The First 100 Miles

Let Levi Ride: A Movement

Thanks to Tyler from Ride-Strong.com for sending this to me:

More than 45,000 people have signed the online petition to “Let Levi Ride” in the 2008 Tour de France.

Leipheimer, third last year to winning Astana teammate Alberto Contador, will be on the sideline in July if Tour owner ASO (pronounce that as you will) continues to say that Astana is not welcome. ASO is punishing the reincarnated team for doping violations committed by riders no longer on Astana and management that is long gone.

Last week’s RBR poll asked if Astana should be allowed into the ‘08 Tour and 89% of 1,200 voters said yes. If you’d like to see Levi and his team in the Tour, it might help to sign the ASO-bound petition at http://www.letleviride.com

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I'm confused.  Why just Levi?  Have Contador, Kloden, Horner, Brajkovic, or any of the other talented riders on the team been any less slighted?

My guess is that this Let Levi Ride movement began in CA where he is so personally loved.  It sounded as though there was a lot of this LLR stuff around at the Tour of California last week.  Also, I do see that as the only American hopeful to win the Tour, his absence is going to mean for far less coverage of the race in the States.  But don't the other guys deserve to ride as well?  And don't you think Levi would like a little help if he does get to ride the Tour this year?

It would be funny if the ASO said, "Okay, enough, you've broken us down with your constant emails, your hats, t-shirts and stickers.  We'll let Levi ride, but just Levi."  He'd be all alone out there in the peloton with Johan screaming at him from the team car behind.

I say Let Astana Ride!

Smart PR or the Real Deal?

After having several of their riders denied admission to this year's Tour of California the Rock Racing team has announced a new "aggressive internal team anti-doping program."

Of course, they're not the first team to announce that they were going to take matters into their own hands when it comes to proving that their riders are clean.  Team High Road, Slipstream, they're all doing it now.  In fact, today it almost seems as though if you don't announce that you have an "aggressive internal team anti-doping program" then you must be guilty already.

I don't know.  Of course we have to encourage and support any serious measures undertaken by any of the teams that are really going to help make the sport more fair, but sometimes I wonder about the validity as well as the motivation behind these "aggressive internal team anti-doping programs."

Do any of the teams ever follow up by making public the progress and results of these "aggressive internal team anti-doping programs?"  How motivated are they really to catch their own guys? 

Again, I'm a huge fan of anything the teams are doing to help the sport but I've worked in the world of PR for a long time and doing a big proactive PR move like announcing an "aggressive internal team anti-doping program" in order to inoculate yourself against potential future scandal is PR 101.   

Tour of California - Stage Seven

Before I get into my report on today's final stage at the ToC I just want to address a couple of the comments regarding my post yesterday on my friend Mark Cavendish.

Glenn and Jim, you guys need to lighten up.  I am 100 per cent sure that Mark Cavendish couldn't give a rat's ass about what I think of him, so why the heck do you guys care so much?

Look, I agree with Cathy's comment.  We all have riders that we like and some that we don't.  Cavendish just rubs me the wrong way, that's all.  I've never denied that he's an excellent rider.  I've even predicted that, before his career is over, he'll probably have many TdF green jerseys hanging in his closet, hell, I may even become a fan one day.  But right now he's young, he's green, he's overconfident, he's cocky and I just don't like him.

I joked about being happy that he'd had the stage win taken away from him yesterday but, despite how it may seem at times, I really don't wish the kid any ill will.  He won the sprint itself fair and square and good for him, but  I called him a cheater because he cheated.  I know that everyone does it but that doesn't make it not cheating.

Mark Cavendish has the potential to be one of the best in the world but he still has a lot to learn.  And until his legs can start cashing some of the those checks that his mouth has been writing, he's going to continue to bug me. 

That being said, let's move on to the events of today because they were Kick Ass!

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Stage Seven: Santa Clarita - Pasadena, 150 km

The roads were wet and there was more rain in the forecast this morning as riders lined up for the seventh and final stage of the 2008 Amgen Tour of California.  Jackets and leg warmers were abundant.

The challenging course today would make this final stage far from just ceremonial.  Two intermediate sprints meant that the green jersey was still in contention and a final KOM climb, more than 4,800 feet up the Millcreek Summit, would still allow for some shake-up on GC.  Six five-mile laps around the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena would end today’s stage and this year’s race.

Only 90 of the original 132 started today as that nasty flu bug continued to make its rounds through the peloton.   

Team Astana immediately took control of the pack this morning.  They were down one rider today after Vladimir Gusev crashed near the end of yesterday’s stage and broke his collarbone. 

Right away there was an attack by Doug Ollerenshaw (Rock Racing).  He was chased down and more attacks came and were caught.  After some back and forth a group of ten riders got away: George Hincapie (High Road), Jason McCartney (CSC), Yannick Talabardon (Credit Agricole), Oliver Zaugg (Gerolsteiner), Dimitri Champion (Bouygues Telecom), Danny Pate (Slipstream), Taylor Tolleson (BMC), Rory Sutherland (Health Net), Tom Zirbel (Bissell) and Michael Creed (Rock Racing).

