16:04:45
Thank you for following the 2007 Amgen Tour of California and stay tuned next year for an even greater experience.
16:03:52
Official results will be posted as soon as they are in. Check our standings page at
http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/race-live/standings.html for jersey holders and final standings as soon as they are official tonight.
16:02:18
Bob Roll chats with Levi after leading the tour wire to wire.
..who says this win is one of the most satisfying of his career.
15:47:31
1. Ivan Dominguez (Cub), Toyota United
2. Graeme Brown (NZ) Rabobank
3. Gerald Ciolek (G) T-Mobile
4. Luca Paolini (I) Liquigas
5. Robert Forster (G) Gerolsteiner
6. Thor Hushovd (N) Credit Agricole
15:46:42
Ivan Dominguez (Cub), Toyota United Wins the stage. He played that perfectly. He beats Graeme Brown (Rabobank) and Gerald Ciolek (T-Mobile).
15:44:21
Ivan Dominguez (Cub), Toyota United Wins the stage. He played that perfectly. He beats Graeme Brown (Rabobank) and Gerald Ciolek (T-Mobile).
15:42:21
Rabobank charges and it looks like Haedo may be boxed in..... and it looks like Toyota's Dominguez!
15:41:43
Here comes the showdown. One kilometer to go... CSC still up front.
15:39:21
We're within the GC neutral zone. Levi Leipheimer has won the Tour, now lets see who wins the stage.
15:39:03
Predictor Lotto is moving up and the team of Fred Rodriquez is in the mix.
15:38:02
Hushovd and the Credit Ag's are moving up, but it's still all CSC up front.
15:37:47
Nope. He's caught. It's a CSC train up front.
15:37:24
Menzies on his own. He's drilling it.... but he can't do it.... can he?
15:37:01
CSC is driving hard. It looks like the team expects another Haedo win. But first they have to catch Menzies and Hansen.... which is about to happen.
15:36:37
Correction: They're past the last turn.
15:35:47
There past the last turn.
15:34:35
Hansen. Has joined Menzies at the front. The rest of the escapees are being swept up.
15:33:46
The lead group is coming apart. Menzies is trying his luck and Danny Pate is hoping to bridge up.
15:32:26
Here they come. The peloton is coming up and Menzies is trying to get away on his own.
15:30:48
The leaders have about 9km to go. The effort of the last few hours may have been for nothing. The peloton is flying... and these boys up front look tired.
15:28:23
The gap is just 34 seconds.
15:25:51
1 lap to go. The break is up by only 40 seconds.
15:20:02
The peloton is in site of the break.
15:19:11
Johnson looks spent. The men in the break are looking tired as the peloton is closing in with just 1.5 laps to go.
15:18:02
Credit Agricole, Rabobank and BMC are doing the bulk of the work.
15:11:38
Two laps to go... about 26km remaining. We should get a time check as the peloton begins the lap.... and it's 55 seconds. Ouch.
15:10:56
The advantage is starting to drop. The seven men up front are beginning to show signs of fatigue. The gap is down to 1:25
15:10:43
The peloton comes through the finish area, at 1:52. The chase is one and Disco doesn't even have to chase. It looks as though the Discovery chase eased up as the "virtual" race lead of Danny Pate evaporated.
14:57:32
Today's special at Amgen's Official Tour of California Store is 20% off hats. Just go to http://amgentourofcaliforniastore.com and use the code: HATSOFF to recieve your 20% discount on hats.
14:56:37
The peleton has passed through. They are down by under 2 minutes with 3 laps to go.
14:54:05
The break has passed through. 3 laps to go!
14:54:02
The break has passed through. 3 laps to go!
14:50:46
Now Rabobank is lending a hand in the chase. The odds are not good for the men in the break.
14:48:36
With four laps to go the men in the break have an advantage of 2:10.
14:39:52
Gap is at 2:10.
14:38:20
The gap is coming down a bit as more teams join in the effort. Right now it's 2:30.
14:25:22
With five laps to go The peloton comes through at 2:50. The BMC effort is at least mitigating the impact of the break.
14:23:39
5 laps remaining.
14:21:00
BMC lending a hand
Just as we posted our last entry, the BMC team has moved up to lend a hand in the chase.
The team is, of course, the latest cycling venture of Phonak Hearing systems owner Andy Rihs. He also owns the Swiss cycling firm, BMC. He has hopes of bringing his new team back up to the ProTour level, a spot he vacated when he folded the Phonak team after the apparent positive dope test of Floyd Landis at the Tour de France.
14:16:28
Discovery leading the chase. There are six Discovery riders are setting tempo at the front. Leipheimer, in yellow, is slotted into the sixth spot. The team is, of course, missing big George Hincapie, who had his broken arm operated on this morning.
14:10:15
The peloton crosses through the finish line at 2:55. There are six laps to go.
