of Colavita, built such a large lead that Chadwick became the overall Tour leader.

Then the peloton kicked into gear.

The field ate up 2 minutes per lap, catching the leaders on the final lap. There were several small attacks, but Olaf Pollack won the stage in a field sprint. That win also gave him the green jersey, as he edged out George Hincapie, who had held the jersey this morning.

Levi Leipheimer won the King of the Mountain title. CSC won best overall team, and Glen Chadwick won Adobe Most Aggressive Rider for the day.

But the day belonged to Floyd Landis. He won the golden jersey and the inaugural Tour of California. He walked onto stage, grinning from ear to ear, clearly happy to win a major Tour in the United States.

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