Instead, Horner found strength that no one else could match, and he dropped Leipheimer along with the rest of the field on the brutal final climb up Sierra Road.
In a stage filled with hard climbs and finishing with the Hors Categorie climb up Sierra Road (Hors Categorie is the hardest class of climb in pro cycling), the General Classification contenders all intended to attack and take out time from their rivals.
But cycling is a team sport, and Team Radio Shack has had the strongest team and the best plan.
“We had a fantastic team: Markel Irizar, Ben King, drilling it from kilometer zero,” he told Versus after the race. “I put them on the front and said, ‘Drill it as hard as you can. Every climb we go up; I don’t care if it is the cat 4, 3, 1, whatever it is—drill it as hard as you can. I want everybody to suffer, and I want to blow this race apart.’
“Matthew Busche, he was unbelievable. I saved him for last. He had us going 500 watts for over 500 meters and exploded everyone. Then it was just me and Levi to the line.”
When Horner and Leipheimer attacked with 2.5 miles to go, no one could answer. Halfway there, Leipheimer cracked; he couldn’t match his teammate’s pace.
Leipheimer fell back to ride in with the first pursuit group of Andy Schleck, Tom Danielson, Rory Southerland, and TeJay van Garderen, while Horner rode on to open a 1:15 gap on the field, earning himself the leader’s gold jersey.
Horner insisted after the stage that the plan was to get Leipheimer across the line first.
“Without a doubt I was working for Levi,” Horner explained. “He’s a three-time champion. We just figured out on the Sierra climb if our legs were good.
“Levi is still the protected leader. We’re going into the Time Trial with him as a big favorite still. There’s time he can pull back. We can win this thing one-two.”
When pushed, Horner wouldn’t rule out the chance that he would go for the overall win. “I’ve got some good form, and I can time-trial pretty good myself,” he said with a grin.
Next: Breaks, Attacks, Domination
Breaks, Attacks, Domination
Everyone knew that Stage Four, the first mountain stage, would be the site of the first selection; this was where the top riders would attack repeatedly until they cracked the others.
The first attack came from Ryder Hesjedal of Garmin-Cervelo, 18 miles from the finish line. Hesjedal was joined by Rabobbank’s Paul Martens, and the pair opened a gap of almost a minute, but it was far too early.
Radio Shack waited for the final climb, and went into overdrive and caught Martens 3.3 miles from the end. Hesjedal pressed on, but he was too tired to respond when Horner and Leipheimer rode by him. Hesjedal did win the “Most Courageous Rider” jersey for his impassioned attack, but he finished seventh.
Andy Schleck of Leopard-Trek was riding to honor the memory of his fallen friend and teammate Wouter Weylandt, who died riding in the Giro d’Italia and was buried in his native Belgium Wednesday morning.
Schleck joined the first chase group, and while he had nothing for Horner, he showed his form by attacking in the final few hundred meters and taking second by a fair margin.
“It was definitely an emotional stage for me; I got tears in my eyes. But now we have to turn the page. Wouter lives in memories,” Schleck said. “Of course I would have wanted to win for him and his family, but I finished second.”
Sutherland hoped his performance might lead to an overall podium finish.
“If it’s attainable, it’s attainable,” he said. “Today showed that I’ve got some good climbing legs but there are some longer climbs Saturday, the day after the time trial.”
He also emphasized how important the Tour of California is for American teams like UnitedHealthCare. “This is it. For us, this is the Tour de France. This is what we’ve been working for since a month after the Tour of California last year.”
Stage Five: Long and Lumpy
Stage Five, 138.9 miles (223.6 km) from Seaside to Paso Robles, has a bunch of Hills and a Cat 4 climb near the start and a bunch of Hills and a Cat 4 climb at the end.
This will be day for breakaways, particularly after the effort many riders expended in Stage Four. If a sizeable group of riders who are not GC challengers gets away, expect to see it stay away because no one will have the need or the energy to reel it in.
Also, GC contenders will be looking ahead to Friday’s Time Trial and Saturday’s climb up Mount Baldy, certainly the Tappa Reina, the “Queen Stage,” the hardest of the Tour. None of the frontrunners will want to waste themselves chasing an inconsequential breakaway at the cost of losing time in Stages Six or Seven.
| 2011 Tour of California Stage Four Results | |||
| # | Ride Name (Country) | Team | Result |
| 1 | Christopher Horner (USA) | Team RadioShack | 3:27:51 |
| 2 | Andy Schleck (Lux) | Leopard Trek | 0:01:15 |
| 3 | Rory Sutherland (Aus) | UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling |
|
| 4 | Levi Leipheimer (USA) | Team RadioShack |
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| 5 | Thomas Danielson (USA) | Team Garmin-Cervelo |
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| 6 | Christian Vande Velde (USA) | Team Garmin-Cervelo |
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| 7 | Ryder Hesjedal (Can) | Team Garmin-Cervelo |
|
| 8 | Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) | Rabobank Cycling Team |
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| 9 | Andrew Talansky (USA) | Team Garmin-Cervelo |
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| 10 | Linus Gerdemann (Ger) | Leopard Trek |
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| |||
| General Classification after Stage Four | |||
| # | Rider Name (Country) | Team | Result |
| 1 | Christopher Horner (USA) | Team RadioShack | 11:29:32 |
| 2 | Levi Leipheimer (USA) | Team RadioShack | 0:01:15 |
| 3 | Thomas Danielson (USA) | Team Garmin-Cervelo | 0:01:22 |
| 4 | Christian Vande Velde (USA) | Team Garmin-Cervelo | 0:01:29 |
| 5 | Rory Sutherland (Aus) | UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 0:01:30 |
| 6 | Andy Schleck (Lux) | Leopard Trek |
|
| 7 | Ryder Hesjedal (Can) | Team Garmin-Cervelo | 0:01:36 |
| 8 | Linus Gerdemann (Ger) | Leopard Trek | 0:01:50 |
| 9 | Andrew Talansky (USA) | Team Garmin-Cervelo |
|
| 10 | Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) | Rabobank Cycling Team | 0:02:00 |
