Tour of California 2009

Yes! The route for the 2009 Amgen Tour of California has been released and I am psyched! The race ends in Escondido, near San Diego and Oceanside, the home of several of our Navy (and non-Navy) friends. My daughter was planning a trip to the Golden State to visit some of these folks, a trip that was cancelled/delayed this year due to the cost of gasoline. We were thinking of driving out next summer (June perhaps) after saving some money for travel costs. Now, I am beginning to wonder if we should reschedule the trip to February so we can see the final day of the race. Definitely a topic for further discussion.

Anyway, here is the route and a link to the USAToday article reporting the information. Start planning!

Stage 1: Sacramento (2/14/09)
Stage 2: Davis to Santa Rosa (2/15/09)
Stage 3: Sausalito to Santa Cruz (2/16/09)
Stage 4: San Jose to Modesto (2/17/09)
Stage 5: Merced to Clovis (2/18/09)
Stage 6: Visalia to Paso Robles (2/19/09)
Stage 7: Solvang (2/20/09) --- individual time trial
Stage 8: Santa Clarita to Pasadena (2/21/09)
Stage 9: Rancho Bernardo to Escondido (2/22/09)

To view a map of the route, click here.

TDF Entries Abandoned

Certainly anyone who reads Gooseberry Lane on a regular basis noticed that I began writing daily blog entries for the Tour de France and made it all the way to Stage 5. Talk about a fair weather fan who abandons at the first sign of trouble (dopers and computer problems). No, in actuality, I didn’t abandon the race at all; I just needed to abandon writing about it because my laptop died. I needed to focus my time on rescuing my hard drive. Sorry. Rest assured, I haven’t abandoned the race. In fact, I have it taping as I write so I don’t miss Stage 16 from Cuneo, Italy to Jausiers, France. It promises to be an exciting day with two massive climbs and a sprint finish. If you have time, catch the race on Versus. Vive le Tour!

A Cycling Perspective

Versus is currently running a Take Back the Tour commercial that I find somewhat amusing and extremely accurate in its portrayal of the pain and suffering experienced by professional cyclists. Here is the text from the ad. On television, Jonathan Vaughters, the directeur sportif of Team Garmin Chipotle and a former cyclist from the US Postal Team, does the voice-over.

When they crash on those sprint finishes, that’s 40-45 miles an hour; if they’re on a descent, it can be 55-60 miles an hour. Next time you’re in your car at 50 miles an hour, strip down to your underwear and jump out the door...and that’s what it’s like to crash in a professional bike race.

I cannot post the video here, but it should be posted soon at www.takebackthetour.com.

Hopefully, the Only Doper

I am a little behind on writing my stage-by-stage blurbs on the Tour de France, but I couldn’t let this pass without comment. This morning, first thing after tuning in to the daily Versus coverage, I heard the announcement that Manuel Beltran of Team Liquigas (and a former Team Discovery Channel climber/domestique) was arrested for doping. Allegedly, he used erythropoetin (EPO) to enhance his performance on Stage 1 of the race. At the risk of sounding judgmental (which I have been accused of doing on occasion), dare I ask:

WHAT WAS HE THINKING!!!???

After all the hard work that the race organizers, the team managers, and the riders have done to make sure the competition is clean, possibly for the first time ever, it is worse than unfortunate that a single individual attempted to cheat. It was wrong. It is wrong, and it is insulting and disrespectful to every other cyclist in the Tour.

The immediate consequences:
- ejected from the Tour de France
- arrested by French police
- fired from Team Liquigas (pending B-sample analysis)

The long-term impact: an even more difficult return to trust for the entire sport.

If you speak/read French, you can read more about the incident in L’Equipe, the French sporting newspaper:
- Beltran positif à l’EPO
- Beltran exclu, Liquigas continue

English speakers can check these articles from Sporting Life:
- Beltran: Innocent Until Proven Guilty
- Beltran Pulled From Tour

TDF Stage 5

Catching up...

Route: Cholet - Châteauroux
Riders: 178
Distance: 232 km
Climbs:
- None

The longest day of the 2008 Tour de France was definitely a day for the sprinters…and yet another great day for Team Columbia with a stage win by Mark Cavendish. They now possess the white jersey of the best young rider and are currently second in the team competition. True, they handed the sprint jersey to Thor Hushovd today but, hey, sharing is a good thing. Right? Only seven points separate Kim Kirchen and Mr. Hushovd in that contest. One lousy day for the latter and the former may be wearing green again in no time. Remember, it isn’t over until the fat lady sings…or, in this case, until the fat cyclist rides. Well, you get the idea.

