Having lost time yesterday due to a puncture, Irish road race champion David O'Loughlin had more misfortune on today's second stage of the Tour of California.
The Navigators Insurance professional was riding well on the tough 152.7k stage from Martinez to San José when he was hit from behind by a rider and crashed.
The delay in waiting for a new bike meant that he was unable to get back to the group, costing him the chance of a high placing.
Today's stage was won by Discovery Channel rider George Hincapie, who won the sprint from a 20-man group, beating Chris Horner (Davitamon Lotto) and Horner's team-mate Josep Jufre Pou to the line.
O'Loughlin finished 61st, coming home 5 minutes and 21 seconds down.
Overnight race leader Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) rode strongly on the stage, going clear with Floyd Landis (Phonak) and King of the Mountains leader Bernhard Kohl (T-Mobile) on the final climb of Sierra Road and opening a good gap over the other race contenders.
However Hincapie's Discovery Channel team rode well and were able to close the gap before the finish, setting things up for his stage win.
The resulting time bonus meant that he overtook Leipheimer in the general classification, moving 4 seconds clear. Bobby Julich (Team CSC) is nine seconds back in third, with Landis a further second in arrears. O'Loughlin is now 58th overall.
