Amgen Tour of California

[steve]

Amgen Tour of California The largest cycling event in America, the 2011 Amgen Tour of California is a Tour de France-style cycling road race, presented by AEG, that challenges the world’s top professional cycling teams to compete along a demanding course from May 15-22. Founded in 2005 by Amgen, Breakaway from Cancer® is a national initiative to increase awareness of the important resources available to people affected by cancer from prevention to survivorship. The initiative supports the valuable support, education and advocacy resources offered by Prevent Cancer Foundation, Cancer Support Community, Patient Advocate Foundation and National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship. Official Website: http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/ 2011 Stages Date Route Distance Stage 1 May 15 South Lake Tahoe - North Lake Tahoe 191 km Stage 2 May 16 North Lake Tahoe - Sacramento 214.4 km Stage 3 May 17 Auburn - Modesto 196.2 km Stage 4 May 18 Livermore - San Jose 131.6 km Stage 5 May 19 Seaside - Paso Robles 223.6 km Stage 6 May 20 Solvang (ITT) - Solvang 24 km Stage 7 May 21 Claremont - Mt. Baldy 121.9 km Stage 8 May 22 Santa Clarita - Thousand Oaks 132.4 km Previous Winners 2010 Michael Rogers (Aus) Team HTC-Columbia 2009 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana 2008 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana 2007 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel 2006 Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak Hearing Systems 2011 Start List 1.) TEAM RADIOSHACK (USA)

• Levi Leipheimer (USA)
• Matthew Busche (USA)
• Chris Horner (USA)
• Markel Irizar (KAZ)
• Jason McCartney (USA)
• Dmtiriy Muravyev (KAZ)
• Ben King (USA)
• Haimar Zubeldia (ESP)

2.) TEAM GARMIN-CERVELO (USA)

• David Zabriskie (USA)
• Thomas Danielson (USA)
• Ryder Hesjedal (CAN)
• Thor Hushovd (NOR)
• Daniel Martin (IRE)
• Andrew Talansky (USA)
• Johan Van Summeren (BEL)
• Christian Vandevelde (USA)

3.) HTC-HIGHROAD (USA)

• Tejay Van Garderen (USA)
• Bernhard Eisel (AUT)
• Matthew Goss (AUS)
• Bert Grabsch (GER)
• Leigh Howard (AUS)
• Danny Pate (USA)
• Martin Velits (SVK)
• Peter Velits (SVK)

4.) SKY PROCYCLING (GBR)

• Kurt-Asle Arvesen (NOR)
• Alex Dowsett (GBR)
• Christopher Froome (GBR)
• Mathew Hayman (AUS)
• Greg Henderson (NZL)
• Jeremy Hunt (GBR)
• Ian Stannard (GBR)
• Ben Swift (GBR)

5.) BMC RACING TEAM (USA)

• George Hincapie (USA)
• Yannick Eijssen (BEL)
• Brent Bookwalter (USA)
• Chris Butler (USA)
• Jeff Louder (USA)
• Steve Morabito (SUI)
• Taylor Phinney (USA)
• Tim Roe (AUS)

6.) LEOPARD TREK (LUX)

• Andy Schleck (LUX)
• Stefan Denifl (AUT)
• Martin Mortensen (DEN)
• Jakob Fuglsang (DEN)
• Linus Gerdemann (GER)
• Anders Lund (DEN)
• Martin Pedersen (DEN)
• Jens Voigt (GER)

7.) LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE (ITA)

• Peter Sagan (SYK)
• Damiano Caruso (ITA)
• Timothy Duggan (USA)
• Edward King (USA)
• Daniel Oss (ITA)
• Simone Ponzi (ITA)
• Elia Viviani (ITA)
• Cameron Wurf (AUS)

8.) SAXO BANK SUNGARD (DEN)

• Gustav Larsson (SWE)
• Baden Cooke (AUS)
• Juan Jose Haedo (ARG)
• Lucas Sebastian Haedo (ARG)
• Rafal Majka (POL)
• Nick Nuyens (BEL)
• Jonas Aaen Jorgensen (DEN)
• Brian Vandborg (DEN)

9.) RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM (NED)

