Rogers, 30, a former three-time world time-trial champion riding for the HTC-Columbia team of the US, held the race lead for the final four days and was victorious by nine seconds over David Zabriskie of the US, who placed ninth in the stage.
“Certainly, it was a tough day,” Rogers said. “Usually, final circuit races are walks in the park. I was lucky to have two teammates with me early, but I also knew the others would attack.”
Levi Leipheimer of the US, who won the previous three California races, finished third, trailing Rogers by 25 seconds after his seventh-place in the final stage.
The top three pushed each other all the way in the waning kilometers, but Zabriskie and Leipheimer were unable to ride clear of Rogers to gain finish-line bonus time.
“I just had to conserve,” Rogers said. “I could not worry so much about the others, but I had to make sure Levi and Dave didn’t get away from me.”
Rogers, who earlier this season won the Ruta de Sol stage race in Spain, assumed the Tour of California lead over Zabriskie via a tiebreaker after finishing second to Slovakian Peter Sagan in the fifth stage.
A Tour de France race leader in 2007, Rogers maintained his race lead with third place in the sixth stage and second place in the seventh stage.
The victory also solidified Rogers’ return to the top level of cycling. While leading the Tour de France in 2007, Rogers crashed and fractured his collarbone.
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