2010 Amgen Tour of California: Stage 3: San Francisco to Santa Cruz

[steve]

2010 Amgen Tour of California: Stage 3: San Francisco to Santa Cruz

Starting on Ocean Beach, Stage 3 will cover nearly 120 miles from San Francisco to Santa Cruz. The route will take the riders south down the California coastline on Highway 1, flanked by the picturesque backdrops of the Pacific Ocean on one side and Redwood forests on the other. This coastal stage will include three long, but moderate climbs on Tunitas Creek Road, La Honda Road and Bonny Doon Road, which will all be followed by lengthy and fast descents. The sprint to the finish will follow W. Cliff Dr. along Monterey Bay to an exhilarating conclusion to Stage 3 at the world famous Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

Stage details

Start: San Francisco
Finish: Santa Cruz
Start Time: 11:15 AM
Miles: 113.3
KM: 152.3
End ETA: 3:22-4:03 PM

Race Website: AMGEN Tour of California

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cra3MVVkmTY]YouTube - Amgen Tour of California Stage 3: San Francisco to Santa Cruz[/ame]

Stage Map
View attachment 12148

Stage Profile
View attachment 12149

General Classification before Stage 3
1 Brett Lancaster (Aus) Cervelo Test Team 8:43:24
2 Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Doimo 0:00:04
3 Karl Menzies (Aus) Unitedhealthcare Presented by Maxxis
4 Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:00:06
5 Thomas Rabou (Ned) Team Type 1
6 Marc De Maar (Ned) Unitedhealthcare Presented by Maxxis 0:00:07
7 Paul Mach (USA) Bissell 0:00:08
8 Michael Rogers (Aus) Team HTC-Columbia 0:00:10
9 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Team Radioshack
10 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Transitions
11 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team Radioshack
12 Peter Stetina (USA) Garmin-Transitions
13 Andre Steensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank
14 Rory Sutherland (Aus) Unitedhealthcare Presented by Maxxis
15 Thomas Danielson (USA) Garmin-Transitions
16 David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin-Transitions
17 Jose Luis Rubiera Vigil (Spa) Team Radioshack
18 Lance Armstrong (USA) Team Radioshack
19 Francesco Bellotti (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo
20 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Team HTC-Columbia

 

[Chavez]

Nice win by DZ.

Gotta say that this is looking like a disaster for Saxo - Voigt is showing respectably but Schleck is down 16 minutes and Cancellara is over 30 minutes down. Just a poor effort for those guys. Maybe they'll be able to wreck the HTC train on a stage and get Haedo a win.

 

[Doc R]

Big thanks to Versus for the freaking excellent TV coverage.

Not.

To cut away for an NHL PRE-GAME show at about 2.5 km from the finish with the peloton bearing down, Zabriskie taking the lead and holding the gap, then...

Uhm, Versus?

Okay, so I Tivo'ed and watched it late this evening, so I'm thinking not that big a deal--I'll just catch the highlight show. No highlight show. Video on the website? Nope. Still pictures? One.

That was incredible. That was the worst thing, but it wasn't the only bad thing. When Peter Sagan crashed going up Bonnie Doon they immediately cut away to show the back of the peloton. Cameras were pointing up at overloaded power poles, or at the ground, the back of the motorcycle driver's head, etc. How the hell did Sagan get back on the bike that quickly and finish at the front of the chase group? We'll never know.

Maybe Chris Horner will tell us about it in his diary. So far that's the best race coverage I've found.

 

[steve]

Big thanks to Versus for the freaking excellent TV coverage.

Not.

At least it was better than the previous days coverage We only saw the last 250 meters here!

 

[pennstater]

Big thanks to Versus for the freaking excellent TV coverage.

Not.

To cut away for an NHL PRE-GAME show at about 2.5 km from the finish with the peloton bearing down, Zabriskie taking the lead and holding the gap, then...

Uhm, Versus?

Okay, so I Tivo'ed and watched it late this evening, so I'm thinking not that big a deal--I'll just catch the highlight show. No highlight show. Video on the website? Nope. Still pictures? One.

That was incredible. That was the worst thing, but it wasn't the only bad thing. When Peter Sagan crashed going up Bonnie Doon they immediately cut away to show the back of the peloton. Cameras were pointing up at overloaded power poles, or at the ground, the back of the motorcycle driver's head, etc. How the hell did Sagan get back on the bike that quickly and finish at the front of the chase group? We'll never know.

Maybe Chris Horner will tell us about it in his diary. So far that's the best race coverage I've found.

I was also frustrated with the coverage or lack thereof. I still haven't seen the end of the stage, but figure I can catch it during the recap before the stage 4 coverage begins. Looks like the podium could be a repeat of last years, but maybe a slightly different order.

As Chavez mentiond a few posts ago, it is surprising to see Cancellara and Schleck so far back. I thought Saxo would have three riders in the top ten of the GC by the end of the race. I also predicted that I would have a yacht and a beautiful wife at this point in my life.... I was wrong... I have a canoe with a hole in it and a girlfriend with webbed feet and enough back hair to make a Yeti jealous. Am I dating a platipus? FML

 

[Andrija]

Very exciting stage. When the Shack launched Leipheimer on that last climb, I was thinking - what are they doing, the finish line is far from the top? At the end it didn't mean that much in terms of gained time, but they've tested the field and now know who their opponents are.
The finish was great too. All three great time trialists and managed to hold off the peloton. I was wondering if it will come down to a sprint or someone will fly off. No one could fly off in that company. And at the end photo-finish. Really nice stage.
Saxo came to build up their Tour form, but Schleck should have done better. Cancellara had a month of rest, so he's at the beginning of new build up... Nothing spectacular should be expected from him.
I like the race. It had excitement so far, TV crew is doing good job, scenery is nice, spectators are enthusiastic and it's late evening broadcast in Europe - prime time for sporting event.