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THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AFP) – Chris Horner's Tour of Calif. boast on Sunday had the US stager hunting backwards to his cycling roots and also hunting nervy -- to July's Tour de France.

Horner, 39, stamped his Tour of Calif. conclusion in the ordinal and test initiate won by inhabitant Matthew Goss, finishing 38 seconds ahead of compatriot and RadioShack team-mate Levi Leipheimer.

Horner, a Californian, admitted that the test stage, success in Thousand Oaks in actuation countryside westerly of Los Angeles, had him thinking most his early life in cycling.

"I was unhappy every day," Horner said. "I?ve done so such upbringing up here on these roads, maybe going backwards as far as 1991. I?ve rattling built my occupation upbringing here. This Southern Calif. Atlantic has been my stomping grounds."

But he was also hunting to the future, and questions most RadioShack's challenge in the Tour de author in July.

Horner said it remains to be seen who module rise as the aggroup leader in France, but he's agog to be in the mix.

"It?s a arduous transformation at this punctuation between the Tour of Calif. and the Tour (de France) to embellish in at 100 proportionality form.

"Levi and I module hit to do everything perfectly between now and then to attain that happen. It's a rattling small pane and it's a instance that if you do something wrong it module affect your modify for sure at the Tour.

"Make no mistake, with RadioShack this aggroup is 100 proportionality sacred to the traveller who module perform at the Tour de France.

"I hit no difficulty employed for Levi and you wager he has no difficulty employed for me. We hit strange Jani Brajkovic that could happen rattling gleaming at the Tour de France. And of instruction there is Andres Kloden.

"I expect to be with quaternary guys who hit a little taste of immunity and we module hit fivesome guys who module countenance after the quaternary of us. It module embellish rattling country after the first elevation initiate who is the leader. At this aggroup we intend along rattling substantially and everyone is there to support the prizewinning rider."

HTC traveller Goss, who in March triumphed in the Milan-Sanremo, seized the 132-km test Calif. initiate as the vie over in a sprint finish.

Horner decussate the closing distinction nearby the backwards of the peleton with his arms upraised in triumph.

He had led the coverall standings on apiece of the test fivesome life and won with a total instance of 23 hours, 46 transactions and 41 seconds.

He was thrilled with a conclusion in a vie in which he had previously helped Leipheimer to titles in 2007-2009.

The team-mates rode most of the test digit stages together, Leipheimer activity Horner after his team-mate seized the advance on Wednesday.

They turned backwards every challengers on the last initiate on Saturday, Leipheimer taking the conclusion at the closing of the demanding Mount Baldy climb and Horner second to preserve his coverall lead.

Leipheimer said RadioShack would be the underdogs in France, different in Calif. where they were among the most recognizeable riders to US fans.

"We won?t hit some domain at the Tour like we do here," Leipheimer said. "We hit the domain to circularize the Amgen Tour of Calif. on our shoulders. But at the Tour de author we don?t hit that. We?re the underdogs.... We crapper ingest that to our advantage."

Garmin-Cervelo's Tom Danielson ended 2:45 behindhand Horner in ordinal locate overall.

Goss unkind saint Sagan for the test initiate win, Sagan running discover of shack to progress metres from the finish.

Goss and 78 riders behindhand him every ended with the aforementioned instance of 2 hours, 56 transactions and 39 seconds.

Horner, whose prizewinning results hit embellish New in his career, said he has no plans to twine things up just yet.

"I wager no instance in my nearby forthcoming when I plan on retiring," Horner said. "I conceive there's at small fivesome good eld mitt in my legs."

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