• Oscar Freire (ESP)
• Lars Boom (NED)
• Coen Vermeltfoort (NED)
• Paul Martens (GER)
• Michael Matthews (AUS)
• Grischa Niermann (GER)
• Laurens Ten Dam (DEN)
• Maarten Tjallingii (NED)

10.) UNITEDHEALTHCARE PRO CYCLING (USA)

• Rory Sutherland (AUS)
• Robert Forster (GER)
• Christopher Jones (USA)
• Christian Meier (CAN)
• Karl Menzies (AUS)
• Andrew Pinfold (CAN)
• Charles Wegelius (GBR)
• Bradley White (USA)

11.) TEAM TYPE 1 - sanofi-aventis (USA)

• Rubens Bertogliati (SUI)
• Laszlo Bodrogi (FRA)
• Daniele Callegarin (ITA)
• Alexander Efimkin (RUS)
• Aldo Ino Ilesic (SLO)
• Valeriy Kobzarenko (UKR)
• Jure Kocjan (SLO)
• Javier Megias Leal (KAZ)

12.) TEAM NETAPP (GER)

• Jesus Del Nero Montes (SPA)
• Jan Barta (CZE)
• Timon Seubert (GER)
• Andreas Dietziker (SUI)
• Alexander Gottfried (GER)
• Bartosz Huzarski (POL)
• Leopold Konig (CZE)
• Andreas Schillinger (GER)

13.) TEAM SPIDERTECH POWERED BY C10 (CAN)

• Svein Tuft (CAN)
• Ryan Anderson (CAN)
• Zachary Bell (CAN)
• Lucas Euser (USA)
• Martin Gilbert (CAN)
• Kevin Lacombe (CAN)
• Jonathan Patrick McCarty (USA)
• Will Routley (CAN)

14.) BISSELL PRO CYCLING (USA)

• Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA)
• Chris Baldwin (USA)
• Rob Britton (CAN)
• Andy Jacques-Maynes (USA)
• Paul Mach (USA)
• Frank Pipp (USA)
• Jay Thomson (RSA)
• Jeremy Vennell (NZL)

15.) JAMIS-SUTTER HOME (USA)

• Luis Romero Amaran (CUB)
• Alejandro Alberto Borrajo (ARG)
• Anibal Andres Borraio (ARG)
• James Driscoll (USA)
• Tom Zirbel (USA)
• Andy Guptill (USA)
• Jose Fernando Antogna (ARG)
• Tyler Wren (USA)

16.) JELLY BELLY CYCLING TEAM p/b KENDA (USA)

• Bernard Van Ulden (USA)
• Alex Hagman (USA)
• Nic Hamlton (CAN)
• Ken Hanson (USA)
• Sergio Hernandez (USA)
• Alastair Loutit (AUS)
• Sean Mazich (USA)
• Jeremy Powers (USA)

17.) KELLY BENEFIT STRATEGIES-OPTUMHEALTH (USA)

• Andrew Bajadali (USA)
• Jesse Anthony (USA)
• Dan Bowman (USA)
• Alexander Candelario (USA)
• Michael Creed (USA)
• Jason Donald (USA)
• Michael Friedman (USA)
• Reid Mumford (USA)

18.) KENDA/5-HOUR ENERGY PRO CYCLING PRESENTED BY GEARGRINDER (USA)

• Benjamin Day (AUS)
• Luca Damiani (ITA)
• Phillip Gaimon (USA)
• Chad Hartley (USA)
• Roman Kilun (USA)
• Shawn Milne (USA)
• Jacob Rytlewski (USA)
• James Stemper (USA)

 

[steve]