Favorite part of the day: the sprint finish, of course. How nerve wracking! With 35 sprint points up for grabs on the finish line, the sprinters had a prize worth fighting for. Team Liquigas set the pace at the front of the peleton in order to reel in a three-man breakaway and set up their man for a win (Francesco Chicchi). Team Columbia took a turn in the drivers seat as well in an attempt to launch Mark Cavendish over the line. An incident with a spectator and a crash on a roundabout did little or nothing to slow the pace into Châteauroux. Dicey, dicey, dicey. Nicolas Vogondy, one of the breakaway leaders, came up with one last desperate attempt to stay out front, but to not avail. Caught just meters from the finish, victory was not to be for the Frenchman. Instead, the win went to Mark Cavendish of Team Columbia. Kudos to the High Road Sports organization for a job well done.

Saddest part of the day: the withdrawal of Juan Mauricio Soler due to suspected broken bones in his scaphoid, the result of a crash on Stage 1. Today, he crashed again in the neutral zone and, shortly thereafter, decided to abandon the Tour. Too bad. The contest for the polka-dot jersey just won’t be the same.

In other news: Alejandro Valverde crashed early in the day. He has some road rash, but seems fine.

Oddity of the day: the giant yellow bug sculpture in one of the traffic circles. It was at around 56 miles before the end of the stage. Did you see it? It looked like an ant to me.

Withdrawals
- Juan Mauricio Hernandez Soler

Overall Standings
- Stefan Schumacher
- Kim Kirchen
- David Millar
- Cadel Evans
- Fabian Cancellara
- Christian Vande Velde
- George Hincapie
- Thomas Lövkvist

For the latest Versus.com video, click here.

TDF Stage 4

Route: Cholet - Cholet
Riders: 178
Distance: 29.5 km
Climbs:
- None

The first individual time trial of the 2008 Tour de France started on my television at 8:00 AM this morning. Too bad I wasn’t able to sit and watch it. I needed to work on some homeschooling tasks, including running my daughter out to church for organ practice. The wonders of videotaping (or Tivo, if you like) are such a blessing. Now the only challenge will be finding time to watch what I taped.

One day later…11:00 PM…folding towels…feeding the cockatiel…collecting trash…and watching my tape of the individual time trial. Hopefully, I will finish both the viewing and this blog entry before midnight so I can get some sleep. Don’t you just love July?

So, the upsets continue. Stefan Schumacher took the day, prevailing over second-place finisher Kim Kirchen by a mere 18 seconds. Favorite Alejandro Valverde came in twenty-third. Don’t know what happened there. The yellow jersey, Romain Feillu, completed the competition in 169th place, apparently just inside the elimination time. Whew! Other notables on the day: top spots for men from the two new American teams. Kim Kirchen (Team Columbia) took 2nd, David Millar (Garmin Chipotle) held 3rd, Christian Vande Velde (Garmin Chipotle) came in 8th, George Hincapie (Team Columbia) grabbed 9th, Thomas Lövkvist (Team Columbia) enjoyed 11th place, and Danny Pate (Garmin Chipotle) rounded out the bunch in 14th place. Very impressive efforts all.

The American teams are faring quite well this year, thus far. Team Garmin Chipotle currently sports first place in the team competition, while Team Columbia holds second in the team contest, first place in the sprint competition, and first place for best young rider. And remember, this is under the watchful eye of the drug testers at the Tour de France and at the Agency for Cycling Ethics. My greatest hope is that someone from one of these two teams will win the entire race and be able to demonstrate that they did it without the assistance of performance-enhancing drugs. Wouldn’t that be awesome!

Time trial oddity: listening to the aerodynamic rear wheel as the riders fly past the cameramen on the road.

Withdrawals
- None

Overall Standings
- Stefan Schumacher
- Kim Kirchen
- David Millar
- Cadel Evans
- Fabian Cancellara
- Christian Vande Velde
- George Hincapie
- Thomas Lövkvist

For the latest Versus.com video, click here.

TDF Stage 3

Route: Saint-Malo – Nantes
Riders: 178
Distance: 208 km
Climbs:
- None

More wind (and rain), a crash near the finish line, and a peleton that gambled a bit too much on their ability to reel in a breakaway made for some interesting racing today. The scenery was interesting as well, heading out of Brittany and into the beautiful Loire Valley, known for its wine production and for the longest river in France.

The day was dominated early on by a four-man breakaway comprised of Samuel Dumoulin, Romain Feillu, Will Frischkorn, and Paolo Longo Borghini. They headed away from the pack in the second kilometer, thinking (I suppose) that they would get some visibility for their team sponsors at best. Well, when the peleton was still working to catch them with less than thirty kilometers to go, their wildest dreams came into view --- that of winning a stage of the Tour de France or, in the case of Romain Feillu, of capturing the overall lead. Who would have thought?! A little known (to me anyway) twenty-four year old cyclist from Châteaudun, France taking the yellow jersey from Alejandro Valverde. Talk about having a great day!

