As the 2011 Amgen Tour of California reaches its conclusion on Sunday with Stage 8 in Thousand Oaks, the main battle will be for the yellow jersey. Chris Horner currently holes a :38 second lead over Levi Leipheimer, and a 2:45 lead over Tom Danielson. However, there are other battles beyond that as the race will hand out to various riders. Some of these jerseys include the California Travel & Tourism Commission King of the Mountain Jersey, Herbalife Sprint Jersey, and Rabobank Best Young Rider Jersey.
The California Travel & Tourism Commission King of the Mountain Jersey goes to the strongest climber and is determined by accumulating points at the various King of the Mountain (KOM) climbs. The first three cyclists to reach the top of a KOM get points. The current KOM standings would indicate Jonathan Patrick McCarty has just about sewn up the title. He has 39 points with the next closest being Levi Leipheimer with 24. There is only one KOM in the final stage so it is unlikely that anybody can catch McCarty.
The Herbalife Sprint Jersey goes to the rider who accumulates the most bonus points from sprint line performances, as well as finishing a given stage in the top-15 places. Peter Sagan currently leads the sprint standings 34-25 over Ben Swift. Given the circuits wrapping up the race, there might be enough sprints to turn this into a battle at the end.
The Rabobank Best Young Rider Jersey goes to the rider under the age of 23 with the fastest overall time at the conclusion of the race. Tejay Van Garderen currently leads the under-23 standings. He is 1:02 ahead of Andrew Talansky and 1:04 ahead of Peter Sagan.