At the first sprint it was Creed who went through first followed by Talabardon and Pate.  The gap was 3.25 back to the peloton.

Coming up to the climb at Millcreek Summit, Quick Step had their entire team on the front chasing down the break.  They wanted to make sure that today’s stage ended in a bunch sprint.

As the break made their way up the big climb, with 5 km to the top, Creed broke off the front and opened up a gap of 15 seconds over the rest of the break.  He took first place over the last KOM of the race followed by Talabardon and Tolleson.

As the rest of the peloton headed up the climb there was an attack off the front as Victor Hugo Pena Grisales (Rock Racing), Robert Gesink (Rabobank), and Thomas Peterson (Slipstream) tried to get up to the break.  Dave Zabriskie (Slipstream) then launched off to join the group heading up to the break.

They were all caught by the field but the attack shook things up in the group and new attacks and counter attacks began.  The Astana train was temporarily broken up a bit leaving Levi a little isolated.  He managed to get himself back up to the front pretty quickly though.

On the descent after the KOM climb, Creed was caught by the other nine in the break.  The gap had come down to 1.35 but started to open up again as the ten-man break was back together and working in unison once again.

With 70 km to go the gap was back up to over three minutes.  The rain had returned and riders were bundling up against more cold, wet weather.  Increasing fog was making the twisty, winding roads more and more dangerous.

Coming up to the final intermediate sprint of the race McCartney attacked off the break to try to eat up the last intermediate sprint points and keep his teammate JJ Haedo’s position in the green jersey race safe.  Hincapie responded and brought him back.  McCartney attacked again but again was caught.  Then it was Tom Zirbel’s turn to attack.  He managed to get away and open up a small 15 second gap over the other leaders.  The peloton was still 2.15 back but Quick Step was on the front chasing hard.

With 30 km to go Zirbel’s gap had opened to 30 seconds over the rest of the guys in the original break. Next it was Rory Sutherland (Health Net) who decided to make a move off the front group and try to bridge his way up to Zirbel.  He got away from the group but was having a hard time latching onto Zirbel’s wheel.

The rain was pouring down now as Zirbel, Sutherland and then the rest of the break approached the six five-mile laps around the Rose Bowl stadium. Creed, Hincapie and McCartney got away from the break next and managed to get up to Sutherland but Zirbel was still 10 seconds up ahead of them all.

Rabobank had joined Quick Step now and were pulling hard at the front of the peloton trying to reel in the break. The rain was making the roads slick and dangerous.  The Astana squad surrounded Levi just working to keep him at the front and safely upright so that he could win this race in just a few miles.

Creed, Hincapie, McCartney and Sutherland were working well together now but having no luck in bringing back Zirbel who was giving it everything he had to stay away and try to take this stage win.

At 14 km to go the remnants of the original break were caught by the charging peloton.  Now it was just Creed, Hincapie, McCartney and Sutherland still away with everyone chasing Tom Zirbel who was still the lone man out in front.

Quick Step seemed to be doing all the work now at the front of the peloton getting little to no help from the other teams.  Astana was up front but happy to just ride safely in behind Quick Step.  They didn’t need to bring back anyone in the break and just needed to deliver Levi safely to the line.

The effort was apparent on Zirbel’s face as he came around the final circuit lap, rain pelting down.  He gave an incredible ride, holding off four very strong riders working together behind him for almost five laps of the circuit, but he was caught on the final lap by Hincapie and Sutherland.  Zirbel was passed by the two but then gave an extra push and managed to catch onto Sutherland’s wheel.  McCartney and Creed lagged back but then made they’re way up to the other three and it was now a five-man break all together hurtling toward the line, preparing for a sprint.

Sutherland attacked, Hincapie answered and McCartney followed.  Creed and Zirbel managed to latch on in the last few seconds.

All five sprinted it out in the last 1 km but it was George Hincapie who still had enough in the legs to take the stage win for High Road.

Levi Leipheimer crossed the line safely in the front group of the peloton to win his second consecutive Tour of California.  Dominique Rollin (Toyota United) held onto the green sprinter’s jersey, Scott Nydam (BMC) gets the KOM jersey and Robert Gesnik (Rabobank) is the Best Young Rider.

Tour of California - Stage Six

Ahh, and the universe is unfolding as it should.  I was sad and then I was oh, so happy.

I'm not really that mean.  I would actually feel sorry for the guy if he hadn't lost it for cheating.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, read on...

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Stage Six - Santa Barbara to Santa Clarita, 169.6 km

Two intermediate sprints and four KOM climbs out on the course today to give the riders a chance to shake up this race a bit and try to unseat Levi Leipheimer as the race leader.  Still not sunny California weather as riders were met with a chilly breeze and more clouds over the road today.

As usual there were lots of attacks right out of the gate.  During all the vying for position, Bernard Van Ulden (Jelly Belly) crashed and abandoned. He was taken to the hospital by ambulance.