Pre-race News Safety is Tour of California's top concern With snow forecast for Sunday's first stage, and the tragic death of Belgian cyclist Wouter Weylandt still rocking the cycling world, Amgen Tour of California officials said safety would be their top priority. Race director Jim Birrell said Friday a number of options were under consideration, including altering the opening 118.7-mile route from South Lake Tahoe to Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort if necessary. Birrell said race officials would meet tonight and make a final decision Sunday before the 10:30 a.m. start. "Safety is paramount," Birrell said. "We partner with CalTrans and CHP. ... We'll be able to inform (riders) of the road dangers that will be out there. We take (safety) to heart." Link: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/13/SP091JG19G.DTL Chris Horner is ‘in exceptional form’ for Tour of California Outspoken RadioShack rider Chris Horner believes he comes to the Amgen Tour of California with some of the best condition of his near 20-year career, and he predicts that either he or his teammate, Levi Leipheimer, will win this year’s race. “I think I’m in exceptional form,” Horner said. “Depending on how the tactics play out, if it turns out that I have to work for Levi, and if our team can do solid work, I think we’ll go 1-2 on GC.” Link: http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/05/news/chris-horner-is-in-exceptional-form-for-tour-of-california_172983 Riders anticipate toughest Amgen yet Some of professional cycling’s most heralded riders and race organizers, gathered for a press conference on Friday to preview the start of the 2011 Amgen Tour of California on Sunday. Race director Jim Birrell said this would be the most difficult Tour of California yet. “This is what I think will go down as the toughest rendition of the Amgen Tour of California,” Birrell said. Between the highest start altitude to date and two mountaintop finishes, even some of the world’s best agree it will be a tough race. Three-time Amgen winner, Levi Leipheimer of Team Radio Shack has already ridden a new addition to the course this year, Mount Baldy. Link: http://auburnjournal.com/detail/178674.html?content_source=&category_id=2&search_filter=&user_id=&event_mode=&event_ts_from=&event_ts_to=&list_type=&order_by=&order_sort=&content_class=1&sub_type=&town_id= Snow could spoil bike race's Tahoe leg As the Amgen Tour of California prepared to come to Lake Tahoe for the first time in the professional cycling race's six-year history, the excitement was tempered by the prospect of a spring Sierra storm and the recent death of a racer in Italy. The first of eight stages is set to start at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday in South Lake Tahoe. More than 140 riders are to travel clockwise around the lake, passing through Emerald Bay, Incline Village and back through South Lake Tahoe before making a left onto California 267 for the Northstar-at-Tahoe finish. Link: http://www.rgj.com/article/20110513/SPORTS/105140313/Tour-California-snow-could-spoil-bike-race-s-Tahoe-leg?odyssey=nav|head Amgen racers get ready, set … to roll into Modesto Many of the world's top cyclists are clustered in the Lake Tahoe area today, awaiting what could be a cold and snowy first stage of the Amgen Tour of California on Sunday. It's the biggest road race in the United States and, for the fourth year in a row, Modesto will play a key part. Tuesday's 121.9-mile third stage begins in Auburn and winds south through the foothills before descending into the valley. Riders will zoom through Oakdale, skirt Riverbank via country roads, sweep onto Scenic Drive from Claus Road in east Modesto and then sprint into downtown for a frantic 2½-lap finish. Link: http://www.modbee.com/2011/05/13/1687943/amgen-racers-get-ready-set-to.html Contingencies in place for Amgen Tour of California weather The Amgen Tour of California moved to the month of May last year in order to allow the race to visit the higher altitudes and some of the state's most scenic locations, but an unusual late snowfall predicted for the weekend could force the race into contingency plans for Sunday's opening stage in Lake Tahoe. Link: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/contingencies-in-place-for-amgen-tour-of-california-weather Amgen Tour of California: Weather or not Amgen Tour of California officials moved their race to May in 2010 with hopes of opening the breathtaking vistas of the Sierra to the cycling world, while avoiding the kind of trouble threatening Sunday's opening stage at Lake Tahoe. After all, without the ability to chain up, those high-tech lightweight bicycles aren't likely to tread well through a snow globe type of scene. Amgen officials said during a Friday press conference in South Lake Tahoe they're looking at a 90 percent chance of snow with accumulation of 3-5 inches Saturday night. Link: http://www.theunion.com/article/20110514/NEWS/110519806/1001&parentprofile=1053 Schleck hopes for a strong performance at the Amgen Tour of California Andy Schleck will not be Leopard Trek's overall contender at this week's Amgen Tour of California. However he does hope to win a stage and put up a strong performance. The Luxembourg native is using the eight-day race as his first block of preparation for the Tour de France in July. "It's not a big secret if I tell you that my goal of the year is the Tour de France, which is still a long time from now," Schleck said. "But, I believe that if I can follow Levi [Leipheimer] on the climbs then I can do a nice race. I will take it as it comes." Link: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/schleck-hopes-for-a-strong-performance-at-the-amgen-tour-of-california Dangers fresh in cyclists' minds with Amgen Tour of California to begin Sunday We've been accustomed to watching professional cyclists descend mountains as if they weren't traveling at 50 mph or more and as if they weren't protected by anything more than a helmet on their heads and a thin layer of Lycra on their bodies. On Monday, a 26-year-old Belgian, Wouter Weylandt, was making a descent during the Giro d'Italia when he crashed and died. Link: http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-0514-tour-of-california-20110514,0,7215872.story Kocjan chases elusive season victory in California Jure Kocjan (Team Type 1 - Sanofi Aventis) is looking to secure that elusive victory this season at this week's Amgen Tour of California. The Slovenian strong-man accomplished a series of podium finishes and top 10s overseas this spring and is hoping to kick it up a notch, eyeing a victory in stage one's kick-off around Lake Tahoe on Sunday and at the stage eight finale on May 22 in Thousand Oaks. Link: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/kocjan-chases-elusive-season-victory-in-california Course called toughest in event history The consensus among riders ready to test the sixth annual Tour of California: This is the toughest course in the event's history. The addition of two mountaintop finishes – one on Sierra Road in San Jose in Stage 4 and the other a climb up Mount Baldy to end Stage 7 – has caught cyclists' attention. "This is the hardest condition for the Amgen Tour of California in the six years," said Levi Leipheimer, a three-time winner who has ridden in all five Amgen races. Link: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/05/14/3626135/amgen-notes-course-called-toughest.html Leopard Trek racing for Weylandt in California The Amgen Tour of California marks the first race back for the Leopard Trek team after it left the Giro d'Italia following the tragic death of their teammate Wouter Weylandt. Race organisers AEG announced today that there will be a moment of silence before the start of the first stage in South Lake Tahoe on Sunday, and the Leopard Trek riders will lead off the stage in honour of the Belgian's memory. Link: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/leopard-trek-racing-for-weylandt-in-california
Sutherland says it's time to step up to the podium UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling's Rory Sutherland is particularly keen to get going at this year's Amgen Tour of California. His schedule this afternoon in chock-a-block full of media interviews and the Australian just wants to get back on the bike and start racing. It could be said, that time is ticking. Sutherland heads into the 2011 event with his best-ever result in 2010, seventh overall, following two 34th placings in 2009 and 2008 and a 13th for his 2007 debut. This year, it's a different ball game. Link: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/sutherland-says-its-time-to-step-up-to-the-podium
Leipheimer chasing 4th Tour of California title Levi Leipheimer will have to fend off a strong international field of Tour de France contenders to win his fourth title in the Tour of California. The 800-mile (1,287-kilometer) race is scheduled to start Sunday with a 118.7-mile (190-kilometer) loop around Lake Tahoe. Link: http://www.taiwannews.com.tw/etn/news_content.php?id=1597738