By contrast, Angel Gomez had a horrible day, crashing with about twenty-five kilometers to go when he mixed it up with a piece of road furniture (in America, these are generally referred to as medians). The result? Certainly not a yellow jersey. No, Mr. Gomez received a trip to the hospital and a suspected broken pelvis. Ouch! Also involved: the Danish road racing champion, Nicki Sorenson. Thankfully, he is fine.

A bit of the incidental television coverage on Versus today: the Agency for Cycling Ethics. I am very intrigued by this effort: physicians, researchers, and athletes working together to determine a normal band of physiological measures for an individual human athlete and to develop a way to spot broad-scale changes in physiology, as well as the presence of illegal substances. The whole idea seems very proactively health-oriented. Don’t just look for banned substances; be concerned about the health of rider too. Team Garmin Chipotle and Team Columbia have both signed on to this. Good for them. I would love to see both American teams race clean and with reams of documentation to prove it.

Withdrawals
- Angel Gomez

Overall Standings
- Romaine Feillu
- Paolo Borghini Longo
- Will Frischkorn
- Alejandro Valverde
- Kim Kirchen

For the latest Versus.com video, click here.

Currently Riding in the TDF

Yesterday, I needed to find a link for cyclist Frank Schleck, to provide some biographical information for those readers who may be interested in learning more about him. In my search, I came across this YouTube video of Mr. Schleck “taking a spill” during the Tour de Suisse. Personally, I think it is a miracle he is still alive. Let’s just say, “ouch” is a major understatement. Thankfully, he is ok and currently riding in the Tour de France.

TDF Stage 2

Route: Auray – Saint-Brieuc
Riders: 179
Distance: 164.5 km
Climbs:
- Côte de Bieuzy-Lanvaux (category 4)
- Côte de Kergroix (category 4)
- Côte de Mûr-de-Bretagne (category 3)
- Côte de Saint-Mayeux (category 4)

Some windy, rainy weather today in France. Lots of lovely countryside, though. I am always curious about the local churches the riders pass along the way each day. There seem to be a lot of them. It makes me wonder: do they have large, active congregations or are they struggling; do they utilize traditional worship liturgies or have they adopted a more contemporary worship style; are they as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside? Maybe someday I can visit France for myself and take a look.

New knowledge for today: the Breton language and the Gallo language are spoken by folks in Brittany. I was curious about this when Paul Sherwin mentioned it during the live coverage this morning. This is what I found about Breton on Omniglot.com:

Breton is a Celtic language spoken mainly in Brittany (Breizh) by about 365,000 people, about 240,000 of whom speak it fluently. Breton is closely related to Cornish and less closely related to Welsh, though these languages are not mutually intelligible. Breton has also absorbed quite a lot of vocabulary from French, Latin, and probably from Gaulish languages, which are now extinct.

- snip –

Between 1880 to the middle of the 20th century, Breton was banned from schools and children were punished for speaking it. This changed in 1951 with the promulgation of the Deixonne law, which allowed for the Breton language and culture to be taught for one to three hours a week in public education if the teacher is willing and able to do so.

For more information on the Gallo language, visit this page on Wikipedia.

A duh moment for me today: Team Columbia is really young! Lots of riders age 23-27. George Hincapie is the “old man” on staff at 34 years of age.

Race highlights for the day:
- Another feed zone crash. Nicolas Jalabert bumped wheels with Frank Schleck.
- First category three climb of the race: Mûr-de-Bretagne.
- The final sprint was exciting. Lots of action, lots of jockeying for position. I was glad to see that Team Columbia was in the mix. The peleton really picked up the pace in the last few kilometers. Too bad about that crash, though. I was glad to see Kim Kirchen and Gerald Ciolek take second and third place.

Withdrawals
- None today

Overall Standings
- Alejandro Valverde
- Kim Kirchen
- Oscar Freire
- Juan Jose Cobo Acebo
- Cadel Evans

For the latest Versus.com video, click here.

*Lesson learned for today: Do not videotape the race with a plan to watch it in the evening. Family members will interfere. I did that this morning and my husband took over the television this evening to watch our latest Netflix arrival --- Hellboy. Ugh! Tomorrow, I will be watching my video in the afternoon. :-)

Great TDF Article

I was catching up on my Google Reader feeds this afternoon when I came across this article from The Fat Cyclist. Normally, I would just share it through Google, but I didn’t want my readers to miss it. I didn’t have time to pay close attention to all of the changes that Christian Prudhomme made to the Tour de France this year, which led me to believe that the competition would be as exciting as ever. Well, that may not be the case, what with all the “improvements” that have been enacted. I will have to stay tuned to be sure. Anyway, The Fat Cyclist has a great take on what viewers can expect during the 2008 ride around France, and some suggestions for additional "enhancements." Enjoy.