The peloton chased down each attack attempt and then a flurry of counterattacks would begin.  Astana was working hard at the front.  No one was napping in the peloton today as the attacks just kept coming – many of them from Slipstream.  With three riders in the top ten the argyle team was doing their best to blow apart the Astana squad and isolate Leipheimer to try to have one of their GC men put some time into him.

Jurgen Vandewalle (Quick Step) got top points over the first KOM climb.  The second KOM climb followed just a couple of miles later and Christophe Le Mevel (Credit Agricole) took first spot there.

A break of six finally got away just after the second climb and opened up a gap of about one minute.  They included: Christophe Le Mevel (Credit Agricole), Steven Cozza (Slipstream), Karsten Kroon (Team CSC), Rory Sutherland (Health Net), David Canada Gracia (Saunier Duval-Scott) and Alexandre Pichot (Bouygues Telecom).

With no real threats to Levi’s GC position up in the break things calmed down a bit as Astana let the break go and relaxed into setting a steady pace and protecting the yellow jersey.

Through the first intermediate sprint the leaders did not contest it since none of them is seriously in the fight for the sprint jersey.  They rolled through with David Canada Gracia (Saunier Duval-Scott) first, Rory Sutherland (Health Net) and Steven Cozza (Slipstream) third. Christophe Le Mevel (Credit Agricole) and Rory Sutherland (Health Net) were the first two over the third KOM climb of the day as the temperature dropped a bit and more layers of clothing came out.  The gap had now opened to almost seven minutes.

Again at the second and final intermediate sprint the lead group just barreled through together – no fight for those sprint points or time bonuses.  These guys just wanted to work together to try to get to the end and be able to fight it out for a stage win.

The final KOM climb of the day was the famous Balcom Canyon climb.  A category four climb at 1,027 feet (313m).  Crowds lined the roads of this nasty climb as the break away struggled to the top.  Canada again took first place over the climb followed by Sutherland and Pichot.

With about 65 km to go Team High Road took an interest in helping Astana to start to bring back the break and the gap came down to 6.15.  Rabobank joined the effort and the gap was soon down to 5.30.  The sprinters’ teams wanted another shot at a stage win.

The men in the break were noticeably struggling as the peloton continued to steadily reel them in and their time gap diminished quickly.  Quick Step had joined the chase and the peloton was stepping on the gas.  Leipheimer was tucked safely in behind his Astana boys looking smooth and focused.

With 30 km to go the gap was down to 3.10. The Astana train took a hit though when Vladimir Gusev took a nasty crash and was taken to hospital by ambulance.  Gusev has worked so hard to protect Levi during this race - a big loss for the team.

Once the race entered Santa Clarita the riders had three circuits of 3.5 miles each to complete before the finish.  The gap was down to 2.30 and they looked tired.

With the gap down to two minutes the sprinters started to move up to the front of the pack.  The guys in the break surely could feel Tom Boonen, Freddie Rodriguez, Paolo Bettini and Mark Cavendish breathing down their necks.

Up in the break Steven Cozza appeared to be having a hard time taking less and less time pulling on the front, head drooping.  The other riders in the break were talking, likely strategizing as the weak link of Cozza was making it even harder for them to keep the gap open.

Back in the peloton, Hincapie was on the front just drilling it home for High Road setting a brutal pace that was having a clear effect on the rest of the field which was breaking up all over the road.  This is the stage where Hincapie broke his wrist last year but he didn’t appear to be thinking about that today.

A touch of wheels among the Rock Racing boys resulted in a crash that took down four out of five-man Rock Racing team.  Freddie Rodriguez had a lot of trouble getting up but he managed to get back on the bike and continue on.

With the gap down to 25 seconds the break away group began to split as attacks began.  Each one was checked by the others.  Surprisingly, Steven Cozza, despite looking the weakest in the group earlier, was doing most of the attacking.

Mark Cavendish (High Road) took a nasty fall but he was back up on the bike quickly.

Suddenly, David Millar took off from the peloton and passed the break away group.  Millar was in full time trial mode.  Only 49 seconds separated he and Levi on GC with a 10 second time bonus at the finish for first place.  Canada and Pichot grabbed Millar’s wheel and the three were off ahead of the rest as a new three-man break away.

Astana came to the front.  They could not let Millar get that far ahead.  Quick Step was happy to help in order to keep Boonen in contention for the stage win and at 1 km to go all the break away members – including Millar – were caught.

Yesterday’s stage winner and current green jersey holder Dominique Rollin (Toyota United) hit the gas early which caught some of the other sprinters by surprise.  Friere (Rabobank) and Cavendish (High Road) reacted but it was Cavendish who got around Rollin and managed to hit the line first.   

It seemed as though Cavendish had the win for High Road and he was elated coming over the line.  However, shortly afterwards race officials announced that they were giving him a 20 second time penalty for hanging onto a team car when trying to rejoin the peloton after his crash on the final circuits.  The stage win instead went to Luciano André Pagliarini Mendonca (Saunier Duval) – a big blow for Cavendish and the High Road team.

