The climbers finally had their day at the Amgen Tour of California. Stage four took the race from Livermore to San Jose covering five rated climbs en route. Sports Director Torsten Schmidt had tapped Andy Schleck and Linus Gerdemann to showcase their climbing prowess on the day’s final two climbs. The duo did not disappoint. With Chris Horner (RadioShack) solo off the front, Andy attacked his group of four 200 meters from the line to come across in second. Linus Gerdemann, who had been part of the second group on the road, finished tenth. Their efforts today moved them up in the general classification where they now sit sixth and eighth, respectively, in the overall.

Andy claims he surprised himself on Sierra Road. “I know the road, and I know the climb,” he said. “I knew it would be hard. The race today was difficult the entire day. It went fast from the start. I wasn’t good in the beginning but then I started to get better. Still, I was surprised to see myself up there in the end.”

It was an emotional day for the Leopard Trek team who marked the funeral of Wouter Weylandt held today Gent, Belgium. “We had a minute of silence before the start and then the whole team road together at the front during the neutral section,” Andy explained. “It was actually really emotional for all of us. This was our last goodbye to Wouter since we couldn’t be at the funeral. At first, it was what we were all thinking about but then we found a way to turn our attention to the race. It wasn’t easy., but we had to turn a page. We ride for Wouter here.”

Martin Pedersen kicked things off for the team when he put himself in a ten-rider break. The move lasted until the fourth climb of the day. The break imploded on Mt. Hamilton and Pedersen was one of the last riders to rejoin the pack.

Mt. Hamilton, the HC categorized 6.8 kilometer ascent of 8.4% gradient, topped out at kilometer 89 -- just over 40 kilometers from the finish. As RadioShack took to making pace on the front of the descent into the Santa Clara Valley, it become clear that the climb had forced the selection of an elite group. Schleck, Gerdemann, Jens Voigt and Jakob Fuglsang had made the cut.

Thirty kilometers from the finish Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Cervélo) launched an attack. Paul Martens (Rabobank) bridged up, and the duo quickly established a gap of 30 seconds on the group behind. Meanwhile, Schleck had dropped back to the end of the bunch and the television commentators wondered if he had mechanical issues.

“There was no mechanical issue on the descent,” corrected Andy. “I lost my bottles because the road conditions were bad. I knew I would need new bottles quickly or my day would end earlier than I would like. That’s why I dropped back. I was out water, and I was really thirsty.”

Andy secured new bottles from the team car without a problem and quickly rejoined the front group on the descent.

Hesjedal and Martens hit the base of the final climb with a minute advantage on their chasers, and Hesjedal immediately dropped his breakmate who was swallowed up by the group behind. Inside four kilometers, Horner made a move with teammate Levi Leipheimer (RadioShack) on his wheel. The duo got away alone and caught Hesjedal in less than a kilometer. Behind, Schleck formed a four-man group of his own with Gerdemann just behind in a group of three.

Horner accelerated on the front 3.5 kilometers from the finish, and neither Leipheimer nor Hesjedal could respond. As Horner’s gap grew, Schleck’s group began to close in on Leipheimer and Hesjedal. Two kilometers from the finish the two groups became one. Horner remained in the lead alone with over a minute on the chasers behind.

Andy accelerated 200 meters before the finish and Rory Sutherland (Unitedhealthcare) and Leipheimer were the only two to follow. One last dig, and Schleck had secured second.

“I went better than I expected, and now I will do my best in the remaining stages,” said Andy. “I have been training hard leading up to this race. Linus has been considered our leader for the general classification. He didn’t lose a lot today, and now we have both us up there. It’s good to have two leaders in a race like this.”

The field faces a long day in the saddle tomorrow as the race covers 217.4 kilometers between Seaside and Paso Robles. The fifth stage of the Amgen Tour of California includes four KOMs and two intermediate sprints along a route that saw modifications after landslides blocked the original route along Highway 1. With a difficult start to the stage and undulating roads leading into the finish, it may be the first stage of the race to see a break succeed.