Leipheimer Chasing 4th Tour Of California Title

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE (CBS / AP) -- Levi Leipheimer will have to fend off a strong international field of Tour de France contenders and world champions to win his fourth overall title in the Tour of California.

"The Tour of California has always been a big goal of mine," said Leipheimer, the Butte, Mont., rider who has won six stages, held the race lead for 22 days and won the overall title three consecutive years beginning in 2007. "I always seem to find the extra motivation."

The weather-threatened 800-mile race is scheduled to start Sunday with a 118.7-mile loop around Lake Tahoe that will finish at Northstar at Tahoe Resort.

The 37-year-old Leipheimer, riding for Radio Shack, was third last year, 25 seconds behind Australia's Michael Rogers. This year, Leipheimer was third overall in the Vuelta a Andalucia and eighth in the Paris-Nice.

"It's been a bit of an up and down year," Leipheimer said Friday. "The past month has been better. We do have a strong team. We have a team that can defend the lead if we take it, and another rider, Chris Horner, who can win it."

Horner was fourth last year.

Luxembourg's Andy Schleck, second the past two years in the Tour de France; American Dave Zabriskie, second in the Tour of California last year; and four other top-10 Tour of California overall finishers from 2010 are entered in the sixth annual event.

But predicted snow might force organizers to use one of several contingency shortened or re-routed courses. The first stage, the race's first outside of California, isn't scheduled dip below 6,200 feet.

Several recent landslides on Highway 1 also required the event to switch a traditional coastal route in stage 5 -- from the Monterey Peninsula to Paso Robles—to an inland course.

After four years of February dates, the Tour of California was switched to May last year for better weather, particularly in the Lake Tahoe region.
Rogers, a three-time world time trial champion, is recovering from a virus and is not entered.

Schleck, second to Alberto Contador by 39 seconds in last year's Tour de France, has been training near Lake Tahoe for five days. He's competing in the Tour of California rather than prepare for the Tour de France in the current Tour of Italy.

"It's no secret if I say my goal is the Tour de France," Schleck said. "But here, if I can follow Levi in the climbs, I think I can have a good race."

Schleck and seven Leopard-Trek teammates will compete in the Tour of California after teammate Wouter Weylandt of Belgium died Monday following a crash in the third stage of the Tour of Italy.

"I'm not going to sit back and relax in the peloton," said Schleck, whose team will wear black wristbands to honor Weylandt. "I will say I'm going for the classification (overall title) and if there's an opportunity for a stage. But we'll have to see how it goes on the road."

Stage 2 on Monday will begin at Squaw Valley and take the riders 133.2 miles to Sacramento. The route will include the climb to Donner Pass (elevation 7,100 feet) and then a sharply descending route to the State Capitol.

In addition to beginning at altitude for the first time, the race also will two new mountaintop finishes, scheduled in stages 4 and 7.

The eight-day race will end May 22 with an 82.3-mile stage from Santa Clarita to Thousand Oaks.

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