Levi came in safely right behind the sprinters keeping the yellow jersey squarely on his back going into the final day of the race tomorrow.

Tour of California - Stage Five (ITT)

Stage Five: Solvang Individual Time Trial, 24 km

Partly cloudy skies greeted riders as they got ready to start today’s individual time trial in Solvang.  Not the warm sunshine that one expects in California, but a huge improvement over yesterday’s relentless cold, wind and rain.

Today’s course had one hill in the middle but not enough of a climb to give the climbers any real advantage.

Bryce Mead (Jelly Belly Cycling Team) kicked things off today.  As race leader, Astana’s Levi Leipheimer would be the last to hit the course.  He had 13 seconds on Fabian Cancellara (CSC) in second place.

John Murphy (Health Net) 34’13 was the top time early on in the day.  Murhpy’s time was soon beat by Bernard Van Ulden (Jelly Belly) who did the course in 32’54.

As the day went on the wind picked up but the sun came out.  Bradley Wiggins (High Road) flew through the course and beat Van Ulden with a time of 32’16.  Tom Zirbel (Bissell) was the next rider to have the best time with 32’11.

Team Astana’s Janez Brajkovic took the new best time with 32’05 as U.S. National Time Trial Champion David Zabriskie (Slipstream), British National Time Trial Champion David Millar (Slipstream), and World Time Trial Champion Fabian Cancellara (CSC) all took to the course.  Talk about the best of the best here in Solvang today!

Levi Leipheimer, the last rider to take to the course, looked very comfortable in yellow with a slow, steady cadence and that upper body crouched down and dead solid. The fans were out in droves and the sound of cow bells filled the air.

Christian Vande Velde (Slipstream) did an incredible ride and put up the new best time of 31'31.

The first time check had Cancellara at 16'58 and Leipheimer at 16'20!

Zabriskie came sprinting through the finish, the crowd cheering him on, but he pulled a time of 32’01.  Not good enough to beat his teammate Vande Velde.

David Millar took the new best time at 31’15 with Rober Gesink (Rabobank), Cancellara and Leipheimer still out on course.

32’49 for Gesink keeping him safely in the Young Rider’s jersey.  Now it was only the top two out on the course.

As Cancellara approached the finish the top times clicked away and as he crossed the line is was 31’52 – not enough.

Then it was Leipheimer who just flew through the finish and shattered the clock with 30’46.  The crowd was deafening as he pumped his fist in the air.  Levi wins the stage and opens up the gap over Cancellara.  What an incredible ride!

Woo hoo - A Canadian Wins Stage 4!!

Before you start reading what - I apologize - is a very long report on a very long stage I just need to jump up and down a bit about the fact that my boy Dominique Rollin kicked ass today!!!  I'm so proud of him!! He's such a nice guy and he worked so hard today and this is the biggest win of his career so far!!

Okay, it's out of my system.  Here's my report.  Again, sorry it's so long but it was a long friggin' stage, what do you want from me?

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Stage Four: Seaside - San Luis Obispo, 217 km

A miserable start to what would be the longest stage in the race.  Cold temperatures and more rain greeted the riders, most of whom donned rain jackets, leg warmers and hats.  And, to make matters worse, the stomach bug that took out race leader Tyler Farrar yesterday is making its rounds through the peloton at an astonishing pace.  Health Net is reporting that their entire team is sick with the exception of Aussie tough guy Rory Sutherland.  Toyota United says that only a few of their riders have escaped it.  Fabian Wegmann, Peter Wrolich, Johannes Fröhlinger and Heinrich Haussler, all from the Gerolsteiner team, didn’t make the start today.

There were two intermediate sprints out on the road today and three KOM climbs – two category 4 hills followed by a category 3.   Just like yesterday there were several attempts at attacks early on today but the Astana team was keeping a tight rein on things and doing their best to keep the pace high making a breakaway difficult.

About 20 km in a break of 11 riders got away including Bauke Mollema (Rabobank), Bryce Mead (Jelly Belly), Danilo Wyss and Jackson Stewart (BMC Racing Team), Dominique Rollin (Toyota - United), Edward King (Bissell), Iker Camano Ortuzar (Saunier Duval-Scott), Jonathan Hivert (Credit Agricole), Julien Belgy (Bouygues Telecom), Roman Kilun (Health Net p/b Maxxis) and George Hincapie (High Road) who lost seven minutes to Leipheimer yesterday after his attempt to break away before the second big climb.

Once the break had opened up a gap of about 40 seconds, Tom Danielson (Slipstream) attacked off the front of the peloton and tried to bridge the gap up to the leaders.  He didn’t make it and instead fell back, right through the pack and abandoned the race.  Gerolsteiner’s Mathias Frank also abandoned out on the road.

At the intermediate sprint Rollin took first place, uncontested by the other riders in the break, with Kilun second and Hincapie third.