TDF Stage 1

Route: Brest - Plumelec
Riders: 180
Distance: 197.5 km
Climbs:
- Côte de Ty-Jopic (category 4)
- Côte de Kerivarc’h (category 4)
- Col de Toullaeron (category 4)
- Côte de Guenervé (category 4)

Ah, July 5th: recovery day from the Fourth of July, my daughter’s birthday, and (this year) start day for the 95th Tour de France. The latter promises to be exciting, as always, but not the same as usual. For instance, the time bonuses are gone; the opening Prologue has been eliminated; and, of course, the 2007 winner, Alberto Contador, is absent, as is his fellow teammate and podium finisher, Levi Leipheimer.

And then there are those ads on Versus: Take Back the Tour. I found the first one a few days ago when I checked the website for televised programming information. This morning, I saw the second one during the live race coverage. Forgive me, but I don’t recall the ads from previous years being so…what’s the word…pointed. I understand the reasoning behind them --- to reclaim the image of cycling as a sport of athletic endurance and not doping --- but I am not certain the ads need to play quite so frequently. This morning, I saw at least one during every commercial break. I almost have the music memorized, but I digress…

Another novelty for 2008: the entrance of two American teams: Team Columbia and Team Garmin Chipotle. I must say I am psyched about this development. I only wish my favorite riders were all on the same roster. George Hincapie, of course, is riding for the former, while Christian Vande Velde is committed to the latter. Team Columbia had a productive first day in the saddle, snagging fourth place overall after Kim Kirchen’s break for the line. It was sad that he didn’t win the day, but I don’t think anyone expected Alejandro Valverde to launch such an explosive attack right at the end; very impressive on his part. I will definitely be paying closer attention to him when the race hits the mountains.

Sad event of the day: the loss of Herve Duclos-Lassalle from Team Cofidis. A short way into the race, he hit the pavement and broke his wrist. Fifty some miles into the first day of his first Tour de France and he was the first guy out of the game. Ouch.

Withdrawals
- Herve Duclos-Lassalle

Overall Standings
- Alejandro Valverde
- Philippe Gilbert
- Jérôme Pineau
- Kim Kirchen
- Ricardo Ricco
- Cadel Evans

For Versus.com video of Stage 1, click here.

Tour de France Route 2008

Saturday marks the beginning of the 95th Tour de France. Starting without the attendance of the 2007 winner (Alberto Contador) and third-place finisher (Levi Leipheimer), the race will skip the Prologue stage and dive right in with Stage 1. Setting off from Brest in Brittany, the route promises to produce some exciting racing and, when it hits the mountains, some exhausted racers. Stage 17, for example, sports no less than three hors category summits --- the Col du Galibier, the Col de la Croix de Fer, and L’Alpe D’Huez --- toward the end of a 210 kilometer day, ridden consecutively with a single feed zone between the first and second summits, and very little break between the climbs. If the goal of the race organizers was to find an iron cyclist, that stage should shake out the fittest among the peleton. It would kill me!

Anyway, for a 3D preview of the 2008 route, check out this video (see below). It was originally available on the official Tour de France website but, for some reason, cannot be loaded there. I found it on Youtube. If you don’t have time for the video, check out this race summary from the Tour website:

Running from Saturday July 5th to Sunday July 27th, the 95th Tour de France will be made up of 21 stages and will cover a total distance of 3500 kilometres.

These 21 stages have the following profiles:
- 10 flat stages
- 5 mountain stages
- 4 medium mountain stages
- 2 individual time-trial stages

Distinctive aspects of the race:
- 4 mountain finishes
- 2 rest days
- 82 kilometres of individual time-trials
- 17 Category 1, Category 2, and highest-level passes will be climbed

Live streaming starts on Versus.com at 6:30 AM; television coverage begins at 8:30 AM. See you Saturday!

2008 Giro d’Italia (To Date)

I have been so busy with homeschooling tasks this year that I haven’t been able to catch much (if any) of the Giro d’Italia. I tried posting some of the live coverage transcripts from the Journal of Competitive Cycling through my Google Reader feeds; lately, I haven’t even had time to do that, so I decided to do this instead. Here are the links to everything that I found interesting about the race thus far. It has not all been smooth sailing, but what else is new. I just hope I have more time in my schedule come July so I can watch the Tour de France!

