Zabriskie Wins Individual Time Trial, Takes Lead At Tour Of California
BAKERSFIELD (AP) — Dave Zabriskie won the individual time trial in hot and breezy conditions Thursday to take the Tour of California overall lead in with three stages left.
Zabriskie, the 33-year-old Garmin-Barracuda rider from Salt Lake City, finished the 18.4-mile flat course in 35 minutes, 59 seconds. He's a six-time U.S. champion.
Germany's Jens Voigt, racing for RadioShack-Nissan-Trek, was second in the fifth stage, 23 seconds back.
As temperatures reached into the mid-90s for the second straight day, Tejay Van Garderen of Tacoma, Wash., and Garmin-Barracuda, was third, 34 seconds back.
Zabriskie, who led the Tour de France for three days in 2005 after beating Lance Armstrong by 2 seconds in the opening time trial, leads Van Garderen by 34 seconds in the overall standings.
Slovakia's Peter Sagan, the Liquigas-Canondale rider who swept the first four stages, finished 52nd in the stage, nearly 3 1/2 minutes behind Zabriskie.
Kristin Armstrong won the women's individual time trial in 39:59.28. From Boise, Idaho, and racing for Exergy TWENTY12, she won a gold medal in the 2008 Olympics.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.