At the first KOM climb the break had just over two minutes on the peloton.  Jackson Stewart went over, uncontested by the other riders in the break (this must have all been worked out amongst them once they got away), Wyss in second and Ortuzar in third.

Astana was doing all the work on the front of the peloton with CSC tucked in behind them, not working too hard, but making sure that Fabian Cancellara stayws close to Leipheimer so that he’s in a good position to challenge him at tomorrow’s time trial.

Next to succumb to the stomach bug was Dmytro Grabovskyy (Quick Step) who abandoned on the road.  Word is that so many riders have dropped out that the “broom wagon” had to dump bikes at the Feed Zone to make room for more.

Hincapie was organizing the break and doing a lot of work on the front trying to stay clear of the Astana machine powering on the front of the peloton behind them.   They lost Julien Belgy (Bouygues Telecom) who abandoned the race at about the 85 km mark.  Ivan Dominguez (Toyota) baled out as well.  If Levi can stay healthy he might win this race on Sunday just by being the only rider left on the road.

Climbing up the second KOM climb the rain was pouring down on the break away.  Stewart took first place over the top with Wyss and Hincapie second and third.  The third and last climb followed right after the second and again Stewart took first place followed by King and Hivert.  That KOM jersey was safe in the BMC camp for another night. 

The climbs and the rain took their toll on the breakaway group and Jonathan Hivert (Credit Agricole) fell out leaving nine.   They’d increased the gap to three minutes, as they went through the second and final intermediate sprint with Dom Rollin again taking top points followed by Kilyn and Wyss.   

Jackson Stewart fell back to the peloton shortly after securing the last KOM points for his team and actually abandoned the race.  Word from his team is that he was hypothermic when he made it back to the team car – again, just an incredible effort by BMC in this race.  The break was now down to eight men.

Heading into the final 50 kms the rain was so hard and the sky so dark over the break away that the service cars had to put their lights on to see through it.   It was still Astana on the front of the peloton behind doing all the work just as they had all day.  CSC was still right in behind them protecting Cancellara.  Miserable was the word of the day for the peleton who had been on the road for six hours now in freezing cold temperatures and nearly constant cold rain.   

But Astana was pushing through the pain and with 30 km to go they upped the pace bringing the gap back down to two minutes.  Bryce Mead (Jelly Belly) fell back from the break and was caught by the peloton and now the break was down to seven very cold, very wet, very tired men.

With 20 km to go the break fractured.  Rollin attacked and opened up a gap of about 20 seconds on the rest of the riders.  Camano and Hincapie reacted and chased.  Incredible effort by Rollin after such a long, tough day in the saddle.   

There seemed to be a little disagreement within the peloton as to how to react to splitting of the break.  Levi came to the front and stopped his guys from chasing but with only 10kms to go the sprinters teams now decided that they would move to the front and do a little work.   CSC moved up to set something up for Haedo.  They were joined by Slipstream and Quick Step and the pace jumped.

Rollin - in full aero position - managed to open up a gap of 30 seconds over Camano and Hincapie.   The furious pace being set by CSC behind smashed up the peloton as riders who could barely feel their frozen legs just weren’t able to keep up.  By the 8 km to go mark the peloton was down to about 40-50 riders.

5 km to go and Rollin was still 20 seconds ahead of Hincapie and Camano.  Just to torture the riders a little more today there was actually a small climb about 3km from the finish.  The pain was evident on Rollin’s face as he hit the incline, he was now only about 10 seconds ahead of his chasers.

With 2 km to go the peloton was still minutes behind and no threat to Rollin but would Hincapie and Camano be able to catch him before the line?   

No they wouldn’t.  After a horrendous seven and a half hours in the cold hard rain Rollin got the stage win, a huge victory for this young Canadian rider and for the Toyota-United Pro team!  As an added bonus Rollin takes over the sprinter’s jersey from Haedo tonight.

Hincapie sprinted past Camano for second.  Levi came in safely at the front of the peloton a few minutes later shaking his head, still safely in yellow.  Surely he and all the guys who were out there all day will be looking forward to warm buses and hot soup.

Tour of California - Stage Three

Stage Three: Modesto - San José, 152.2 km

The sun was shining on a warmer and drier peloton today as they set out from Modesto; likely a welcome change for the riders who spent hours in the cold rain yesterday. 

Today was the first day of the race when the GC board was expected to start to take shape and where the real contenders for the overall win would begin to come shining through.  The big climb on today’s course was an HC climb called Mt Hamilton.  Four smaller Category 4 climbs lead up to Mount Hamilton.  The other substantial climb today on today’s course was Sierra Road, a Category 1 climb near the end of the stage.  There was only one intermediate sprint today in the town of Patterson just before the hills.   

A flurry of attacks marked the first few kilometers as rider after rider from all different teams tried to get away but each was checked by the peloton.

