The Amgen Tour of California 2007 was the second edition of an eight-day, 650-mile (1,045 km) stage race that raced through the California redwoods, wine country and the Pacific Coast. The road bicycle racing event was held February 18, 2007. The 2007 Tour of California was part of the 2006–2007 UCI America Tour and the inaugural 2007 USA Cycling Professional Tour.[1]
On November 28, 2006, the UCI upgraded the multi-day event from 2.1 (category 1) to 2.HC (French: Hors Categorie; English: beyond categorization).
Stages and results
Prologue: San Francisco
The Prologue was an individual time trial held Sunday, February 18, 2007, in San Francisco. Native Californian and last year's prologue champion Levi Leipheimer edged out Colorado's Jason Donald from Slipstream–Chipotle and former NCAA Road Champion Benjamin Jacques-Maynes.
Stage 1 was held Monday, February 19, 2007. A breakaway of four riders including Adam Hansen of T-Mobile Team was reeled in shortly before the finish in Santa Rosa. During the second of the three finishing laps in Santa Rosa, a crash took down most of the peloton, including leader Levi Leipheimer. Those not involved in the crash fought for the stage victory, taken by Graeme Brown by mere millimeters.
Riders involved in the crash lost several minutes, but the race officials decided to credit most of them with the winner's time, meaning that Leipheimer retained the leader's jersey. This decision, which meant extending the "safety zone" to 6 miles (10 km) before the end, was criticized by some riders and team staff.