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Amgen Tour of California as Tour de France Prep

Polish

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It is looking like it was a WISE move by Saxo Bank to send its TdF Team to race in California during May.

Ditto with Stapleton sending Cav....

With the prospect of Alberto joining the Italians at next year's Giro,
it may well be a good move for the non-Italian Euro Pro's,
who want to do well in the TdF, to come on out to California in 2011:)
 
Moose McKnuckles said:
Also a wise move by RadioShack, since Lance is looking spectacularly fit these days.

Astana made a mistake by not going to the ToC since they are being dominated by Radi.... wait a minute. :)

well lance did crash out so wasnt able to reap the benefits;) of the toc

to be fair, toc is the best tdf prep in may, since the giro will kill you, but then again you dont need to be doing tdf prep stage races in may.
 
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Vino should gather some 2nd string lackies and head over to the ToC, he would destroy that race, easy hills, a nice timetrial.. and of course vino would love a 2nd grand tour on his Palmarès.
 
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Polish said:
It is looking like it was a WISE move by Saxo Bank to send its TdF Team to race in California during May.

Ditto with Stapleton sending Cav....

With the prospect of Alberto joining the Italians at next year's Giro,
it may well be a good move for the non-Italian Euro Pro's,
who want to do well in the TdF, to come on out to California in 2011:)

Are you saying Saxo is doing well because they rode the ToC, or because they didn't ride the Giro? If it's the latter, yeah, probably would have been too much, if it's the former then who knows? Plenty of riders doing well without the trip to the ToC in May.
 
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Straßenrennen said:
Vino should gather some 2nd string lackies and head over to the ToC, he would destroy that race, easy hills, a nice timetrial.. and of course vino would love a 2nd grand tour on his Palmarès.

+1

That race suits him VERY well... mmmm maybe he would race it next year... :cool:
 
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Straßenrennen said:
Vino should gather some 2nd string lackies and head over to the ToC, he would destroy that race, easy hills, a nice timetrial.. and of course vino would love a 2nd grand tour on his Palmarès.

A second GT?? Since whenToC is a GT?
 
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The Hitch said:
well lance did crash out so wasnt able to reap the benefits;) of the toc

to be fair, toc is the best tdf prep in may, since the giro will kill you, but then again you dont need to be doing tdf prep stage races in may.

Right you are..... sure thing!
 

flicker

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ridley said:
The way Vino rides, he would be done with (and have won) the ToC by the time the rest of the peloton reach Stage 4 :p

Plus Vino could coordinate a tramp freighter full of Ak-47s down to a beach somewhere south of Tiajuana to supplement his income, I have heard living in Monaco is muy pricey!
 
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How can a training session in May be considered prep for a race in July.

This thread is ridiculous.. who started it?
 

flicker

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TeamSkyFans said:
How can a training session in May be considered prep for a race in July.

This thread is ridiculous.. who started it?

Actually training for the tour starts with your first race or bicycle ride or maybe even hearing of the tour. For more info watch Pee Wees big adventure or the triplets of bellevue.
 
TeamSkyFans said:
How can a training session in May be considered prep for a race in July.

This thread is ridiculous.. who started it?

I'd say what you do or don't do in May has a tremendous, critical effect on how you ride the Tour. That said, the particular premise of the thread is, of course, buffoonery.

That said as someone who's never failed to view multiple stages of Cali. Any number of programs in May would (of course) satisfy an optimal training plan.

The fact that Cancellara and Schleck soft-pedaled the entire race ought to be a great example of the fact that it really doesn't matter that you ride California, the point is that you don't want to go deep in May if you plan on being at the top in July.

I think 2 of the top ten GT riders in the Tour were there, and only one was riding to win.
 
Straßenrennen said:
Vino should gather some 2nd string lackies and head over to the ToC, he would destroy that race, easy hills, a nice timetrial.. and of course vino would love a 2nd grand tour on his Palmarès.

khardung la said:
A second GT?? Since whenToC is a GT?

Escarabajo said:
He was being sarcastic. I believe.;)

+ the toc as a grand tour is an ongoing joke on this forum. In fact it is mentioned on every thread about gts.
 

flicker

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red_flanders said:
I'd say what you do or don't do in May has a tremendous, critical effect on how you ride the Tour. That said, the particular premise of the thread is, of course, buffoonery.

That said as someone who's never failed to view multiple stages of Cali. Any number of programs in May would (of course) satisfy an optimal training plan.

The fact that Cancellara and Schleck soft-pedaled the entire race ought to be a great example of the fact that it really doesn't matter that you ride California, the point is that you don't want to go deep in May if you plan on being at the top in July.

I think 2 of the top ten GT riders in the Tour were there, and only one was riding to win.

Which of course goes to show there is only one bike race, Le Tour.
 

Polish

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red_flanders said:
I'd say what you do or don't do in May has a tremendous, critical effect on how you ride the Tour. That said, the particular premise of the thread is, of course, buffoonery.

That said as someone who's never failed to view multiple stages of Cali. Any number of programs in May would (of course) satisfy an optimal training plan.

The fact that Cancellara and Schleck soft-pedaled the entire race ought to be a great example of the fact that it really doesn't matter that you ride California, the point is that you don't want to go deep in May if you plan on being at the top in July.

I think 2 of the top ten GT riders in the Tour were there, and only one was riding to win.

Agree - May is Primo TdF prep time. Percolate your peaking...

If Wiggins softpedaled the ToC instead of riding the Giro this year,
he would currently be in the Top10 TdF I bet. Less distractions at the ToC.

Heck, both Cadel and Wiggins have ridden the ToC in the past.
Andy Schleck has ridden it a couple times.

I sure hope they all race/softpedal the 2011 Amgen ToC.
Vino would be GREAT too! Specialized in Morgan Hill Ca would be happy.
Astana won the 2009 edition.
Shame they did not race this year:(
 

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Polish said:
Agree - May is Primo TdF prep time. Percolate your peaking...

If Wiggins softpedaled the ToC instead of riding the Giro this year,
he would currently be in the Top10 TdF I bet. Less distractions at the ToC.

Heck, both Cadel and Wiggins have ridden the ToC in the past.
Andy Schleck has ridden it a couple times.

I sure hope they all race/softpedal the 2011 Amgen ToC.
Vino would be GREAT too! Specialized in Morgan Hill Ca would be happy.
Astana won the 2009 edition.
Shame they did not race this year:(

Vino will never ride the ToC. He is too "classy" to ride such a pitiful race.
 
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flicker said:
Which of course goes to show there is only one bike race, Le Tour.

Or the giro if you are that way inclined. Personally i am more of a giro man.
 
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Polish said:
Astana won the 2009 edition.
Shame they did not race this year:(

All those Astanas are now The Shack... Besides Vino wanted to ride Il Giro cuz that was maybe his last opportunity to win a GT... he said "Il Giro is for me, the Tour is for Contador"...

About the preparation for La Grande Boucle well depends how you see it and who are you and what are your goals for the season... but if you don't want to be too tired for the Tour you will ride the ToC cuz is the best race in that month and is not too long like Il Giro also is in the ProTour schedule... then you can complete the preparation for may with climbing and high alttitude training...
 
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Saxo are doing well at the tour because they have one of the two strongest riders in the race in their team. Andy could have done local crits in May and still been fighting for the tour.

Basso is sitting in 10th and looks good to move up higher and he won the Giro (one of the toughest in years), so Im sure there could have been riders using the Giro as a tough training block turning up the the Tour in prime form.
 

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