14:09:51
Across the line. So the leaders have six laps to go. We'll get a time check here in a few.
14:09:17
2:45. The gap is edging up, but no panic in the peloton. While Pate is the biggest GC threat in the break, he started the day in 17th at 2:31. Sure, he's the virtual race leader, but Discovery isn't too concerened.
13:58:41
Time gap is holding at 2:35. As a reminder, the men off the front are:
Tim Johnson (USA) HealthNet
Karl Menzies (Aus) HealthNet
Adam Hansen (Aus) T-Mobile
Danny Pate (USA) Slipstream
Steven Cozza (USA) Slipstream
Sean Sullivan (Aus) Toyota
Benjamin Jacques-Maynes (USA) Priority Health
13:55:54
Clouds are parting. While today's stage began under cloudy skies, it's clearing up and it looks like the Tour of California has skirted another rain day.
13:52:18
Seven laps to go. We're averaging about 15 minutes a lap and we see a time gap of around 2:35.
13:51:56
The men up front are cruising along and cooperating for the most part. That said, Bob Stapleton came up in the T-Mobile car and shouted instructions to Adam Hansen. Right after that, Hansen soft-pedaled a little, much to the chagrin of Danny Pate.
13:37:10
New Time Check - The moto with the marker board gives the leaders an advantage of 1:20
13:36:40
A bit of a gap
The men off the front include Tim Johnson (USA) HealthNet
Karl Menzies (Aus) HealthNet
Adam Hansen (Aus) T-Mobile
Danny Pate (USA) Slipstream
Steven Cozza (USA) Slipstream
Sean Sullivan (Aus) Toyota
Benjamin Jacques-Maynes (USA) Priority Health
They are now about 35 seconds ahead of the main field.
13:25:22
The group is growing, but the peloton is moving up fast. Slipstream's Danny Pate has bridged up to the group.
13:24:32
A small break as we have four riders - including HealthNet's Tim Johnson - are off the front by about 15 seconds.
13:20:41
The pace remains high. There have been several attacks and we have now have a single HealthNet rider hanging off the front. We have nine laps to go.
13:13:59
Another attack. The Slipstream team has sent riders off in each of these efforts.
13:08:57
The Field regroups. There have already been several attacks, but the main field is remaining attentive and every one of them has been pulled back by the Discovery team.
13:05:47
We have an early attack. We have a group of four riders up front, but seven more chasing hard. This could be a fast day today, folks.
13:03:54
And they're off. We'll see the peloton cover 10 laps of this circuit along Shoreline Drive in Long Beach, near the permanent home of the Queen Mary.
12:58:14
The peloton is lining up at the start line today and we should see the start in about five minutes.
12:57:23
The seventh and final stage of the 2007 Amgen Tour of California is a 124.7km circuit race in Long Beach, California. Today's stage covers a 12km ciurcuit along Shoreline drive in California's fifth-largest city.
12:52:55
If you haven't heard yet, the big news from yesterday's stage was the bad turn of events for Discovery's George Hincapie. It turns out that early crash was more serious than anyone - including Hincapie - realized. At the end of the stage, Hincapie discovered that he had broken his arm in the wreck... that's after riding hard for 100 miles Saturday.
We spoke with Discovery Director Johann Bruyneel this morning. He reports Hincapie went in for surgery this morning and it will be "around six to eight weeks" before the U.S. champion is ready to compete again.
12:51:53
Post your comments and suggestions to Robbie and Joe by emailing amgentoc2007@yahoo.com.
12:51:37
Robbie Ventura and Joe Silva are live on the air with Chris Gutowsky our roving reporter who will be reporting from the course throughout the day. We are 10 minutes from the start of the final stage.
12:35:22
Joe Silva and Robbie Ventura will begin their broadcast at 12:45 today.
11:55:09
Today's special at Amgen's Official Tour of California Store is 20% off hats. Just go to http://amgentourofcaliforniastore.com and use the code: HATSOFF to recieve your 20% discount on hats.
11:49:54
New word on Hincapie. He had surgery on his arm this morning and will likely be out 6-8 weeks.
11:45:33
Preliminary reports are saying that George Hincapie broke his arm or wrist yesterday. He still finished. We have not heard if he will race in today's stage.
11:37:16
This course is part of the famous Long Beach Grand Prix course used for the CART race cars, meaning a legacy of roads that are wide and fast. Views of San Pedro Bay and the Pacific Ocean will be visible for the entire course, with a backdrop of the famed Queen Mary in the bay.
11:24:19
Stage 7 is flat, fast, and will be a favorite with spectators, featuring a lot of sprint action as the cyclists race in 10 laps around a circuit course in downtown Long Beach.
11:14:35
Good morning and welcome to the final stage of the Amgen Tour of California. Today, the Long Beach Circuit Race will begin at 1:00 p.m.
