By Stephanie Gutowski

Chechu Rubiera has had quite an amazing career beginning in 1995 with Artiach. He had his first major win at the Giro d’Italia as a young Kelme rider in 1997. He turned down a Cofidis offer to ride for US Postal Services and Lance Armstrong in 2001. He rode with Armstrong in US Postal Services and Discovery Channel. Rubiera will now ride his final year with Astana. Rubiera has decided to retire at the end of this season. RoadBikeReview caught up with this incredible climber in Palo Alto.

I last saw you race, here in the States, at the San Francisco Grand Prix….
I love that race!! It’s a pity they do not do that race anymore. For me that race was the nicest race of the season. It was so wonderful. The course was fun, the nice weather, the beautiful city and the atmosphere was great. It was at the end of the season so there was no pressure. We all enjoyed that race.

How did the decision to go to Astana work out? Did you wait for Astana?
I did not wait. The fact is I did not have an offer. I had been in touch with Rock Racing and a few weeks later Johan called me. What I wanted to do was to race one more year and then stop. It’s good to stop when you want to stop.
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Blackgrove saved by the gel.

San Jose, California - The Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team after two strong stages in the Tour of California ran into the beasts known as Mt. Hamilton and Sierra Road today in stage 3. Expectations from the longest climb in the race were extreme. The ride did not disappoint the boys as they made the climb to 4100 feet today. The team was looking for Ben Day and Heath Blackgrove to have special performances today to move themselves up in the overall classification and for our sprinters to survive the leg today and not miss the timecut.

The results were not expressly met by the team as difficulties took their toll. Ben Day said after the race, “His legs felt like lead all day.” Heath Blackgrove had an excellent climb up Mt. Hamilton and was seconds behind the first group with world champion Paulo Bettini, who made it to the first group after the descent. Unfortunately, Heath crashed descending down Mt. Hamilton and as he went off the road the team car didn’t even see Heath go off the cliff. The car came around the turn and he had disappeared from sight. The car continued down 5 minutes attempting to catch the group. Another team informed the Toyota-United car that Heath had indeed crashed. “When we heard the news, we were all freaking out, concerned for Heath’s safety, as we pulled over to locate Heath, he came screaming by with blood on his shorts and hands, but was yelling he was ok.” Heath looked worse than his actual injuries due to the explosion of his gel packs on his hip side. Heath at this point, had lost contact with the first group as Bettini did and had to be content with finishing in 42nd place. To further add to Toyota-United’s day Hilton Clarke abandoned the race at mile 45 due to a hip injury he sustained during stage 2. Hilton’s younger brother Jonny missed the time cut by two minutes due to contracting food poisoning after stage 1 which was exacerbated by two flat tires and a dropped chain on the Sierra Road grade. That was the difference in him not making the time cut this afternoon.

On the brighter side, the remainder of the Toyota-United team finished healthy and without incident and are ready to take on Stage 4 to San Luis Obispo. The ride tomorrow will take the boys down the coast following the ocean the bulk of the ride. The conditions could be rainy the weather man is telling us again, but the team is looking to repeat the Stage four from 2006.

Rock Racing Podium girls

Michael Ball meeting local cycling fans

Super Mario in San Jose

All photos courtesy of VeroImage.com

The Tour of California is gaining momentum. The route has matured into a world-class challenge with incredible vistas. The field is strong and the racing is incredible.

But we would like to take a moment to salute the fans. Aside from the massive crowds, signature fans are starting to become identifiable. They are icons that are becoming part of the the Tour of Califonia mystique.

We believe antler guy’s name is Corey. He runs like a deer and is on every hill top.

And here is Big Hair Superfan. His run is a little scary and labored but he is the personality of the Tour of California!! A chronicle of his antics is here http://bighairsuperfan.com

And of course, the podium girls!

wow.

Photo by Ken Conley

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Raymond Galang ,aka ‘elsaltamontes’ on the forums, of San Jose, CA is our second jersey winner this week for these beautiful pics from stage 3.

“Francois, missed you guys. i got caught early on on sierra. so instead of the beauty summit shots, we get the steep sierra road shots. the bonus was i was able to make it down and see the race in the end.

first shot is of hincapie all alone climbing sierra. guess it wasn’t long from the summit until the astana team caught him

the 5th to the last shot is leipheimer and gesink racing for first. what an exciting stage. and a difficult one as well.”

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Once again, the skies opened up to reveal the gorgeous San Jose hills. After a brutal climb up Mt. Hamilton, a select group gapped the field a the base of Sierra Rd.

George Hincapie had an advantage but Chechu Rubiera reeled him in and led Levi and the leaders up the climb. The final selection was composed of Gesink, Leipheimer, Zabriskie and Horner. Gesink accelerated and Zabriskie and Horner were dropped.

Here’s Gesink and Leipheimer a couple of hundred yards from the summit.