Live coverages and/or stage reports:
- Stage 1
- Stage 2
- Stage 3
- Stage 4
- Stage 5
- Stage 6
- Stage 7
- Stage 8
- Stage 9
- Stage 10
- Stage 11

Articles:
- Giro jury rules against Leipheimer
- Contador vows to ride despite fracture

And, finally, not directly related to the Giro d’Italia but interesting nonetheless: a look into the mind of a cyclist during a five-hour race. Probably more information than you wanted about cycling, but I found it entertaining. What would you think about on a five-hour bike ride?

Mellow Johnny’s is Open

For those of you who were wondering what seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong was up to these days: he opened a bike shop in Austin, Texas. Mr. Armstrong and his business manager Bart Knaggs collaborated in the venture, which (to this economics major) has all the earmarks of success. Take the location, for example, quoting from a Velonews article:

The store occupies a converted 9000-square-foot brick warehouse just west of downtown Austin, wedged between a trio of banks and an almost-completed high-rise condominium building. It’s also a block north of the planned Lance Armstrong Bikeway that will run east-to-west on the left bank of Lake Austin past the almost-finished Austin Music Hall.

Talk about being in the hub of the city! A bike shop that is close to home, a bank, a lake, an entertainment venue, and a bikeway. What more could an urban dweller want? Not only that, what store have you been in lately that fits this description:

But MJ’s [Mellow Johnny’s] is more than a store. On the south side is a coffee shop named Juan Pelota (is that Tex-Mex for Johnny’s Peloton?), where Austinites can get their morning fix after bike commuting into downtown and having a complimentary shower in the bike shop’s locker room at the northwest corner of the building.

Or this one from Competitor TX Magazine:

…visitors will find Juan Pelota’s, an indoor/outdoor coffee house with healthy grab-&-go food, and a soon to be introduced power-based indoor training facility. With hours of operation from 8 am to 7 pm, the shop is awake and ready for those riding into downtown early…The shop is equipped with showers and changing facilities and free bike storage for commuters.

I don’t know about you, but none of the bike shops in my town come equipped with ready food and a shower, let alone free bike storage. Pretty astute business planning! Of course, I would go to the store just to see the memorabilia: Mr. Armstrong’s seven yellow jerseys and the Trek bikes that he rode to victory. My daughter is planning a family trip out west and down south this summer. I wonder if her route takes us anywhere near Austin, Texas? If it does, I know where I want to have a bite to eat --- Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop. Check it out for yourself: 400 Nueces Street, Austin, Texas 78701.

Drug Testing Run Amok

You will have to forgive my rude reaction to this news article, but can someone please tell me when the UCI changed its name from the Union Cycliste Internationale to the United Confederation of Imbeciles! Listen to this from Velonews, quoted in its entirety:

Belgian cyclist Kevin Van Impe was taken for a routine drugs test just as he was at the crematorium filling in papers following the death of his baby son, media reported Saturday.

The Quick Step rider was at Lochristi crematorium when a drugs tester turned up and demanded he provide a sample, warning that otherwise he could face a two-year suspension.

“He wouldn’t even come back later in the day. It was either do it right on the spot or it would be taken as if I had refused,” Van Impe told web site www.sport.be.

Van Impe was arranging the funeral of son Jayden, born prematurely on Monday and who died just six hours later.

Asked to comment on the incident Flemish minister for sport Bert Anciaux said authorities were to determine how better to organize random tests to avoid a repeat in such delicate circumstances.

“The law is the law but you must take a human perspective,” the Belgian news agency quoted Anciaux as saying.

“I can well understand the rider had other things on his mind at the time of the test.”

For those readers who are unfamiliar with the sport of cycling, the UCI monitors professional road cyclists in order to detect doping and to deter riders from participating in doping. While their program is rigorous and is considered one of the most comprehensive in the world, and while the riders agree to both in-competition and out-of-competition testing that is so random a drug tester can, literally, show up at any time (as evidenced by the above story), the regulatory body certainly shouldn’t have the ability to interfere so completely in the life of an athlete as to show up during a time of mourning. What’s next? Are drug enforcement officials going to interrupt an actual funeral?

I think the UCI has finally overstepped the bounds of reason and gone beyond zealous in their pursuit of a clean sport. I, for one, hope their “more human perspective” involves some extensive training in socially appropriate behavior for their drug testers. Maybe they can take some direction from the English and use one of those Anti-Social Behavior Orders to stop their employees from being so incredibly insensitive.

