Sacramento treated to great racing

Sacramento was treated to some fantastic pro racing as the modified stage 2 course of the 2011 Amgen Tour of California offered 3 circuits around the state capitol building.  A breakaway of 4 riders struggled to stay ahead of the peloton, but were caught before rolling onto the streets of California’s capitol city, where huge crowds waited despite the threat of poor weather.

Rain fell briefly just as the riders started to duel it out trying to get teams positioned for a sprint finish.

At the end of the day, it was Ben Swift of Team Sky that claimed the sprint – and of course the overall leaders jersey at the end of the first active day of racing of the tour.  Ben Swift stated that he actually felt the rain may have helped him out:

The rain helped me a little bit.  Coming from Britain, you get to experience riding in rain.  It puts a fear in
some people and helps you control things more.

Racing continues tomorrow as Route 3 travels from Auburn to Modesto.