Doug Ellis is going to have a hard time topping this birthday. The chairman of Slipstream Sports, Ellis was still celebrating Tyler Farrar’s grand-tour victory (left) at the Giro d’Italia earlier today when his birthday became twice as nice. Dave Zabriskie, who finished second at last year’s Tour of California, was part of a breakaway of heavy hitters when he attacked with 800m remaining in today’s stage from San Francisco to Santa Cruz. The move paid off when Zabriskie came out on top of a photo finish and moved into the overall lead with the stage win. Zabriskie, the 2009 Tour of Missouri champion and new USA Today blogger, would love to add the Tour of California title to his resume as well. As the race reaches the midway point, he and the rest of Garmin’s California squad are poised to do just that. Congratulations are already pouring in – WIRED Magazine tweeted pictures from the team bus this morning and ESPN’s Bonnie Ford said on Twitter: “Garmin riders had their GPS on today, not much “recalculating.” Kudos to DZ for rare road stage win in Cali, doubling up w Farrar in #Giro.” – and more are sure to come, so check back for Dave’s USA Today blog the team’s race recaps and our Twitter
updates for more reactions, pictures and insight.