Tour of California Stage 5

I didn’t tune in for much of the race today, even though I generally enjoy watching individual time trials; but “watching” them on a computer by reading a play-by-play really stinks! Most of the information is either advertising or a single sentence stating “this rider started” or “this rider finished with this time.” Live video coverage is far superior! So, if anyone at Versus is listening, could you please carry the Tour of California live in 2009? Or could someone convince Adobe to make some TourTracker software that works on all computers, not just PC’s? I know at least one race fan that would really appreciate it.

Route: Solvang - Solvang
Riders remaining: 105
Distance: 15 miles
Climbs: None

The photos of Solvang on the Tour website look like the town should be situated in the Netherlands, what with the windmills dotting the skyline and the thatched roofs adorning some of the buildings. The picture itself, and the fact that Sunset magazine named Solvang one of the “Ten Most Beautiful Small Towns in the Western US,” made me curious enough to visit the city website. After reading a little there, I checked a local real estate website to see if any Danish-architecture homes were available in the area, just out of curiosity. Sadly, the homes for sale there look just like the homes for sale here in Connecticut and at the same outrageous prices --- $499,000 for a standard American ranch with a miniscule kitchen (and that was the cheapest house listed on Realtor.com). I guess I won’t be moving anytime soon. I may visit, though, if I can convince my daughter to add Solvang to the itinerary of our summer trip.

My favorite race moment: since I didn’t “see” much of the race, I would have to say the finishing podium --- two ex-Posties (Leipheimer/VandeVelde) and a Scotsman (Millar). How could I not be pleased with that! From what I understand, Levi Leipheimer put in a stunning performance, coming in almost 30 seconds ahead of David Millar who, by all accounts is a time-trial specialist. Congratulations Levi!

Stage 5 Standings
- Levi Leipheimer (Astana)
- David Millar (Slipstream-Chipotle)
- Christian VandeVelde (Slipstream-Chipotle)
- Gustav Varsson (CSC)
- Fabian Cancellara (CSC)

General Classification
- Levi Leipheimer (Astana)
- David Millar (Slipstream-Chipotle)
- Christian VandeVelde (Slipstream-Chipotle)
- Gustav Varsson (CSC)
- Fabian Cancellara (CSC)

My husband has the day off tomorrow. Maybe I can convince him to fire up his PC so I can watch the race live. I am sure you will hear about it either way. :-) See you later.

Tour of California Stage 4

With a daughter recovering on the couch this afternoon (and setting her homeschool studies aside for the day), I took some time to work on a homeschooling article and watch yet another stage of the Tour of California. Truth be told, I also ate too many Andes mints, just to maintain that stereotypical image of a stay-at-home mom eating bonbons and watching TV. Sadly, some riders could have been sitting home with me, having dropped out of the race overnight and yesterday: Edvald Hagen (High Road) and Laurent Lefevre (Bouygues Telecom); they left the race on Stage 3. Non-starters at the beginning of today: Luciano Pagliarini (Saunier Duval-Scott) and Heinrich Haussler (Gerolsteiner).

Route: Seaside - San Luis Obispo
Riders Remaining: 115
Distance: 135.3 miles
Climbs:
- Big Sur (category 4)
- Highway 1 (category 4)
- Highway 1 (category 3)

Rain at the start saw riders, once again, in jackets and warmers. Steady rain and stiff winds along the way made for an incredibly long and less-than-stellar day in the saddle as well. Then again, no one ever said the Tour of California would be a “walk in the park”, so to speak. At least the competitors got a few glimmers of sunshine around the halfway mark.

With Levi Leipheimer in the golden jersey, Astana spent the day in charge of the peloton, chasing down attacks that began immediately after the neutral zone. CSC and Quick Step were attentive at the front as well, protecting their men, Cancellara and Boonen respectively. A break of eleven men eventually escaped, managing to stay ahead for most of the day. Riders involved: Camaño (Saunier Duval-Scott), Hincapie (High Road), Mollema (Rabobank), Hivert (Credit Agricole), Belgy (Bouygues Telecom), Wyss (BMC), Kilun (Toyota-United Pro), Rollin (Toyota-United-Pro), King (Bissell), and Mead (Jelly Belly). The eleven eventually became ten when Julien Belgy abandoned the race. By the end of course, a few more competitors dropped behind, bringing the breakaway success count to six. Holding off the pack at an approximate two-minute gap for the duration, an admirable accomplishment given the wind and the weather, the closing sprint became a contest between Hincapie, Rollin, and Camaño. Rollin prevailed to take the prize. Hincapie was second, while Camaño took third.

My favorite race moment: Hincapie taking second after a day of hard riding and cruddy weather.

