Hincapie becomes double stage winner; Landis keeps race lead

SANTA BARBARA — Nine-time Tour de France finisher George Hincapie won the fifth stage of the Tour of California on Friday while Floyd Landis hung on to the race lead.

Hincapie, of Greenville, S.C., again used his teammates’ strong support to sprint to victory in the 105.3-mile stage in 3 hours, 52 minutes, 2 seconds.

He joined Juan Jose Haedo of Argentina as a double stage winner.

Landis (Phonak) of Murrieta finished 18th in the main field and maintained his 29-second race margin over David Zabriskie (CSC) of Salt Lake City.

Bobby Julich (CSC) of Reno, Nev., remains third overall, trailing the leader by 34 seconds.

"The way I can see it, there’s no reason to waste extra energy chasing every single guy who wanted to attack,” Landis said. "There was still a long way to go. But as we get closer to the finish, the more nervous I’m getting.”

Hincapie, who claimed the race’s second stage last Tuesday, won this stage in similar fashion. His Discovery Channel teammates rode at the front nearing the final sprint and then Hincapie jumped to the front nearing the line.

"I was on my own for the last 300 meters,” said Hincapie, who last July won the 15th stage of the Tour de France. "It was a long stretch, but I was able to bring it home.”

Fabian Wegmann (Gerolsteiner) of Germany finished second in the stage and Chris Horner (Davitamon-Lotto) or Bend, Ore., was third.

"I’m really not in that good of shape yet,” said Hincapie, the only teammate who rode with the now-retired Lance Armstrong during each of his seven consecutive Tour de France wins.

"But I’ve got two wins already. We virtually had the whole team at the front, and I had super legs for the climb.”

The race continues Saturday with an 89.5-mile road race from Santa Barbara to Thousand Oaks and concludes Sunday with a 76.5-mile circuit race in Redondo Beach.<