Finally, around the 15 km mark, a break away group including Paul Martens (Rabobank), Scott Nydam (BMC) and Cyril Lemoine (Credit Agricole) made it away and opened up a gap of almost a minute.  They went through the intermediate sprint with Martens in first and Lemoine in second.

Steven Cozza (Slipstream) made a move shortly after the sprint and managed to get away from the pack and pull himself up to the break joining the trio of leaders who had built up a gap of just over 5 minutes.  Levi Leipheimer was keeping his Astana boys up at the front, pushing the pace, making sure that the gap didn’t grow too much.  This was an important day for Levi to make a move.

Heading up the first KOM climb Kevin Lacombe (Kelly Benefit Strategies) abandoned the race and was taken away in an ambulance.  Not sure exactly if he was in a crash or something else happened.

Scott Nydam attacked going over the first KOM – where do these BMC guys find the energy? He took the points for first followed by Martens (Rabobank) andLemoine (Credit Agricole) in second and third.  Astana led the rest of the peloton over the first climb about 4’50 behind the leaders.

Over the second KOM the break was still almost 5 minutes ahead and again Nydam took first place over the top with Martens in second.   

Sadly, after one of the best days of his life as a pro yesterday, young Tyler Farrar (Slipstream) wearing the leader’s jersey today actually abandoned the race on the relatively flat section between the second and third KOM climb.  He is apparently battling a stomach bug.  A great effort by a young rider who clearly has a great career ahead of him.

Over the third KOM climb the breakaway group was starting to look like they were feeling the effort – especially Nydam who spent almost the entire day yesterday riding solo through the cold rain.  Nydam took top points again over the third KOM climb with Cozza and Martens in second and third.  Looks like the KOM jersey will move within the BMC team tonight from Jackson Stewart to Scott Nydam.  Incredible work by BMC so far in this race.

As the race closed in on Mt. Hamilton CSC joined Astana on the front as the big GC riders started to get themselves in position to make their mark.  They brought the gap down to 2 minutes.  The conditions atop Mt. Hamilton were brutal - just above freezing, thick fog, and limited visibility.

The breakaway began to fracture as the peloton closed in.  Eventually it was just Martens out ahead still holding onto about 20 seconds going up the brutal climb.  He was caught as the peloton grinded up the hill with riders being dropped off the back all over the place and Astana’s Jose Luis Rubiera doing a nice job of setting pace for Leipheimer.

A lead group of about 20 riders including Leipheimer, Hincapie, Bettini, Friere, Rubiera and David Millar crested the hill first and then began the long, treacherous decent through the cold wind and fog.  The lead group went screaming down the decent with Hincapie out in front managing to open up a gap of about 25 seconds over the rest of the front group.

Astana could not let Hincapie get away - he’s a big threat to Levi for GC - and with five riders, including Leipheimer, they flat out chased Hincapie to the foot of the Sierra Road climb where they finally caught him.  The leaders then passed Hincapie who was spent from the effort and it was about six riders who continued the trek up the brutal climb including Leipheimer, Chris Horner (Astana), Dave Zabriskie (Slipstream) and Robert Gesink (Rabobank).  Horner and Zabriskie got dropped and Gesnik began to attack to see if Levi could hold on.  Levi looked strong and marked every attack with ease.  Zabriskie and Horner found their way back up and as they crested the hill.  Leipheimer picked up the pace, not wanting Zabriskie to catch up.

The rest of the large group of 12 riders that was just behind the leaders caught up to Zabriskie and Horner on the decent and the group of 14 were now intent on catching Leipheimer and Gesnik who were hurtling down about a minute ahead.  The chase group included Cancellara who, after Tyler Farrar’s removal on the road today, was the virtual holder of the yellow jersey, six seconds ahead of Leipheimer.

With 5 km to go Leipheimer and Gesnik still had a gap of just under a minute; Gesnik open-mouthed gasping for air, Leipheimer in full time-trial position with the Astana car beside him shouting out encouragement.

1 km to go and the gap closed to 20 seconds.  Leipheimer took his turn on the front clearly feeling the pain.  They managed to stay away.  Gesnik took the stage win - Leipheimer didn’t contest it – and Leipheimer put some much needed time into Cancellara moving 13 seconds ahead of the Swiss rider on GC.

21-year old Gesnik gets the biggest win of his career thus far and Leipheimer moves into the yellow jersey as we head into Stage Four tomorrow.  Stage Five on Friday should be an exciting one now as we move into the individual time trial with only 13 seconds separating two of best time trialists in the world.

Tour of California - Stage Two

Stage Two: Santa Rosa to Sacramento, 186 km

The rain that had been promised for Tuesday arrived on schedule this morning in Santa Rosa and the riders took off to a cold, wet start. Some rolling hills with two KOM climbs lay ahead for the riders in the first half of this long stage with a flat second half that held two intermediate sprints and then a long, flat run into the finish – perfect for the sprinters to shine again.

Right away Scott Nydam (BMC) and once again it was a lone BMC rider who took off down the road and opened up a gap on the pack.

