Rollin braves the elements to win California stage four

SAN LUIS OBISPO, California (Reuters) - Dominique Rollin of Canada endured almost seven hours of wind and rain to win the fourth stage of the Tour of California on Thursday.

Rollin, the 2006 Canadian road champion, broke from a lead group of seven with 20 kilometers left and pedaled to a solo win in the 217-kilometre Seaside to San Luis Obispo road race, clocking six hours, 56 minutes, 8 seconds.

American Levi Leipheimer, the defending champion, retained his overall race lead, despite finishing 16th in the main field.

He was two minutes, 28 seconds adrift of the lead pack, which battled the whole day along a stretch of coastline notorious for its adverse weather conditions.

Leipheimer, who took the race lead on Wednesday, has a 13-second lead over Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland and 15-second cushion over Robert Gesink of the Netherlands.

George Hincapie of the United States, a Tour de France stage winner, finished second in the stage with Iker Camano of Spain third, both 18 seconds behind the winner.

Mario Cipollini of Italy, who is returning to competition after a three-year absence, finished 10th in the stage.

The race was fraught with problems for a second successive day, with winds gusting at more than 50 kilometers per hour and illness spreading through the peloton.

Fifteen riders either failed to start or withdrew from the race. Eleven riders abandoned during the third stage, leaving only a field of 105 from the 132 who started on Sunday.

(Reporting by James Raia, editing by Martin Petty)