*The penultimate stage, a relatively short ride from Santa Barbara to Thousand Oaks, was won by Olaf Pollack of T-Mobile in a finish that was heavily contested by sprint teams.

*CSC’s main priority was to protect the general classifications of David Zabriskie and Bobby Julich, so sprinter Stuart O’Grady had only a few riders to get him into the finish.

*CSC’s Karsten Kroon jumped onto an early breakaway that was reeled in after less than an hour.

*Barring catastrophe, Floyd Landis of Phonak, Zabriskie and Julich are virtually guaranteed their spots on the podium.

*Read the full story on today’s Stage 6 at www.csc.com/cycling.

*There will be TV coverage tonight on ESPN2 at 10:00 p.m. Pacific time (1 hour).

*The race will culminate with a circuit race in Redondo Beach. The riders compete on 10 laps of a 7.65 mile circuit along the Redondo Beach Esplanade and through an intermediate sprint line in Riviera Village before returning to the start/finish line on Harbor Street.