Triple race winner Levi Leipheimer has downplayed the notion that he could be in the running for another victory in the race, saying that he was under pressure on stage one of the Amgen Tour of California and that his participation in the event is mostly about building form.
The Omega Pharma Quick Step leader was determined to take to the start of the stage race, both due to his history in the event and also because it began in his home town of Santa Rosa. He suffered a fractured fibula when hit by a car on April 1st, and has been playing catch-up since.
Leipheimer rolled in as part of the main bunch yesterday, placing 43rd and remaining on the same time as the other contenders. He insisted that the day wasn’t an easy one for him.
“To be honest I suffered a little bit, so that always stinks. Especially when you're suffering on your own roads,” he said after yesterday’s stage. “Good and bad, but I'm happy to be here.
“I think participating in the Amgen Tour of California is of the utmost importance to be good in July for the Tour de France and hopefully the Olympics.”
Leipheimer has the best history of any rider in the race, winning in 2007, 2008 and 2009, taking second in 2011 plus third in 2010, and clocking up a stage win plus the mountains classification in the first edition in 2006.
He often performs well on US roads but because of his injury, he believes it will be later events before he can contend again.
“There's Tour of Utah, hopefully the USA Pro Cycling Challenge — there's a lot of races left in the season,” he said. “That was a lot of my motivation, to recover as fast as possible and train as much as my leg would allow me to in order for me to be fit enough to take the start here, finish, and then benefit from the race and not just get blown out the back within one or two days."
With Leipheimer ruling himself out of contention, the team’s best chances may well lie with Peter Velits, winner this year of the Tour of Oman and second overall in the 2010 Vuelta a Espana.
However it is also aiming for stage win success with Tom Boonen, the dominant rider of this Classics season. Yesterday’s opening stage went to the Liquigas Cannondale rider Peter Sagan; Boonen has the kind of finishing speed to battle Sagan, but didn’t get to square up against him due to some bad luck close to the end.
“It was an hard stage but I really fought to try to do the sprint," he explained. "I came back in the peloton at about nine miles to go thanks to Vandenbergh, who helped me a lot. At that point I started thinking about the sprint. I was in good position, ready to take off but I had a flat tire at about 600 meters from the finish, crossing the railroad. Fortunately I didn't crash, but I lost my chance to make the sprint. We will try again."
Today’s second stage could give him a good opportunity. The 188.5 kilometre race from San Francisco to Santa Cruz County is expected to conclude in a bunch gallop.