Swift wins sprint in abbreviated Tour of California opening stage

Ben Swift won the final sprint into the State's Capitol on an abbreviated opening stage of the 2011 Amgen Tour of California. The Team Sky leader rode his team's lead out train to edge out Liquigas' Peter Sagan and HTC-Highroad's Matthew Goss.

The race's opening stage, originally set for Lake Tahoe on Sunday, was delayed again on Monday due to weather before. The altered course, which began in Nevada City, was a relatively flat 123 km (76.3 miles) that allowed for a field sprint.

Indeed, early breakaways were easily controlled by the peloton and several teams vied for control during the final circuit in Sacramento. Eventually, Team Sky's lead out train fought off other teams, until the hard-charging Swift rode to victory.

Three-time winner and Bay Area native Levi Leipheimer from Team RadioShack finished towards the front of the peloton with the same time as the leaders.

David Zabriskie, the 2010 runner-up from Team Garmin-Cevelo, was unable to get to the front of the peloton and was gapped, losing 15 seconds to the leaders.

Race results: click here

Photos from the race: click here