SACRAMENTO — Former world road race titlist Tom Boonen of Belgium won the second stage and American Tyler Farrar grabbed a one-second race lead Tuesday in the rainy Amgen Tour of California.
Boonen (Quick-Step), the 2005 world champion, bolted past Mark Cavendish of Great Britain in the final 50 yards to win the stage.
He completed the 116-mile Santa Rosa-to-Sacramento road race in 5 hours, 9 minutes and 35 seconds.
Heinrich Haussler (Gerolsteiner) of Germany was second, and Mario Cipollini (High Road) -- the 40-year-old Italian who ended a three-year retirement to compete -- finished third, both in the same time as the winner.
Farrar (Slipstream-Chipotle), who began the second stage trailing Fabian Cancellara (SCS) of Switzerland by 2 seconds, finished sixth in the stage. However, the 23-year-old earned three mid-stage bonus seconds to assume the overall lead.
"My hope is that I will be handing the (leader's) jersey to one of my teammates (today) after the stage," said Farrar, whose team includes several more experienced riders who have won stages and/or held the race lead in the Tour de France. "The time bonuses rolled around late in the stage, and there was only one guy up the road (in the lead) and we were able to give it a go.
"The team was amazing."
With his stage win, Boonen moved into third overall, trailing by 4 seconds.
"It was pretty hectic," said Boonen, who last competed in the United States in 2002, when he was a teammate of Lance Armstrong and rode for the U.S. Postal Service. "I don't really know what or how it happened, but Cipollini left a hole and Cavendish was about 20 meters ahead and he was alone. It was one of the best 100 meters I've ever had."
The rainy weather slowed the field considerably, with the winning time about 30 minutes slower than the identical stage last year.
Defending race titlist Levi Leipheimer (Astana) of Santa Rosa, finished 21st in the stage in the main field. He dropped two places to sixth, 7 seconds behind Farrar.
Earlier this year, Farrar won the Tour of Bahamas, a lower-level three-stage race.
It marked his full return to cycling after race crashes the previous two seasons that resulted in a broken knee and collarbone.
"Crashes happen, that's an unfortunate part of bike racing," said Farrar, a sixth-year pro. "But if you dwell on them, you won't be able to do your job."
After nearly five hours competing in periodic, steady rain, Cavendish (High Road) opted for an early sprint as the field approached the conclusion of three 2-mile circuits around the State Capitol.
But Cavendish miscalculated and Boonen easily moved past him to the left.
The field of 131 riders will contest the 103-mile Modesto-to-San-Jose Stage 3 today. The road race includes five categorized climbs, including the ascent of Mount Hamilton at 4,360-feet, the race's second-highest peak.
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