Stage 4 Standings
- Dominique Rollin (Toyota-United Pro)
- George Hincapie (High Road)
- Iker Camaño (Saunier Duval-Scott)
- Gerald Ciolek (High Road)
- Mark Cavendish (High Road)

General Classification
- Levi Leipheimer (Astana)
- Fabian Cancellara (CSC)
- Robert Gesink (Rabobank)
- David Millar (Slipstream-Chipotle)
- Gustav Larsson (CSC)

Withdrawals on course today
- Jonathan Sundt (Kelly Benefit),
- Dymtro Grabovskyy (Quick Step)
- Matt Crane (HealthNet)
- Patrice Halgand (Credit Agricole)
- Julien Belgy (Bouygues Telecom)
- Ivan Dominguez (Toyota-United Pro)
- Tom Danielson (Slipstream-Chipotle)
- Jackson Stewart (BMC)
- Burke Swindlehurst (Bissell)

Tomorrow is the individual time trial. With thirteen seconds between first place Levi Leipheimer and second place Fabian Cancellara, the action should be tense. I will definitely be tuning in. Hopefully, the sun will be shining. See you then!

A note about Scott Nydam from the race website:

His father was diagnosed with leukemia two weeks before the Amgen Tour of California began…

Tour of California Stage 3

It was a tough day all around, both here at my house and at the Tour of California. I faced the arrival of a virulent gastrointestinal virus amongst my family members; the cyclists met their first mountain challenge. Somehow, I think I had the easier trial.

Route: Modesto – San Jose
Riders remaining: 132
Distance: 102.7 miles
Climbs:
- Del Puerto Canyon Road (category 4)
- San Antonio Valley Road @ 2338 feet (category 4)
- San Antonio Valley Road @ 2370 feet (category 4)
- Mount Hamilton (HC)
- Sierra Road (category 1)

Since I only caught fits and starts of the race online and about as much of the evening coverage with Phil, Paul, and Bob, I have virtually nothing to offer in the way of race narrative except to say that the race leader at the start of Stage 3, Tyler Farrar (Slipstream-Chipotle), abandoned the Tour due to illness. Race coverage reported food poisoning as the cause. I understand, too, that Kevin LaCombe (Kelly Benefit) was forced to withdraw after a crash sent him to the hospital for x-rays. The Tour of California website also had this to say about the health of the competitors in general:

Race doctor Ramin Modabber [said] yesterday that many riders in the peloton have been hit by a virus and are being treated with IV fluids.

This came across the web as well:

Matty Rice of Jelly Belly and Hilton Clarke of Toyota-United have abandoned...

As I said before, it was a tough day for everyone.

My favorite race moment: the finish, of course, because it was exciting and because it put Levi Lepiheimer in the golden jersey. I was happy to see George Hincapie on a lone breakaway, too. Maybe next time he will succeed.

Stage 2 Standings
- Robert Gesink (Rabobank)
- Levi Leipheimer (Astana)
- Jurgen Vandewalle (Quick Step)
- Kevin Seeldraeyers (Quick Step)
- Mauricio Ardila (Rabobank)

General Classification
- Levi Leipheimer (Astana)
- Fabian Cancellara (CSC)
- Robert Gesink (Rabobank)
- David Millar (Slipstream-Chipotle)
- Gustav Larsson (CSC)

Hopefully, the gastrointestinal symptoms of my family won’t hamper my Thursday viewing. I missed the first “real” mountain stage of the race; I don’t really want to miss the longest stage, too. See you later today.

Tour of California Stage 2

Well, I definitely had a sunnier day on tap than they did in northern California. The video feed from the race start showed lots of riders in arm warmers, knee warmers, and jackets, pedaling in the rain. Not a great way to begin one of the longer days of the Tour of California. Unfortunately, it wasn’t much better by the end either. Oh, well.

Route: Santa Rosa - Sacramento
Riders remaining: 132
Distance: 115.8 miles
Climbs:
- Trinity Grade (category 2)
- Highway 128 (category 4)

The Tour website had a good route description for the first climb:

The Trinity road climb and technical descent leading into Napa Valley wineries proved to be one of the most difficult sections in last year’s race so the racers will have to be attentive or risk getting gapped.

And for the trek into Sacramento:

The pack will roll east past Lake Berryessa and spin through the cities of Winters and Davis, the latter of which was recently named the best cycling town by Bicycling Magazine. After turning north, the route will float adjacent to the Sacramento River and across the Tower Bridge before arriving at the Capitol Mall in Sacramento. There the cyclists will whip up the speed when they engage in the final three-lap showdown through downtown before drag racing to the finish line in front of the state’s Capitol building, a monumental location to catch the action.

After reading that, I was wondering if Governor Schwarzenegger would be at the finish line. Apparently, he was.

