Dutch cyclist Robert Gesink of Rabobank obviously enjoys the recognition he gets as Best Young Rider for the second day in a row in the Amgen Tour of California.

Photo by me in Santa Cruz, California after the Stage 2 finish.

The Amgen Tour of California traveled down the California coast and through the Redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains in constant drenching rain that Levi Leipheimer likened to an all day cold shower.

Fans lined the roads all through Santa Cruz County in spite of the heavy rain and a mudslide that briefly closed Highway 17. Santa Cruz favorite Ben Jacques-Maynes (Bissell) said he was very pleased to see the local turnout.

As the cyclists approached the city of Santa Cruz, the clouds parted and the sun shone down on the fans and the race. A breakaway of Tom Peterson (Garmin-Chipotle) and Levi Leipheimer (Astana) raced through town as cowbells clanged, with Levi leading and Tom Peterson sucking on Levi’s wheel until they were about 50 yards from the finish line, when Tom zipped to the side and pulled away For The Win.

Levi’s second place finish on the heels of Peterson earned him the Yellow Jersey, which he intends to hold on to through Escondido.

Michael Rogers of Team Columbia-High Road rounded out the podium for third place.

The blue and gold of Astana dominates in the GC rankings, with Levi Leipheimer, Lance Armstrong (!) in fourth place, and Chris Horner in fifth. Michael Rogers is in second, while Dave Zabriskie (Garmin Slipstream) is in third place overall. My vote is for Levi but these are all very strong riders.

In last place today was Phil Southerland of Team Type 1. I talked with Phil last year and I’m really impressed with his effort, especially because he has Type 1 Diabetes. Major props to Phil for what he’s doing!

DNF’s today are Kirk O’Bee (Bissell), Andy Jacques-Maynes (Bissell), Moises Aldape Chavez (Team Type 1), Jonathan Clarke (Fly V Austalia/Successful Living), Scott Davis (Fly V Austalia/Successful Living). I don’t know about the others, but Andy Jacques-Maynes — Ben Jacques-Maynes’ brother — crashed and reportedly hit a parked car. He was transported to a Santa Cruz hospital but he’s doing fine.

View more photos from today’s stage in my Tour of California Stage 2 set. I’m still uploading them as of 7:30 PM so give it some time, please! I appreciate any and all comments and questions.

Tomorrow: San Jose to Modesto.

With tens of thousands of people, if not more, possibly descending upon Santa Cruz Monday to catch a glimpse of the Tour of California, transportation-minded organizations around town are urging spectators to use alternative transportation.

Locals who plan to ride the bus should know that Metro is offering two park and ride lots. One is in Scotts Valley behind the Kings Village Shopping Center and King Village Drive and Blue Bonnet. The other is at Highway 1 and Soquel Drive near Dominican Hospital. The bus stop is in front of the hospital.

Bus riders from Scotts Valley can hop on route “35 Santa Cruz” or the Highway 17 Express, while riders from Live Oak and South County should use bus route “71 Santa Cruz.” Riders without a Highway 17 bus pass should use bus 35 to save money.

Read more In the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

Me: I’m parking at my home in Scotts Valley and riding my bike into Santa Cruz.

See also: Santa Cruz Streets Smart blog.
See also: Santa Cruz County viewing locations.

Wasn’t there a bicycle movie where the protagonist breaks away early in the race and manages to hold the lead for the entire race?

That happened in real life Sunday during Stage 1 of the Amgen Tour of California when Rock Racing’s Francisco Mancebo broke away shortly after the neutral start and rode — all by himself — for 100 miles. A small group gave chase but Mancebo crossed the finish line alone and victorious as the huge crowds in Santa Rosa went wild.

Fabian Cancellara of Saxo Bank, who wore the yellow jersey in today’s stage, dropped out of the race, as did AG2R rider Tadej Valjavec. Several riders — including Lance Armstrong and Carlos Sastre — crashed on the wet, windy mountain roads. At least one team reportedly ran out of wheels they had so many flats.

Vincenzo Nibali got second place on Sunday; Jurgen Van De Walle took third.

A shout out to the people I ran into today: Ken Conley, David Bernstein, Mike Norris who was shooting for Steephill.TV, and a writer (whose name I forget) for Bicycle.Net. Visit their sites for great photography, news, and coverage. Apologies to all the people I missed today — I intended to spend the day in Santa Rosa, but stayed out too late in Sacramento last night and got a very late start Sunday morning.

Tomorrow: Sausalito to Santa Cruz.

Emilia Fahlin of Sweden, the youngest member of Team Columbia-Highroad, won the women’s criterium race as thousands cheered on the racers in Santa Rosa Sunday afternoon.

The second-annual event consisted of a field of 88 riders competing for more than $15,000 in prizes. Set as a category Pro 1,2 race and with a limit of eight riders per team, the Amgen Tour of California Women’s Criterium showcased some of the world’s top professional women’s cycling teams, including defending champion Brooke Miller of Team TIBCO, who finished 15th overall.

“The 2009 Amgen Tour of California Women’s Criterium was a huge success,” said Laura Charameda, race director, Amgen Tour of California Women’s Criterium. “We had an amazing representation from the top women’s teams. With the support of AEG, which believes in building great events for both men and women, I look forward to the opportunity to help grow this event into the most important race in the world for professional women cyclists.”

Emilia Fahlin, overall winner of the Women’s Criterium and current National Champion of Sweden, took several important wins in the 2008 season, including the Merced Criterium and Merco Cycling Classic Road Race. Fahlin also took a stage win in the 2008 Redlands Bicycle Classic. In 2007, she took second place in the Sparkassen Giro Bochum.

“When I was here last year, I finished third,” said Fahlin, winner of the second-annual Amgen Tour of California Women’s Criterium. “I really enjoyed the race last year with the big crowds, so I wanted to do better. Getting to win here was really fun and great way to start the season; very motivating.”

Rounding out the top three were Lauren Tamayo (USA) of Team TIBCO in second and Rachel Lloyd (USA) of Proman in third. Tamayo took first in the 2008 Women’s International Challenge and the 2008 Atlanta 10K Classic. Lloyd won the 2008 Single Speed World Championship Mountain Bike Race.

America’s most successful cycling race, the Amgen Tour of California, is a more than 750-mile, nine-day stage race, modeled after the Tour de France. One of the nation’s largest and most recognized annual sports events, this international, world-class cycling road race features 17 elite professional teams and athletes from around the world, competing for the highest prize purse of any cycling race in North America. The Amgen Tour of California brings the drama and excitement of a professional cycling stage race to the California coast for a fourth year in 2009, from Feb. 14-22.

“Returning to Santa Rosa for the second-annual Amgen Tour of California Women’s Criterium was an obvious choice after the incredible turnout last year,” said Andrew Messick, president, AEG Sports, presenter of the race. “There are a lot of passionate cycling fans watching the 2009 Amgen Tour of California, so we wanted to utilize that opportunity to showcase the amazing talent of these professional women cyclists as well. We remain committed to presenting women’s cycling and will look for ways to help promote and grow women’s cycling in the coming months and years.”

The Astana team truck was broken into last night. The thieves made off with Lance Armstrong’s time trial bike, along with today’s race bikes belonging to Jani Brajkovic, Yaroslav Popovych and Steve Morabito.

Has anybody posted “HOT BIKE FOR SALE” to Sacramento Craigslist yet?

Today’s stage: 20 mph southeast winds and heavy rain!