The opening stage of the Tour of California is officially in the books, with Peter Sagan of Slovakia and Team Liquigas-Cannondale winning it at 4:32:35. Heinrich Haussler finished in second, while Fred Rodriguez, Leigh Howard and Greg Van Avervaet rounded out the top five.
It was a day of mixed results from Tom Danielson and his Garmin-Barracuda teammates. Haussler delivered an impressive race and finished in second place. However, the next highest finisher was Andrew Talansky, who finished in 26th. Danielson, who finished in third place in this event in 2011, sits in 34th following the opening stage.
Three Americans finished the opening stage in the Top 10, with Rodriguez of Team Exergy finishing in third. George Hincapie of BMC Racing Team finished in 6th, while Lawson Craddock from Bontrager Livestrong Team finished the opening stage in 9th place.
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