 

[steve]

STAGE 1 - South Lake Tahoe to North Lake Tahoe-Northstar at Tahoe Resort




Miles: 118.7 KM: 191.0 Start: Sun, May 15: South Lake Tahoe Finish: North Lake Tahoe - Northstar at Tahoe Resort Start Time: 10:30am Finish ETA: 3:12-3:36pm
Stage Profile

 

[steve]

Stage 1 News
Storm could change Amgen tour route, officials say Whether stage one of the Amgen Tour of California will take place as planned will be a race time decision, according to officials with the tour. A storm moving into the Lake Tahoe region Saturday night could make road conditions too dangerous for the dozens of professional cyclists expected to make one and a half laps of Lake Tahoe before finishing at Northstar-at-Tahoe Sunday. On Friday afternoon, the National Weather Service was predicting a high of 40 with a 90 percent chance of snow Sunday. One to three inches of snow is expected at lake level. link: http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/20110514/AMGEN/110519941/1063&parentprofile=1063 Phinney targets Solvang time trial in Amgen Tour of California US National Time Trial Champion Taylor Phinney (BMC Racing) is targeting the Amgen Tour of California's stage six 24km individual time trial held on Friday, May 20 in Solvang. The stage will be his last opportunity to test his legs against other American riders before attempting to defend his title at the up coming USA Cycling Pro Championships later this month. Link: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/phinney-targets-solvang-time-trial-in-amgen-tour-of-california George Hincapie: ‘They keep getting younger and stronger’ Hincapie, a former U.S. national road champion and one of the most respected riders in the peloton, joined up with Jim Ochowicz’s upstart American squad early in the signing period in 2009. Ochowicz said recently that Hincapie’s signing was the tipping point to attract riders like former world champion Cadel Evans and veteran workhorse Marcus Burghardt. At 37, Hincapie is likely to close his career with the team that has ascended to the top tier of the sport. But that won’t come until after he makes an effort to tie the record for Tours de France ridden, at 16, held by Joop Zoetemelk, this July. Link: http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/05/news/george-hincapie-they-keep-getting-younger-and-stronger_173094 USADA out of Tour of California testing All anti-doping testing at the Amgen Tour of California will be done by the International Cycling Union (UCI), with none to be done by the US Anti-Doping Agency. An agreement between the two agencies to split the duties fell through at the last minute. The Tour, which starts on Sunday in South Lake Tahoe, had announced in February that the USADA would, for the first time, conduct both the pre-competition and in-competition testing. Link: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/usada-out-of-tour-of-california-testing