Once again, the race saw an early breakaway by Team BMC, only this time it was Scott Nydam. Gaining about four kilometers and six minutes on the pack, he was the first to hit the Trinity Grade climb and the first to descend it safely. Like teammate Jackson Stewart in Stage 1, Nydam managed to maintain his lead for most of the day, staying ahead for some 90 miles and at one point reaching fifteen minutes gap over the rest of the peloton. For while there, I thought maybe the group was saving their energy for the climbs on Stage 3 (three category fours, a category one, and an HC). Not so; the pack caught Nydam within ten kilometers of the destination.

And speaking of the finish, the rain that dogged the riders throughout most of the day impacted the closing action as well. With three two-mile circuits through town before reaching the Capitol building, the course offered plenty of opportunities for weather-related mayhem, none of which materialized. The challenges started with Sébastien Turgot (Bouygues Telecom) launching off the front and flatting…and still managing to keep a lead until just after the peloton entered the finishing circuits. Most every team took a turn at the front, all trying to set up their sprinters for a win. In the end, it was Team Quick Step that prevailed with none other than Tom Boonen taking his first accolades of the race.

My favorite race moment: the fact that no one crashed on the rain-wet roads.

Stage 2 Standings
- Tom Boonen (Quick Step)
- Heinrich Haussler (Gerolsteiner)
- Mario Cipollini (Rock Racing)
- Mark Cavendish (High Road)
- Juan Jose Haedo (CSC)

General Classification
- Tyler Farrar (Slipstream-Chipotle)
- Fabian Cancellara (CSC)
- Tom Boonen (Quick Step)
- Bradley Wiggins (High Road)
- Gerald Ciolek (High Road)
- Levi Leipheimer (Astana)
- David Millar (Slipstream-Chipotle)

Tense ending on the day for me. I couldn’t get the play-by-play from the video feed to display on my Mac. I had no idea what was happening for the last three kilometers! Maybe I will start watching on my husband’s PC so I can use Adobe TourTracker.

Until tomorrow.

Tour of California Stage 1

Trying to watch a bike race during the early season is such a struggle around here. My time is already allocated to other, dare I say, more important things like homeschooling and household management tasks. I can’t/shouldn’t really give it the time of day, but…today, I managed to squeeze in Stage 1 of the Tour of California.

Route: Sausalito – Santa Rosa
Riders remaining: 132
Distance: 96.8 miles
Climbs:
- Coleman Valley Road (category 3)

It appeared, and was reported, to be cool most of the day: 53°F at the start and forecast to be cooler by the end of the route. Jackson Stewart of BMC spent most the day on his own, out front, only to be captured by the peloton just before the closing circuit. Sad. I was hoping he would take the day, especially since he earned all the top sprint points for Stage 1, as well as the King of the Mountain jersey. Being from Santa Rosa, it was understandable that Mr. Stewart would want to turn in an impressive performance. I think he should be pleased with a job well done.

Mario Cipollini (Rock Racing) was definitely on his game, racking up third place on the first intermediate sprint. To watch a video of it, click here and go “Peloton Hits the First Sprint.” I had to run some errands toward the end of the race, so I didn’t get to see if he mixed it up at the end. Curious question: does Señor Cipollini hold the record for the highest number of ‘unretirements” in the history of cycling? Just curious. At 40, he sure looks great. Not that I was paying attention. :-)

I understand that George Hincapie (High Road) took a spill in the final turn, although he was able to remount his machine and finish up on the day. Here is a short note on his condition, quoted from the media page of the Team High Road website:

George Hincpaie was part of the lead-out train setting up Ciolek for the sprint but was involved in a crash going under the tunnel within the final kilometer. He was pretty scraped up at the end but finished without losing time.

Last year, Mr. Hincapie broke his wrist during a fall in Stage 6. Hopefully, he will start Stage 2 with only a few aches and no worries.

My favorite race moment: Fabian Cancellara, back in the pack and wearing the yellow jersey, cheering on his teammate, Juan Jose Haedo, even before he crossed the finish line, knowing he had sewn up the Stage 1 win. To view the video, click here and go to “Juan Jose Haedo Wins Stage 1.”

Standings Stage 1
- Juan Jose Haedo (CSC)
- Gerald Ciolek (High Road)
- Heinrich Haussler (Gerosteiner)
- Dominique Rollin (Toyota-United Pro)
- Matteo Tosatto (Quick Step)

General Classification
- Fabian Cancellara (CSC)
- Tyler Farrar (Slipstream-Chipotle)
- Bradley Wiggins (High Road)
- Levi Leipheimer (Astana)
- David Millar (Slipstream-Chipotle)

Hopefully, I can squeeze in Stage 2. Stay tuned.