San Luis Obispo, CA - For a second day in a row, everything went according to plan for the Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis.

"We wanted to be aggressive again today and get someone in an early break," said team directeur sportif Jeff Corbett. And for the second straight day, it was Kirk O'Bee making the break 30 km into the 213 km stage, after numerous attempts from the gun failed to get away.

O'Bee was part of a seven-man group that rolled off the front, eventually opening a gap up to around three minutes. The Discovery-led peloton rode tempo yet again, letting the break roll on ahead for more than 170 km, before slowly reeling them back in and turning over the front of the bunch to the sprinters' teams of CSC, Liquigas and the Quick Step squad of world champion Paolo Bettini, who took the stage win ahead of Gerald Ciolek (T-Mobile) and J.J. Haedo (CSC).

With O'Bee up the road most of the day, the pressure was off Rory Sutherland (3rd overall) and Ryder Hesjedal (7th overall) of Health Net presented by Maxxis, on the longest stage of the Amgen Tour of California route.

"Ryder and I didn't have to push too hard today," said Sutherland, who goes into the time trial 0:15 behind race leader Levi Leipheimer (Discovery) and 0:12 behind Jens Voigt (CSC). "Kirk did a fantastic job today.

"We have a great opportunity here," he continued, "and we have a responsibility to the guys for all the work they've done the last two days. We can't ask for much more than that. So we're going to give it a good run (Friday) and see where we're at at the end of the day."

Corbett also commended the team for their efforts in stages 3 and 4. "The guys have ridden really well the last two days," he said. "Rory and Ryder got to recover a bit today, so hopefully they'll be going well in the TT.

The Amgen Tour of California continues with the potentially decisive 23 km individual time trial in Solvang.

Notes

After spending much of Wednesday's Stage 3 in the break and solo off the front, Shawn Milne of Health Net Presented by Maxxis spent Thursday's stage in the blue Most Aggressive Rider's jersey.

Official Results

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