Voight wins a tough stage to gain ground

Jens Voight of Germany easily outsprinted race leader Levi Leipheimer on Wednesday to claim the third and most difficult stage of the Amgen Tour of California.

Voight (on the CSC team), the 2006 Tour of Germany winner who also won a stage of the Tour de France last year, claimed the 94.6-mile Stockton-to-San Jose road race in 3 hours 43 minutes 44 seconds.

Leipheimer (Discovery Channel), of Santa Rosa, gained six bonus seconds for finishing second and extended his race lead from one to three seconds.

Voight, who gained 10 seconds for the first stage win in his long career in the United States, also gained three bonus seconds earlier in the stage to move into second place overall.

Christopher Horner (Predictor-Lotto) of Bend, Ore., finished third in the stage and moved into third overall, 15 seconds behind.

“I think we did a great job to make it to the finish ahead of the group,” said Leipheimer, who has led the race since winning the prologue Sunday in San Francisco. “It was a hard day for our team and it was a real bike race today.”

Voight, Leipheimer and Horner were among five riders who reached the top of Sierra Road, the steepest climb of the race, after 76.5 miles. The climb, a 1,500-foot ascent in approximately three miles that reached an 11% grade, split the field into numerous groups and resulted in the race’s largest finishing time gaps.

The top three finishers eventually rode together entering San Jose and often exchanged positions with the main field closing quickly.

The eight-day, 639.2-mile race continues today with a 132.6-mile Seaside to San Luis Obispo road race, the longest stage of the race.