Jonathan Sundt (Kelly Benefit Strategies) came out from the front of the pack to chase Nydam. He didn’t make it up to the leader but didn’t fall all the way back, instead sitting in the middle as the gap continued to grow.

When Nydam went over the first KOM climb he was six minutes ahead. BMC clearly had plans this morning of protecting that KOM jersey that Jackson Stewart grabbed for them yesterday. Despite the pain that Stewart must be in after his enormous effort yesterday he was up in front to take third place through that first KOM climb after Sundt.

Nydam opened the gap up to over 15 minutes at one point but as the race moved closer to the second KOM climb of the day, and the first intermediate sprint, the peloton upped the pace and the gap began to close. Jonathan Sundt was caught right after taking second place over the KOM climb with Jackson Stewart again taking third. Excellent work on the part of the BMC team to protect that KOM jersey for another day – wow!

Coming through the first intermediate sprint, Nydam was still 13 minutes out in front and took the three second time bonus. The peloton heated up for a few minutes as they fought it out for second and third place which ended up going to Gerald Ciolek (High Road) and Tyler Farrar (Slipstream) respectively. With that one second time bonus for third, Farrar was now only one second away from Cancellara on the GC board.

At the second and final intermediate sprint Nydam went through about 8 minutes ahead of the pack and again it was a sprint for second and third place and the two remaining time bonuses. This time it was Tyler Farrar in second and Ciolek in third. That two second time bonus made Farrar the virtual GC leader out on the road.

The KOM jersey protected for the day and the big sprint time bonuses eaten up, Nydam seemed to ease back and wait to be caught. The effort combined with the lousy weather had taken its toll and the fatigue was evident in his posture.

With Farrar now in first place the Slipstream boys kicked it into high gear to try to secure the yellow jersey. David Millar had six of his men on the front pulling the peloton and closing in quickly on Nydam who was caught at the 27 km to go mark.

With just under 20 km to go Sébastien Turgot (Bouygues Telecom) attacked and opened up a gap before suffering a flat tire – bad timing! He was caught soon after by the peloton being led by Slipstream and CSC’s Jason McCartney looking to set up another sprint win for JJ Haedo who also suffered a flat but was quickly back up on the road.

The sprinter’s teams all moved up to the front, just like yesterday, trying to set up their man for the win. Among them Quick Step with Boonen, CSC with Haedo, and High Road with Cavendish. High Road tried an odd tactic of sitting up very early and launching Cavendish into an attack when they were still quiet a way back of the line.  It didn't work and he was quickly swallowed up and passed by the other sprinters.  In the end it was the big blue train of Quick Step that timed it perfectly today dropping Boonen off in that sweet spot that he needs to bring it home. His first win on American soil and a big thrill for the fans.

Tyler Farrar, the 23-year-old American from Slipstream, takes over the yellow jersey tonight making it a great day for Slipstream.

The last few seconds of today's stage demonstrated to perfection why I find Cavendish so irritating.  He talks like he's the hottest thing that ever hit the road but watching how badly he and his team misjudged the sprint today just showed that while he can handle a bike like few others, there's more to winning sprints that just turning the pedals around really fast and he still has a lot to learn.  He would do well to shut his mouth for a little while and just watch how the guys like Boonen set up their team like a well-oiled machine to bring them to the perfect spot to explode to the line.  That skill can only come with experience - something that Cavendish is sorely lacking.  He was like an over-excited puppy today getting beat out by the quiet, mature greyhound.

Tour of California - Stage One

Stage One: Sausalito to Santa Rosa, 156 km

It was cool and overcast in Sausalito this morning as riders lined up for Stage One which was fairly flat; a stage designed for the sprinters. The riders had three intermediate sprints along the course today and the first classified climb of the race at Coleman road before heading into Santa Rosa, hometown of last year’s race winner, Levi Leipheimer.

About 15 km into the stage Jackson Stewart (BMC) broke away and managed to open up a gap. In 2006 Stewart took the title of most aggressive rider on this same stage.

In the town of Point Reyes about 44 kms into the stage, Stewart sailed through the first intermediate sprint picking up a three second time bonus. The rest of the peloton was nine minutes behind but when they reached the sprint it was a textbook set up by Team High Road as Bradley Wiggins and Boassen Hagen launched Mark Cavendish who took second place and snagged the two second time bonus. Marco Cipollini was third.

With 100 km to go race leader Fabian Cancellara suffered a flat tire slowing the pace of the peloton a bit and opening the gap to almost 13 minutes.

In the small town of Tomales, Stewart passed through the second intermediate sprint still 11 minutes ahead of the group. As the rest of the peloton came up to the sprint the pace quickened and the same High Road train of Wiggins and Hagen led Cavendish out yet again to take second through the sprint and pick up another two second time bonus. Tyler Farrar (Slipstream) was third.

Stewart tucked in and put everything he had into staying away from the pack as the third and final intermediate sprint lay ahead in Bodega Bay. Stewart was 21 seconds behind Cancellara when he set out today. Nine seconds in time bonuses could give him a bump up the GC board into the top 20.