 

[pearl-drum-man]

Great info!

 

[sitzmark]

That it is ... especially for those of us who won't be there to experience it live. eh Gman?? :very big grin:

Originally Posted by pearl-drum-man .

Great info!

 

[slovakguy]

stage one snowed out? snowed out? what's next? shifting the start date to the second week of the tdf?

 

[pearl-drum-man]

Originally Posted by slovakguy .

stage one snowed out? snowed out? what's next? shifting the start date to the second week of the tdf?

What a bummer, but what can you do? After watching the youtube video posted above it could have been a beautiful stage to watch to. Maybe next year they can push it back a couple more weeks. By the time June starts though I think most of the teams start their TDF focus.

 

[swampy1970]

Originally Posted by slovakguy .

stage one snowed out? snowed out? what's next? shifting the start date to the second week of the tdf?

I always reckoned that moving it to May in order to "have access to the big climbs" was dumb - because it's always fecking snowing up in the hills as late as May. Heck, even in June for the last couple of years there's been snow flurries up in the Sierras around Tahoe. Even down in the Sacramento Valley there were more than just a couple of good sized thunder storms and bean sized hail yesterday.

They should have moved the event to coincide with the Vuelta or maybe just a few weeks before the worlds... Then they'd be guarenteed lots of sun - maybe too much actually - and access to the truely horrific climbs that the southern Sierras have than make Mt Baldy seem like a little piddler.

 

[davereo]

Wouldnt it make sense when planning the stages that they schedule the stages that are subject to snow at the later stages. One week makes huge difference in the climate at least around here.

 

[limerickman]

For those of you in the UK and Ireland, ITV4 has live coverage of this race.

 

[steve]

STAGE 3 - Auburn to Modesto, May 17
Miles: 121.9 KM: 196.2 Start: Tue, May 17: Auburn Finish: Modesto Start Time: 10:15am Finish ETA: 3:07-3:31pm
Stage 3 Profile
Stage 3 map



Top 40 General classification before Stage 3 1 Ben Swift (GBr) Sky Procycling 2:47:02   2 Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:00:04   3 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) HTC-Highroad 0:00:06   4 Keven Lacombe (Can) Team Spidertech Powered By C10 0:00:10   5 Juan José Haedo (Arg) Saxo Bank Sungard     6 Alejandro Alberto Borrajo (Arg) Jamis - Sutter Home     7 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Team Garmin-Cervelo     8 Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team     9 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team     10 Shawn Milne (USA) Kenda/5-hour Energy Pro Cycling presented by Geargrinder     11 Gregory Henderson (NZl) Sky Procycling     12 Alex Candelario (USA) Kelly Benefit Strategies - OptumHealth     13 Robert Förster (Ger) Unitedhealthcare PrCycling     14 Michael Matthews (Aus) Rabobank Cycling Team     15 Frank Pipp (USA) Bissell Cycling     16 Christopher Horner (USA) Team RadioShack     17 Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Team Netapp     18 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Leopard Trek     19 Tom Danielson (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo     20 Ken Hanson (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda     21 Leigh Howard (Aus) HTC-Highroad     22 Aldo Ino Ilesic (Slo) Team Type 1 - Sanofi Aventis     23 Ben King (USA) Team RadioShack     24 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team RadioShack     25 George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team     26 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo     27 Peter Velits (Svk) HTC-Highroad     28 Anibal Andres Borrajo (Arg) Jamis - Sutter Home     29 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team     30 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale     31 Baden Cooke (Aus) Saxo Bank Sungard     32 Andrew Talansky (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo     33 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Team Garmin-Cervelo     34 Christopher Baldwin (USA) Bissell Cycling     35 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Sky Procycling     36 Danny Pate (USA) HTC-Highroad     37 Martin Gilbert (Can) Team Spidertech Powered By C10     38 Edward King (USA) Liquigas-Cannondale     39 Tyler Wren (USA) Jamis - Sutter Home     40 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) HTC-Highroad

