Leipheimer finishes second in Tour of California prologue

<p>SACRAMENTO — With seemingly everyone focused on that cancer crusader and seven-time Tour de France champion, Santa Rosa’s Levi Leipheimer had his focus trained, as usual, on the ultimate prize.</p><p>Leipheimer, an athlete who would rather pass a kidney stone than miss a training ride, finished second Saturday in a field of 136 riders at the prologue of the eight-stage, 800-mile Tour of California. </p><p>With an estimated 75,000 fans clogging downtown Sacramento to witness Lance Armstrong’s return to cycling in America, Leipheimer finished the 2.4-mile course in 4 minutes, 34.11 seconds, 1.21 seconds behind Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland, an Olympic gold medalist and two-time world time-trial champion. Armstrong finished 10th in 4:38.37.</p><p>After Leipheimer’s work was finished, it became clear his carefully scripted routine would continue, regardless of the TOC’s post-race script. His goal, of course, is to win the race for the third straight year. And no detail is being overlooked in his quest.</p><p>At the conclusion of the prologue, for example, Leipheimer, 35, was about 10 minutes late arriving at the podium. Sorry, folks, he had to warm down on a stationary bike. </p><p>Then, less than 10 minutes into the post-race press conference, Leipheimer leaned over to Steve Brunner, the director of the press operations for the TOC.</p><p>With temperatures in the low 50s, Leipheimer, Cancellara and third-place finisher David Zabriskie were answering questions under a large open-air canopy near the steps of the State Capitol.</p><p>“We’re all cold,” Leipheimer whispered to Brunner. “Let’s move it along.”</p><p>Brunner didn’t hesitate, “Two more questions,” he announced to the media, which had asked five questions of the three cyclists.</p><p>Leipheimer didn’t speak much during the press conference, but he didn’t have to. His silence spoke loudest.</p><p>Cancellara also won the TOC prologue last year and Leipheimer finished fourth, a fact Cancellara, seated next to Leipheimer, mentioned with a smile.</p><p>“Again I was in front of Levi,” said Cancellara in a thick Swedish accent. “Like last year, sorry.”</p><p>The remark brought a chorus of laughs. But not from Leipheimer, who stared straight ahead, stone-faced.</p><p>Scott Nydam of Team BMC, a Sebastopol resident and regular training partner of Leipheimer’s the past two years, says his friend’s ability to drive out distractions is legendary. And unique.</p><p>“It’s something I think is kind of rare in the sport,” said Nydam, who finished 60th. “Levi is doing it for the reasons he says he’s doing it. He’s training so hard so he can win the Tour of California. So if you start out with that logic what are the logical things to do? It makes your decisions very easy. If you want to win the race, what’s the best way to take care of your legs? It’s not to sit there in the cold and answer questions at a press conference. Levi wants to win. He doesn’t care about the limelight and being in magazines.”</p><p>Leipheimer has learned from his mistakes. At the inaugural TOC in 2006, he was swept up in the emotion of riding into his adopted hometown of Santa Rosa with the yellow jersey. After a lengthy press conference, the still-emotional Leipheimer slept fitfully at his own home instead of the team hotel. He finished sixth, the only time he failed to win the race.</p><p>As for his chances of winning this year, Leipheimer sounded confident Saturday.</p><p>“I feel great,” he said. “I think everything is right on track. I feel like I have the form to compete for the win. That’s not to say I’m going to because obviously the competition is very good.”</p><p>He also mentioned the unpredictability of a stage race. For example, the forecast for today’s first stage, a 107.6-mile trek from Davis to Santa Rosa, calls for a heavy rain and temperatures in the 50s.</p><p>No matter. Leipheimer is the type to view hypothermia as just another distraction.</p><p>“I think we’ve all been professional cyclists for a long time and we’ve all certainly had very bad days on a bike,” Leipheimer said. “We know what it’s like. You just have to be prepared. In your head, you just have to be ready for the worst.”</p><p>Following the press conference, Brunner was asked what Leipheimer had whispered to him minutes earlier. After Brunner answered, he continued to talk about Leipheimer, praising his professionalism and attention to detail, which he compared to Armstrong’s.</p><p>Brunner even got a lesson in Leipheimer’s attention to detail Saturday. In his introduction of Leipheimer, he said the runner-up was two seconds behind Cancellara.</p><p>Wrong, Leipheimer quickly noted. He is, of course, only 1.2 seconds behind. </p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Eric Branch at 521-5268 or eric.branch@pressdemocrat.com.</p>