by ilsogno

I was at the KOM - I call it the “Cima Floyd” - for today’s stage. At 4900′ in altitude it is the highest point of this year’s Tour.

On the way up I snaped a pic of a couple of the soigneurs waiting at the feed zone.

I parked about 500 meters from the KOM and rode my Colnago up the rest of the way. Piece of cake! So long as you don’t have to ride from the bottom of the climb! I stationed myself at about 100 meters from the KOM line.

Here’s a view of the KOM finish line. and no, I don’t know who that person is.

(more…)

ilsogno, of Sherman Oaks, CA is our fourth jersey winner for her report on Stage 6! Here it is straight from Cindy’s keyboard…

I parked at the intersection of Broadway Road and Hwy 23 (Grimes Canyon) near Moorpark, CA. Got my Colnago off the roof rack and rode the climb up to the summit of Grimes Cyn.

This is the climb that comes after Balcom Canyon and it is uncategorized. Uncategorized!?!? My computer read 4%-5% grades for the first mile or so and then 7%-8% for the rest of the climb. Jeez!

Found a spot about 500 meters from the top. Seems the riders were taking their time today and were running at their slowest expected time. The Toyota United fan support car came along and gave out road writing chalk to everybody so I passed the time writing out a gigantic “CIPO” on the road.

Here I am hard at work

Here I am posing with my masterpiece.

Then we see and hear the helicopters overhead. An official ToC pulls up with a loudspeaker going and lets us all in on the race progress. A small breakaway group seven minutes in front of the peloton.

Then we see them approach from off in the distance.

(more…)

Levi Leipheimer (USA), General Classification Leader and Stage 5 Winner
Astana
On today’s race:
“It was another great day for me here in Solvang. I’m just so happy and proud. I gave it my all today. Every time I had my doubts, I just told myself to do my best. The sign of a good time trial is that you don’t remember a lot of it, and I don’t remember a lot from today. Fortunately, I knew the course well, so I knew how to pace myself; I knew I had something left towards the end. With every kilometer, I was just yelling at myself to keep going. When I came to the last corner, I just hoped I didn’t crash since I was a little cross-eyed. This may be an even bigger win for me this year.”

“I gave 100 percent today. I didn’t hold back. I took the corners great, pushed myself in all the right places; the only fight I had to win was the one in my head.”

On wearing the Amgen Leader Jersey:
“I’ll try to defend this to the end since my team has done everything to put me in this place. They’ve been amazing all through the race, and yesterday, they were in front for nearly seven hours, so today I didn’t want to let them down.”

On how he felt before today’s time trial:
“To be honest, I was nervous. I’m not going to try and act like I’m a machine; I had my doubts. I just told myself to do my best. I knew it was going to be ugly, but I knew I’d fight. I wanted to show that we’re a fighting team and we’re not going to back down. I trained all winter for this. Astana has something to prove. We are the best team in the world and we need to be in the big races.”
(more…)

Photo c. Stephanie Gutowski

Leipheimer Retains Overall Lead in 2008 Professional Road Race Heading Into Seventh Day

Photo by Ken Conley

SOLVANG, CALIF., – Enthusiastic fans in Solvang welcomed professional cyclists from 17 international and domestic teams for the critical Stage 5 individual time trial of the 2008 Amgen Tour of California. After a challenging day of racing yesterday, the riders were faced with a 15-mile course that was dominated by Levi Leipheimer (USA) of Astana for the second consecutive year. Besting David Millar (GBR) of Slipstream Chipotle Presented by H30 by 29 seconds, Leipheimer further built on his overall lead in the 2008 race and will wear the Amgen Leader Jersey going into Stage 6 tomorrow.

Moving into second and third were Slipstream Chipotle Presented by H30 riders David Millar and Christian Vande Velde (USA), respectively.
Racing on a 15-mile course in surprisingly dry conditions, Leipheimer rolled out of the start gate with confidence. Coming off a savage 135-mile stage on Thursday, most of the cyclists struggled to beat the 33-minute barrier. Of the early riders, Bradley Wiggins (GBR) of High Road posted 32:16, which was good enough to keep the lead for the first part of the day.
(more…)

Photos by Stephanie Gutowski

Tyler Farrar (USA), General Classification Leader
Slipstream Chipotle Presented by H30
On today’s race:
“Today played out exactly how we hoped it would. We didn’t know what the breakaway situation would be, but we were lucky with the bonuses being late in the stage. The team was amazing today. They delivered me perfectly to every bonus sprint, which made my job really easy.”

On today’s win:
“This win probably tops any win I’ve ever had; it’s a pretty big deal for me. I’m ecstatic to be racing in America, and to be wearing the Amgen Leader Jersey is a big deal for me and for the team; everyone is really happy.”

On tomorrow’s race:
“Tomorrow will be a hard day with the mountain climbs, but we have a few riders who are well positioned. My hope is that I’ll be handing the Amgen Leader Jersey to one of my teammates tomorrow.”

On racing in the rain today:
“I actually don’t mind the rain. I generally excel in these types of conditions. You can’t dwell too much on what can happen; if you do that, you can’t do your job.”

On the level of competition in the race:
“If you look at the field of riders competing in the Amgen Tour of California, it just goes to show that this race is on par with the best races in the world. You can’t get any better than the riders we have here. It’s actually a bit surreal for me to be racing against some of the greatest athletes in cycling. Sometimes I have to pinch myself. To have guys of such high caliber backing me up is a huge encouragement. In particular, getting to race with Mario (Cipollini) is pretty cool. He was my hero when I was a kid, so it’s a little crazy.”

(more…)

Photo by Ken Conley

Officials Estimate 425,000 Fans Along the Course Over the First Three Days of the Race

SACRAMENTO, CA – The second stage of the 2008 Amgen Tour of California saw the emergence of a young star in Tyler Farrar (USA) of Slipstream Chipotle Presented by H30 and the return of old warrior in Mario Cipollini (ITA) of Rock Racing. But the wet and slippery streets of the State Capitol belonged to 2005 World Champion and Belgian superstar Tom Boonen (BEL) QuickStep, who claimed today’s stage victory. Stage 2, which took cyclists from Santa Rosa to Sacramento, finished in front of record crowds, taking the total attendance number for the first three days of the race to 425,000, with five days left to go. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was on hand at the official post-race ceremonies to help award the jerseys.

“The Amgen Tour of California is a wonderful experience for California and is great for our tourism,” declared Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger after Stage 2, where he helped present leader jerseys. “The Amgen Tour of California showcases the state, which has some of the most beautiful places in the world. Thank you to the enthusiastic crowd for being here and being such great fans.”

Having spent most of the nearly 116-mile race chasing one rider, Scott Nydam (USA) of Team BMC, the field roared into Sacramento resigned to settle the matter in a bunch sprint. As the peloton poured around the final corner, Gerald Ciolek (GER) of High Road, wearing the Union Bank of California Best Young Rider Jersey, fired off the front and opened a massive gap. Reigning World Champion Paolo Bettini (ITA) of QuickStep charged after Ciolek with Boonen in tow. When Boonen finally broke loose, he focused on the legendary Cipollini, who came out of a three-year retirement to race for the American Rock Racing team.

“Racing in America seems less stressful; people approach the race differently,” said Boonen. “I think we’ll be coming back to the Amgen Tour of California for the next couple of years.”

Despite Boonen’s impressive win, it was U.S. riders Farrar and Nydam that took the limelight on today’s stage. Local rider Nydam, who lives in Santa Rosa, Calif., provided a bright spot on a rainy day for the enthusiastic fans who braved the weather to come out and cheer.

(more…)