 

[Hunter w/kg]

POWER DATA from ATOC!

Very cool to be working with Team Sky and glad they use TrainingPeaks!
We should have data each day from Amgen Tour of California. http://home.trainingpeaks.com/races/team-sky-races/2011-amgen-tour-of-california.aspx Enjoy!
Hunter Allen

Buy your Wattage based training plan ONLINE!
www.trainingpeaks.com/hunter

The Peaks Coaching Group
"Power Training, Powerful Results" www.peakscoachinggroup.com

TrainingPeaks WKO+
The Ultimate Analysis Software
www.trainingpeaks.com

 

[slovakguy]

Quote:
Originally Posted by swampy1970 .
I always reckoned that moving it to May in order to "have access to the big climbs" was dumb - because it's always fecking snowing up in the hills as late as May. Heck, even in June for the last couple of years there's been snow flurries up in the Sierras around Tahoe. Even down in the Sacramento Valley there were more than just a couple of good sized thunder storms and bean sized hail yesterday.

They should have moved the event to coincide with the Vuelta or maybe just a few weeks before the worlds... Then they'd be guarenteed lots of sun - maybe too much actually - and access to the truely horrific climbs that the southern Sierras have than make Mt Baldy seem like a little piddler.


i have to agree. given that many of those passes in california's history catch snow even as late as july, a shift closer to the vuelta/world's makes sense. cripes, with a little ingenuity and arm twisting they might have set up an ersatz gt by cobbling theirs together with the defunct tours in georgia and missouri.

and as a side note, it makes andy hampsten's ride over the gavia all the more impressive.

 

[Born2bWild]

Thought I would post up some pics of the sprint finish for yesterdays Tahoe to Sacramento stage.

 

[swampy1970]

Originally Posted by slovakguy .

Quote:

i have to agree. given that many of those passes in california's history catch snow even as late as july, a shift closer to the vuelta/world's makes sense. cripes, with a little ingenuity and arm twisting they might have set up an ersatz gt by cobbling theirs together with the defunct tours in georgia and missouri.

and as a side note, it makes andy hampsten's ride over the gavia all the more impressive.

How many more seasons do you reckon it'll be before we hear the ol' cricket comment "rain stops play" uttered for Pro Cycling races?

In situations like those seen on stage 1 of TOCA they should reply Liege Bastogne Liege from 1980. Everyone was b1tching because of the snow - it snowed all the way from the Liege to Bastogne and back... I should have said everyone b1tched but one man - Hinault. In a true show of strength, Hinault crushed them all with an 80km solo ride to win by over 10 minutes. Lore has it that it took almost a month for Hinault to regain full use of both hands.

Hampstens ride was class too given than some pre race planning by the 7-11 team paid off and that he stuck at it especially on a descent that long. I can see climbing in the cold - a descent that twisty and that long. Brrrrrr. Now that's some serious "things you only do when being paid good money to do it..."

That said, I was up higher in the Sierras near Tahoe for a big ride a couple of years ago - in the snow, hail, freezing rain and cold. Nothing that a couple of weeks on steroids (prednisone) to help clear up subsequent chest issues couldn't fix I just finished the ~320km ride because I'd trained for it and wanted to finish.

