Steve Sperling, head mechanic for Team Tibco, shows us Brooke Miller’s Stars and Stripes Look 595. Brooke rode the Stars and Stripes in competition for the first time at the 2nd annual Women’s Tour of California Crit. The Stars and Stripes is outfitted with the same equipment the rest of the team will be riding with the exception of the special paint job to commemorate Brooke Miller’s current status as the U.S Women’s Road Race Champion and U.S. Criterium Champion. Rumor is, that if there’s enough interest, LOOK Cycles USA might do a small run of replicas.

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Santa Rosa, Calif. – The biggest victory to date in Rock Racing’s three-year history was delivered in a huge way Sunday at the Amgen Tour of California.

Franceso Mancebo crushed the competition with a long solo effort on Stage 1 that earned him the win in Santa Rosa after more than four hours of pedaling through cold and rainy conditions over 107.6 miles.

The Spaniard also took the yellow leader’s leader from Sunday’s prologue winner Fabian Cancelllera (Team Saxo Bank) who retired from the race, suffering from a fever.

“For me, this win is very important and of course for my team too,” Mancebo said. “This is a home win and the most important one at the biggest race. We wanted to start off this stage race and this season by winning to keep the confidence high.”

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Francisco Mancebo (ESP), General Classification Leader; First Place, Stage 1; Herbalife Sprint Leader and California Travel and Tourism King of the Mountain (KOM) Leader, Stage 1
Rock Racing
On today’s race:
“When I attacked, I just wanted to keep going and stay ahead because the cold was hard for me, and slowly after I started speeding up, I started feeling more comfortable. Five kilometers before the finish, I just wanted to keep going. At the end, they caught up to me and I just took off and tried to keep going ahead. This was my day. I kept telling myself that I had to keep going and I was going to win.”

“After today, my legs are going to be dead, but I’m going to try and maintain and hold off until the end; just maintain the jersey as long as I possibly can.”

On the importance of his win:
“This win is very important for me and, of course, for my team. The Amgen Tour of California is an important race because it’s a home race for my team, so starting off with a victory is good. We wanted to start off the race with a stage win; we wanted the yellow jersey. I feel confident with my team and all of my team players.”

On racing in California:
“I’ve been here since the beginning of February. It has been cold and wet, but some days there has been sun too. I’m very happy to be here. I was expecting to be in the sun and at the beach, but I’m happy to be here.”

On today’s crowds:
“The crowds were amazing; it was like the Tour de France!”

Robert Gesink (NED), Best Young Rider Leader, Stage 1
Rabobank
On the weather today:
“It was cold and rainy and we were really cold, but it was a good thing that the climb started so we could warm up again. Astana was just pulling on the climb and the peloton broke into pieces. We heard that time would be taken on the first lap, and that’s when Astana went riding full, and for us, they were riding so fast that we couldn’t help them because we were already suffering. We knew that the time was going to be the same and I think that’s a good thing because there were a lot of places on the road with a lot of water, which is really dangerous.”

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Photo by Ken Conley

Photo by Ken Conley

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Photo by Ken Conley

By Stephanie Gutowski

The second edition of the Tour of California’s Women’s Criterium was wild, wet, and windy. Throughout the entire race the riders were constantly showered by a steady rain and gusts of strong winds. Most teams had marked their strong sprinters to be in contention, but the weather prevented Brooke Miller (Tibco), Ina Teutenberg (Columbia-High Road), and Martina Patella(ValueAct Capital) from challenging the field. Lisa Hunt, ValueAct Capital DS, stated, “In this kind of conditions it’s not a surprise for a break to succeed. So many teams with a lot of horse power were trying to drive it. In these conditions when it’s cold and raining it becomes hard for the girls. We had a plan to get Martina set up for the sprint.”

The lead group did manage to stay away from early on. “We knew the rain would be a factor today,” commented second place winner Lauren Tamayo (Tibco). “It was one of those….if the break was to go….we wanted to make sure we were in it. We wanted to make sure we had the numbers and we did that. The weather did play a huge part. My team mate Meredith Miller was coming in with one to go. I was able to get into position about fourth wheel coming into the first corner. Meredith kept it strong and fast on the back stretch and then Kim Anderson took over on the last two corners. Kim rode out for Emilia and I was sitting there coming out of the last corner.”