Stewart took the third sprint but as he headed towards the day’s only climb the peloton was closing in fast and his gap had narrowed to 10 minutes. Tyler Farrar and David Millar from Slipstream took second and third at the last intermediate sprint giving Tyler Farrar three seconds in time bonuses for the day and moving him into second on GC.

Over the Coleman Valley road climb, Stewart was still nine minutes ahead but by the time the peloton crested the hill the gap was down to just over seven minutes and closing.

Heading towards Santa Rosa the Quick Step squad was on the front pushing the pace in an effort to pull back Stewart and get Tom Boonen in place for the stage win. And with just under 30 kms to go Stewart was eaten up by the peloton as the blue train of Quick Step flew past him.

As the peloton, now back together, raced on the flat roads towards Santa Rosa the sprinter’s teams were pulling hard at the front in an attempt to get their guys up into position for the final bunch sprint to the line. Quick Step, High Road, CSC and Slipstream were in front doing most of the work. CSC also had a big group of riders up at the front protecting the yellow jersey and hoping to get their sprinter JJ Haedo in place for the win.

Coming into the line it was total chaos as each of the sprinter’s teams jockeyed to get in front and set up their guy. CSC’s Bobby Julich was pulling JJ Haedo, Slipstream’s David Millar had Tyler Farrar on his wheel, Bettini was bringing Boonen up. But, despite Quick Step’s hard work all day, at the end it was JJ Haedo who took the win.

Cameras at the finish line caught Fabian Cancellara a few bike lengths behind with arms raised in the air as he watched his teammate take the stage win. Cancellara can also celebrate another day in yellow as he stayed safely in the front of the pack and maintained his overall lead. It was a good day for CSC!

Tour of California - Prologue

Prologue: Palo Alto - Stanford University, 3.4 km

It was a short, flat and wickedly fast route that lay before the riders as they lined up in the starting hut today under sunny skies in Southern California to kick off the third Amgen Tour of California.

Riders began in Palo Alto and flew through a 3.4 km (2.1 mile) flat route ending with a full 360 degree loop around the Stanford Oval on the Stanford University campus before heading into the finish line.

132 riders were out to race today – 45 of them from the US.  American Levi Leipheimer (Astana) won last year’s prologue and he was the heavy favorite to take the win today as well. However, today’s short, fast course was very reminiscent of the kind of course you’d see at an individual pursuit event on the track and Team High Road just happens to have brought with them the current world pursuit champion, Bradley Wiggins, who is sitting out the Copenhagen track world cup to be here in California.

The first rider to start today was Iker Camao of Saunier Duval-Scott. Health Net's John Murphy came out of the gate shortly afterwards and set the fastest time with 4’04 but he didn’t hold onto the lead for very long once Dave Zabriskie (Slipstream) hit the road and set the new time to beat of 3'59.58. The saddle on Zabriskie’s bike today was decked out with an American flag – a man happy to be riding at home.

But Zabriskie’s time turned out to not be enough when Swedish rider Gustav Larsson (CSC) shaved a few tenths of second off of his time hitting the line at 3'59.19.

An American favorite, Tom Danielson (Slipstream), has been struggling with some injury and illness recently, and was supposed to be in Europe racing this month but his team decided this would be a better race for him. He rode a time of 4’11. And his former Discovery teammate, Jason McCartney, now riding with Team CSC, clocked in at 4'10.52.

The day’s resident rock star was certainly Mario Cipollini who has come out of retirement to join the controversial Rock Racing Team for 2008. Cipollini was a crowd favorite today and was followed along the course by the Rock Racing team car – a Cadillac of course. Cipollini ended his day with a time of 4'08.63, well outside of the top ten but still impressive for someone who’s been out of the saddle for a while.

About halfway through the stage, 23-year old Tyler Farrar (Slipstream) took over the first place slot with a time of 3'56.46. An amazing ride from the young American who moved over to the Slipstream team from the Cofidis squad this year.

Tom Boonen of the Quick Step team is here in the US for his first visit to the Tour of California. He clocked in today with a respectable 4'04.56 and was greeted at the finish line by a crowd of cheering fans.

Sure enough, Bradley Wiggins (High Road) put in an incredible performance, no doubt feeling right at home on a flat 3.4 km course. He smashed Farrar’s time and clocked in at 3’55.98. Wiggins became the one to beat, but only for a short time as the World Time Trial Champion, Fabian Cancellara (CSC) took to the course and did his title proud putting up an amazing 3'51.21.

George Hincapie (High Road) - a favorite of many of the fans lining the roads today - came it at 4'01.94 putting him well outside of the top ten.

Leipheimer came onto the course last and flew through the finish in 3'57.52, the best of the GC contenders, but not enough to beat Cancellara’s unbelievable time on this stage and securing a win for the Swiss rider who will wear yellow going into tomorrow’s Stage 1 from Sausalito to Santa Rosa.