2013 Tour of California: Stage 2: Murrieta - Palm Springs (199 Km)

[caricas]

ice on balls

 

[maxmartin]

brutal just brutal

 

[contessador]

Good lord...suffocating heat!

I think they go back to the pacific coast next?

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Zubeldia loses 6 minutes. Whoa.

 

[maxmartin]

how many people are not going to make the time cut?
will they bend the rule?

 

[RedheadDane]

That was just crazy there at the end!

 

[goggalor]

this again prooves that colombian climbing is of the highets level in the world. acevedo a good rider in colombia, but not top destroys here. any european team should try and get some colombian riders, because they are amazing. that kick acevedo has. no european can do that

This isn't the Giro, mate.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

40+d Celsius + 10% over 6km = Zoncolan ! Don't remember seeing another arrival like that...

It's like a northern Spanish Vuelta mountain... in southern Spanish Vuelta heat!

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Aye but he lost 13 secs to Deighnan in the ITT, and the race on the Queen stage, Monster of the Gila.

he lost the race on the queenstage because he had no teammates there

 

[webvan]

Wow, Serry from Omega collapsed on the road :-(

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Yellow jersey still not in. Neither is Andy.

Who is OPQS looking bad there?

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

This isn't the Giro, mate.

what does that have to do with it? today we saw pure climbing and a colombian "nobody" defeating the tours white jersey

 

[element]

Watch out for Phillip Deignan today.

YES! He might've done better if he'd waited

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Gilbert arrives.

 

[ElChingon]

Wow, Serry from Omega collapsed on the road :-(

Did he finish? Doesn't look like it.

 

[trevim]

Jose Mendes ahead of Andy Schleck. Be afraid

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Westra covered the final kilometer in 6 minutes ...

 

[icefire]

It's like a northern Spanish Vuelta mountain... in southern Spanish Vuelta heat!

Southern Spanish roads don't look like airport runways

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Any news on Serry? Did he collapse before the finish?

 

[Roderick]

what does that have to do with it? today we saw pure climbing and a colombian "nobody" defeating the tours white jersey

Beating one guy means everything ofcourse. Oh no wait, Deignan,Frank and Bushe are also the world's greatest climbers

 

[Inquitus]

he lost the race on the queenstage because he had no teammates there

And he'll finish behind TJ and Deighnan here. He lost what 2 mins on that final stage of the Gila, the main climbing stage....

 

[webvan]

Did he finish? Doesn't look like it.

Nope, still on the way up, terrible effort, don't remember seeing that...netapp guy not looking "too hot" either.

 

[jaylew]

Any chance of Acevedo keeping the lead through the timetrial as well? (providing no further differences will be made beforehand, of course)

There's another mountaintop finish to come as well.

Great rides from Haga and Craddock. Really impressed with Craddock. Haven't really seen him climb like that before. Most have heard of him and expect him to be on a top team eventually but I think Haga will get a ride soon as well. He's from my area and I have to be honest, I never thought he would wind up being this good. And both can really TT.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

So impressed with Acevedo today. What a win.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Southern Spanish roads don't look like airport runways

Sure, and the climb was wider, better surfaced and more consistent in its gradient than your average northern Spanish climb, but 6km @ 10% is more typical of País Vasco, Cantabria or Asturias than most of the areas where 45º heat is likely.

They could have done something harder in that heat in the Vuelta last year, but thankfully for the riders' sakes by the time they got to the MTFs in País Vasco the temperature there was down in the upper 30s instead of the mid 40s - if they'd done San Miguel de Áralar or Monreal it would have been like today for sure - absolutely brutal.