Race winner Emilia Fahlin (Columbia-High Road) said, “I just tried to be up front from the beginning. I really like to be up front in a crit to see how it goes. Then all of a sudden I heard on the radio that there was a break on and it was splitting up the field…but I had Kim. It was great because the group just kept going and kept it steady. I had great help from Kim today in the break. She did all of the work.”
“I don’t really mind riding in this kind of weather when it’s just a crit for an hour,” continued Fahlin. “I think other people get more harmed than I do. Of course it’s cold but you don’t think about it when you are racing you just focus on the race. For me the rain is not a big problem. You just have to trust your bike.”

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Two-time Defending Champion and Local Cyclist Levi Leipheimer Was Welcomed Home to Santa Rosa By Record Crowds

Photo by Ken Conley

SANTA ROSA, CALIF. – Record crowds were, once again, on hand for Stage 1 of the 2009 Amgen Tour of California to watch the world’s top cyclists travel from Davis to Santa Rosa, culminating with a climactic finish in downtown Santa Rosa. Francisco Mancebo (ESP) of Rock Racing took an early lead and ended up with the stage win, the team’s first in the Amgen Tour of California, ahead of Jurgen Van de Walle (BEL), of Quick Step, and Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) of Liquigas.

“This win is very important for me and of course for my team,” said Mancebo. “The Amgen Tour of California is an important race because it’s a home race for my team, so starting off with a victory is good.”

The 107.6-mile stage from Davis to Santa Rosa took the riders through the scenic settings of Lake Berryessa and Napa Valley before heading into downtown Santa Rosa.

Motivated to attack by weather conditions, Mancebo left the field behind in the in the first half-hour of the race, a move that eventually brought him the stage victory. After the first feed zone, Prologue winner and race leader Fabian Cancellara (SUI) of Saxo Bank had to abandon the race due to illness, leaving the Amgen Leader Jersey open for the taking.

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Photo by Ken Conley

Professional Women’s Cycling Event Took Place In Santa Rosa During Stage 1 of Amgen Tour of California

SANTA ROSA, CALIF., – Welcomed by thousands of fans lining the streets of Santa Rosa, Stage 1 of the 2009 Amgen Tour of California featured the second-annual Women’s Criterium presented by the Redwood Regional Breast Center. Emilia Fahlin (SWE), the youngest member of Team Columbia-Highroad, won the criterium race with an impressive performance besting an outstanding field of international competitors.

The first event of the 2009 season on the National Racing Calendar (NRC), the Women’s Criterium took part over portions of the Stage 1 men’s finishing circuit in Santa Rosa. The second-annual event consisted of a field of 88 riders competing for more than $15,000 in prizes. Set as a category Pro 1,2 race and with a limit of eight riders per team, the Amgen Tour of California Women’s Criterium showcased some of the world’s top professional women’s cycling teams, including defending champion Brooke Miller of Team TIBCO, who finished 15th overall.

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Photo by Ken Conley

The top 5 finishers were as follows:
1 - Francisco Mancebo (ESP), Rock Racing
2 - Jurgen Van de Walle (BEL), Quick Step
3 - Vincenzo Nibali (ITA), Liquigas
4 - Steve Morabito (SUI), Astana
5 - Lance Armstrong (USA), Astana

Today’s jersey winners include:
Amgen Race Leader Jersey- Francisco Mancebo (ESP), Rock Racing
Amgen’s Breakaway from Cancer Most Courageous Rider Jersey- Ivan Basso (ITA), Liquigas
Herbalife Sprint Jersey- Francisco Mancebo (ESP), Rock Racing
Rabobank Best Young Rider Jersey- Robert Gesink (NED), Rabobank
California Travel & Tourism Commission King of the Mountain (KOM) Jersey- Francisco Mancebo (ESP), Rock Racing

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LOS ANGELES, CA – AEG announced today that for the first time the 2009 Amgen Tour of California professional cycling race will be broadcast internationally. The race will be broadcast live in more than 90 countries, which includes more than 200 million households across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Oceania and Africa. The unprecedented coverage is due to the partnership established with the Amaury Sport Organisation (owners of the Tour de France) which has assisted AEG with the international television distribution of the 2009 Amgen Tour of California, further strengthening the partnership between the two cycling tour owners, which was announced in June 2008.

Amongst the line-up of broadcasters, Eurosport, the leader in cycling broadcast coverage in Europe, will broadcast the race live in 77 countries throughout Europe and Asia-Pacific. Abu Dhabi Sports in the Middle East, HiSports in Nigeria, J-Sports in Japan, SBS in Australia and Sky TV in New Zealand are also amongst the race’s international broadcast partners. In addition to the live coverage, highlights will be made available to fans in a total of 201 countries and territories, in 22 languages by a total of 23 channels.

Additionally, the race will be broadcast to international military bases.
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