The Amgen Tour of California has reached its midway point. The race has had three race leaders — Mark Cavendish, Brett Lancaster and David Zabriskie.
And there have been surprises, including fourth stage win by Francesco Chicchi, upstaged Mark Cavendish.
Here are quotes from stage 4:
Francesco Chicchi (ITA), Liquigas, stage 4 winner:
“I had a really good start to the racing season [at the Tour of San Luis] in Argentina. I had a good 20 days of serious rest, and restarted with a strong desire to do well and certainly to win a stage at the Amgen Tour of California.”
“I’m dedicating this win to my teammates who worked incredibly well for me today and this season. I’m really proud to win again in the U.S. This is a great race – I love to race hard and win in America.”
On racing at the Amgen Tour of California instead of the Giro d’Italia:
“The Giro d’Italia is the big race in Italy for an Italian, but the Amgen Tour of California is also very important.”
“I prefer having the Amgen Tour of California in May as opposed to February because last year it was cold. We’ve been watching the Giro d’Italia from here, but not closely because of the time difference.”
On the final kilometer of the race:
“Cervélo TestTeam was pulling for [Theo] Bos at the last kilometer and Peter Sagan gave us a nice pull. I think I did as well as I could. I found a little bit of a headwind. That’s about how it played out.”
On the weather:
“They say there’s always sun in California. This year, we’ve taken on a little bit of water. But it wasn’t so bad today. It’s better than it is in Italy right now.”
David Zabriskie (USA), Garmin-Transitions, race leader:
On retaining the Amgen Leader Jersey:
“This was a great day. There were big crowds in Modesto and it was a nice course to be in this jersey.”
“The team did great work today. We’re very comfortable together and we’re doing our jobs to try to keep the Amgen Leader Jersey.”
“I’m an excited individual to be in the Amgen Leader Jersey at the Amgen Tour of California. I’ve never done it before and I’m very happy. I’m really enjoying it.”
“I still think the hardest part of the race is yet to come.”
On wearing Amgen Leader Jersey vs. wearing a jersey/his overall win at Tour of Missouri:
“The Tour of Missouri was great but for me, this is very special. It’s something I’ve really wanted. This is special one for me.”
On the Amgen Tour of California’s move from February to May and overlap with the Giro d’Italia:
“I think [the move from February to May] was a good decision. It’s nice to have another high caliber race to give everyone another option.”
On a difficult section in today’s race when Team RadioShack split the field:
“We were sitting in front so we could see what Team RadioShack was doing. They were doing a good job splitting the field. Then we took the left hander – it was a pretty strong headwind and it all came back together, so we got a little lucky.
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