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San Jose, Calif. – Rock Racing’s Victor Hugo Peña sent a clear message Wednesday that he is a threat to contend for a strong overall finish at the Amgen Tour of California.

Peña was one of only five riders in the lead group as the race crossed its highest point, the 4,100-foot summit of Mount Hamilton, midway through Stage 3. The Colombian would go on to finish among a group of 15 riders who were 19 seconds behind stage winner Robert Gesink (Rabobank) and runner-up Levi Leipheimer (Astana).

Peña’s impressive performance in 102.7-mile (165.3 km) race from Modesto to San Jose moved him up 23 places in the overall standings to 10th place, 31 seconds behind Leipheimer, the new overall race leader and defending champion of the Tour of California.

Rock Racing Team Owner Michael Ball said seeing Peña race wheel-to-wheel with the best at the head of the peloton – on the toughest stage to date – was both satisfying and a disappointment.

“We came here to make the moves and win stages,” Ball said. “Like Mario Cipollini’s podium finish yesterday, Victor’s ride today proved that Rock Racing has top talent,” Ball said. “At the same time, this stage played to the strengths of our three riders who were not allowed to compete in this race: Tyler Hamilton, Santiago Botero and Oscar Sevilla.”

Peña, whose impressive credentials include wearing the yellow leader’s jersey for three stages of the 2003 Tour de France and winning an individual time trial stage in the Giro d’Italia, agreed with Ball’s assessment of the talented trio who are unable to compete in the most prestigious race in the United States.

“The only thing I can say is that at training camp, they were better than me,” Peña said. “Santiago and Oscar were much better than me. Tyler was always with me. So I think those three guys would have been good contenders for Levi.”

On a stage when only 16 of 120 riders in the race finished within four minutes of the winner, Peña said he felt comfortable on the day’s five categorized climbs. His performance, he said, made him recall the years he spent shepherding Lance Armstrong to several Tour de France victories when both were riding on the U.S. Postal Service team.

“Mt. Hamilton was a steep climb,” he said. “It reminded me of some of the steeper climbs in Colombia. In Colombia, we have long climbs, but not so steep as Hamilton.”

Photo courtesy of VeroImage.com

Photo by Ken Conley

Photo by Ken Conley

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Levi Leipheimer (USA), General Classification Leader
Astana

On today’s race:
“We knew that today was going to be important. I think this stage was the hardest stage in the three-year history of the Amgen Tour of California. It was a day with a few tough, but really beautiful, climbs. The Mt. Hamilton climb turned out to be really hard, and our team had something to prove today. I just didn’t want to let the guys down. Our morale is really good right now; we needed this win.”

On working with Robert Gesink to win:
“I think it worked out because I was conservative going over the top, but by the time I got to the finish, I had nothing left. I predicted yesterday that Gesink would be my ally today; he’s a huge talent and a star of the future. I’m glad he got the stage win, and thanks to our working together, I’m back in the Amgen Leader Jersey for the first time this race. I’m going to try to keep it until Pasadena, and with a team like Astana, I’m confident we can do this.”

On beating Cancellara and Millar, two of the world’s best time trialists, to the finish:
“To tell you the truth, I don’t know how Gesink and I stayed away. I was a little frustrated because I had been in that position before and I wasn’t really ready to commit everything yet. I was pulling through with the intention to make it, but I knew it was a long way. I was asking my team manager for information, and when I heard it was Cancellara and Millar, I thought there was no way we could make it, but the gap didn’t come down. Cancellara’s performance really surprised me today. It’s a great indication of how well he is performing right now.”

On the crowds during the race:
“In Modesto, and all throughout the race, even in the outback, the crowds again have been superb. I think they were suffering a lot on the Summit (Mt. Hamilton, where it was 38 degrees and foggy), so I want to thank them for encouraging me and all of the riders to do our best on a very tough stage.”

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Rabobank’s Robert Gesink Wins Stage 3 As Challenging Day Separates Riders and Shakes Up Remaining General Classification Leaders

Photo by Ken Conley

SAN JOSE, CA – After completing one of the most challenging and defining stages of the 2008 Amgen Tour of California, which included the brutal Mt. Hamilton (Hors Category) and Sierra Road (Cat. 1) climbs, cycling’s new generation shined again as 21-year-old Robert Gesink (NED) of Rabobank took the stage win. While Santa Rosa California resident Levi Leipheimer (USA) of Astana was outsprinted by Gesink for the stage win, the defending champion none-the-less gained the event’s overall lead. As the one of most difficult stages in the 2008 Amgen Tour of California, the 103-mile Stage 3 course from Modesto to San Jose featured 165 turns and two critical climbs that separated the pack.

“This win is really great for me because the field of riders is very competitive in the Amgen Tour of California,” said Gesink. “Today was a really big win for our team; we were strong as a team today.”

After struggling early on due to a stomach virus, Tyler Farrar (USA) of Slipstream Chipotle Presented by H30, who won the Amgen Leader Jersey the day before in Sacramento, abandoned the race after the second climb.

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