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New Zealand cyclist Hayden Roulston played a leading role as his team secured a stage win in the Tour of California.
The Cervelo TestTeam secured victory in stage three with a perfectly executed finish that delivered their sprinter, Thor Hushovd, at the front of the bunch at the right moment to beat off Rabobank's Oscar Friere and Team Columbia High Road's Mark Renshaw for the top step on the podium.
Hushovd's winning time for the 167.7km stage from San Jose to Modesto was 4 hours 28 minutes 12 seconds.
"Hayden Roulston started it with a little more than one kilometre to go, then Dominique Rollin pulled into the last corner," said Hushovd, whose leadout rider in his former team, Credit Agricole, used to be New Zealander Julian Dean.
Rollin, the Canadian road champion, was a recent visitor to New Zealand, having raced in last year's Tour of Southland where he won the final stage as well as topping the tour's sprinters' standings.
"Then Brett Lancaster took over after the last corner, and I passed him with about 150m to go.
"Our team did a great job today, and I am really thankful. It's the first time we've worked together and it went well, so that was a good start," said Rollin.
"I know that with these guys, we may be one of the best lead-out teams in the world, and I think today that we showed it."
The four New Zealanders contesting the Tour of California all finished on the same time as that credited to Hushovd. Peter Latham (Bissell Pro Cycling) was 74th, Beijing Olympian Glen Chadwick (Rock Racing) 101st, Roulston 104th and Jeremy Vennell (Bissell) 110th.
General classification leader Levi Leipheimer, seeking a hat-trick of wins, kept his position at the top of the tour standings despite suffering a little crash after crossing paths with a teammate.
He was not seriously injured and was back under way after a speedy bike change.
Seven-times Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, competing on home soil for the first time since ending his 3-year retirement, finished in the main pack to maintain his fourth place in the overall standings.
Hushovd crossed the line more than two bike lengths ahead of Spaniard Freire and Australian Renshaw in a time of four hours, 28 minutes and 13 seconds.
Leipheimer cruised home just behind the sprinters to retain his 24-second lead over Australian Michael Rogers.
American David Zabriskie remained third overall, a further four seconds adrift, with Leipheimer's Astana teammate Armstrong another two seconds back in fourth.
Roulston is 28th on general classification, 6 minutes 03 seconds down on Leipheimer, while Vennell is 41st (9:03), Chadwick 53rd (15:29) and Latham 87th (29:54).
- NZPA