 

[steve]

STAGE 4 - Livermore to San Jose Stage 4 is short, at just 81 miles, but what it lacks in distance it makes up with three grueling climbs. Two of the climbs are legendary in California lore. Livermore is hosting their first Amgen Tour of California, but the race has gone through Livermore many times. Home of the renowned Lawrence Livermore Labs, the City of Livermore (established in 1869) played a prominent role in California’s “Gold Rush” history and today is home to a thriving wine industry. After getting their legs loosened a bit around the Labs, the course heads out to Mines Rd and the first of several KOMS on the day. Mines Rd is a 25 mile long section of the route that is hilly and very winding. It is very easy for a riders to get off the front and never seen by the chasing peloton.... More... Miles: 81.8 KM: 131.6 Start: Wed, May 18: Livermore Finish: San Jose Start Time: 11:45am Finish ETA: 3:15-3:34pm
General classification before Stage 4 1 Greg Henderson (NZl) Sky Procycling 8:01:31 2 Ben Swift (GBr) Sky Procycling 3 Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:00:04 4 Juan José Haedo (Arg) Saxo Bank Sungard 5 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Team Garmin-Cervelo 0:00:06 6 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) HTC-Highroad 7 Keven Lacombe (Can) Team Spidertech Powered By C10 0:00:10 8 Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team 9 Robert Förster (Ger) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 10 Alexander Candelario (USA) Kelly Benefit Strategies - OptumHealth 11 Leigh Howard (Aus) HTC-Highroad 12 Shawn Milne (USA) Kenda/5-hour Energy Pro Cycling presented by Geargrinder 13 Ken Hanson (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda 14 Frank Kevin Pipp (USA) Bissell Cycling 15 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team 16 Aldo Ino Ilesic (Slo) Team Type 1 - Sanofi Aventis 17 Alejandro Alberto Borrajo (Arg) Jamis - Sutter Home 18 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 19 George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team 20 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Leopard Trek 21 Christopher Horner (USA) Team RadioShack 22 Thomas Danielson (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo 23 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Team Garmin-Cervelo 24 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team 25 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo

 

[Hunter w/kg]

UNREAL. Seriously. Look at the last 27 seconds of the race when he gapped the field and made it to the line.
Talk about fatigue resistance! Probably best I have seen for Neuromuscular power.

http://home.trainingpeaks.com/races/team-sky-races/2011-amgen-tour-of-california/stage-3-auburn---modesto---1962km.aspx


Hunter Allen

Buy your Wattage based training plan ONLINE!
www.trainingpeaks.com/hunter

The Peaks Coaching Group
"Power Training, Powerful Results" www.peakscoachinggroup.com

TrainingPeaks WKO+
The Ultimate Analysis Software
www.trainingpeaks.com

 

[sitzmark]

Was pretty amazing to watch Greg "walk away" from the pack so easily. Ben ... Ben ... where are you??

 

[steve]

STAGE 5 - Seaside to Paso Robles, May 19

Miles: 138.9 KM: 223.6 Start: Thu, May 19: Seaside Finish: Paso Robles Start Time: 9:15am Finish ETA: 3:13-3:45pm
Stage 5 profile

Stage 5 map

Current top 30 on GC
1 Christopher Horner (USA) Team RadioShack 11:29:32 2 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team RadioShack 0:01:15 3 Thomas Danielson (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo 0:01:22 4 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo 0:01:29 5 Rory Sutherland (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 0:01:30 6 Andy Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek 7 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Team Garmin-Cervelo 0:01:36 8 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Leopard Trek 0:01:50 9 Andrew Talansky (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo 10 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:02:00 11 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) HTC-Highroad 0:02:05 12 Daniel Martin (Irl) Team Garmin-Cervelo 13 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:02:33 14 Jonathan Patrick McCarty (USA) Team Spidertech Powered By C10 15 Steve Morabito (Swi) BMC Racing Team 0:02:38 16 Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:02:44 17 Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:02:53 18 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:03:04 19 Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team 0:03:19 20 George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:03:25 21 Gustav Larsson (Swe) Saxo Bank Sungard 22 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:03:52 23 Tyler Wren (USA) Jamis - Sutter Home 0:03:59 24 Christian Meier (Can) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 0:04:05 25 Rob Britton (Can) Bissell Cycling 0:04:18 26 Francesco Bellotti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:04:23 27 Alexander Efimkin (Rus) Team Type 1 - Sanofi Aventis 0:04:25 28 Yannick Eijssen (Bel) BMC Racing Team 0:04:28 29 Christopher Baldwin (USA) Bissell Cycling 0:04:30 30 Luis Romero Amaran (Cub) Jamis - Sutter Home 0:04:34