Leipheimer 10km rule
The 2007 edition was tailor-made for California native Levi Leipheimer, and with a repeat victory on the same prologue up San Francisco's climb to Coit Tower, it should have been another yellow-jersey homecoming to Santa Rosa and smooth sailing until the Solvang individual time trial with few other stages to interfere with his maillot jaune.
But a crash on the stage 1 circuit in Santa Rosa with 10km to go put Leipheimer in a chasing group that finished well behind sprint winner Graeme Brown.
In the front group was Ben Jacques-Maynes of the Priority Health continental team, who had been third in the prologue and, under current UCI rules, should have been the new race leader.
Article continues belowHowever, the race jury took an unusual decision to neutralise the gap to the front group because of the size of the wreck which was caused by raised lane markers on the road.
"Due to the size of the crash and the large number of riders that went down in the crash, our panel of commissaires made a decision to award all the riders with the time of the winner," Jim Birrell, the then-race director said. "I think it was a fair decision and the right decision."
Jacques-Maynes was gracious with the loss of what could have been a defining moment in his career: "I'm not in a position to question the commissaires and I just have to live with it keep racing my bike. I'm paid to pedal, and they are paid to make those decisions. It is hard to swallow that, but that is what we have to do."
