Amgen Tour of California May 15-22 2011

[Astana1]

Looks like the race may have further route problems. This time it's down to Mother Nature:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/snow-predicted-to-fall-on-amgen-tour-of-california-start-in-tahoe

June anyone?

Yet another reason why racing in February was impeding the growth of the race.

I'm going to cross my fingers and hope the forecast doesn't hold. Predicting the weather out west is never an exact science.

 

[Astana1]

Haters gonna hate. I think you wouldn't hate this race so much if they didn't fornicate over Lance so much like they have.

Anyway, can we talk about the race and kepp the topic on it proper path? Lets talk about the RACE itself.

The more I think about it, the more I think Horner can take this. Baldy seems to suit him. I agree that with the addition of Baldy, Dave Zabriskie's chances probably weren't as good as before. Although he knows most of the parcours like the back of his hand. And this is the only race he climbs well in.

All of the main GC contenders are strong time trialists. Last year Zabriskie took the lead winning a stage in a sprint against Mick Rogers. Arguably he lost the race in that stupid Los Angeles TT.

I have to agree with what JV said in this article.http://velonews.competitor.com/2011...g-all-star-squad-to-tour-of-california_172517

This race can be won by someone just slipping up the road. With Garmin and Radioshack having so many GC contenders it could be tough to mark everybody. If someone like TJV or Talansky slip up the road then they could win the race.

This could be a breakout race for either of those guys. Talansky knows these roads quite well.


I think Sagan will take a stage and maybe Thor will finally get a win in the World Champion's jersey.

 

[kjetilraknerud]

I think Sagan will take a stage and maybe Thor will finally get a win in the World Champion's jersey.

Hopefully. Stage 5 and 8 could be good for Hushovd, stage 8 even has a climb called "Norwegian Grade"

Goss, Sagan and Freire could be standing in his way though...

 

[Bavarianrider]

I think it's sad they went back to Solvang for the TT. last year's track in la was so beautiful

 

[Machu Picchu]

We know how well Sagan does here and perhaps will get a couple of stage victories but I see that Liquigas are pushing Damiano Caruso for overall honours but how high can he finish, top 10?

 

[Anonymous]

We will see who does better in the Tdf...

Bradley Rhundfart
or
Andy California

And you know what a ridiculous comparison that is. Andy coming ahead of brad on the GC is because he is a vastly superior rider not because TOC is the best TDF preperation.

Your trolling has reached an all time high.

 

[theyoungest]

I think this race will be good this yr. Everyone is in good form for it, it has some good PC dudes too. Leipheimer and Zabriskie are clearly the standout riders here. They are both good in ITT too ( which means we cannot criticise race going down to ITT ) and usually beat most people up a climb if the going gets tough.

Zabriskie usually beats most people up a climb? He can only keep up with the best if he's on really, really good form. And even then I think these uphill finishes will be difficult for him.

 

[Ferminal]

Zabriskie usually beats most people up a climb? He can only keep up with the best if he's on really, really good form. And even then I think these uphill finishes will be difficult for him.

It will look a bit silly for a team with Hesjedal, Vandevelde, Talansky, Martin and Danielson to have Zabriskie as their leader.

 

[BeachBum]

It will look a bit silly for a team with Hesjedal, Vandevelde, Talansky, Martin and Danielson to have Zabriskie as their leader.

Exactly. DaveZ is always touted as a potential race winner, but this year there are too many mtns for him. Baldy will be much harder than Big Bear.

Levi and Horner are getting too old to keep up with Schleck the Younger and Sagan--again, Baldy; and maybe the stage with Hamilton and Sierra Rd.

Like the course better this year, it took them long enough, but they finally put in the MTFs. I liked the TT in LA, I could at least drive to see it, Solvang too far away.

Field seems weaker this year, at least in star power Schleck the Elder, Spartacus, Boonen, Gesink, Rogers and Cavendish all missing. Freire and Thor in.

 

[Astana1]

It will look a bit silly for a team with Hesjedal, Vandevelde, Talansky, Martin and Danielson to have Zabriskie as their leader.

On paper it seems that way. But DZ has a solid track record in that race. He did well there when the race was in Feb and last year as well.

Based on the Velosnooze article DZ is the guy but they won't hesitate to let Martin or Talansky go up the road. Sort of like Roubaix, they want to have a ton of options.

They will look really silly if they come up empty handed.

 

[Astana1]

Exactly. DaveZ is always touted as a potential race winner, but this year there are too many mtns for him. Baldy will be much harder than Big Bear.

Levi and Horner are getting too old to keep up with Schleck the Younger and Sagan--again, Baldy; and maybe the stage with Hamilton and Sierra Rd.

Like the course better this year, it took them long enough, but they finally put in the MTFs. I liked the TT in LA, I could at least drive to see it, Solvang too far away.

Field seems weaker this year, at least in star power Schleck the Elder, Spartacus, Boonen, Gesink, Rogers and Cavendish all missing. Freire and Thor in.

Schleck doesn't show up at California to race.

I think Horner will have a really good week. On paper it looks to be a battle between HTC/Garmin/Shack. I am really interested in seeing how TJV fares.

 

[md1975]

Tommy D is a nice guy, but pulling for him to win a stage race is a bit like pulling for Rutgers to win a national championship in football.

Plus, ... he is part Eskimo.

With climbs being harder, I think Horner will probably take this. Apparently he's been on Mt. Baldy doing recons this week.

He has been, and so has Levi and the RS crew. It is a race that Levi SHOULD win, but with Andy and others...may not.

FYI- The Amgen Tour of California has been ranked the 3rd best stage race...period. Heard this on the pre race show the other day. Phil mentioned it, and many top riders said they consider it right after the TDF and Giro...some are hoping it grows in length...interesting.

 

[Scansorial]

To be honest, theyd be better moving the Tour of California to the end of the season, maybe just after or just before the two Canadian Pro Tour races as an alternative to the vuelta. With the two pro tour races near it it might attract a good field and some riders might see it as worlds preperation.

I agree 100% and I've been saying the same thing since they decided to move it from February. The weather would be so much more predictable and it would open up virtually any Sierra climb they wanted to do. If it snows in Tahoe on Sunday it will be a bit of a fluke, but not unheard of in May.

Nobody seems to care about the Vuelta, so I doubt they'd get any flak for going against it.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Is there a reason to think that Schleck Junior will be riding the race hard?

Obviously, he's the best climber in the field but that's hardly relevant if he's cruising about in the pack rather than riding for the win.

Similarly, Zabriskie is by no means the obvious leader for Garmin if the likes of Hesjedal, Martin or Vande Velde are in shape, but there's a strong chance that those guys are completely out of form. While the ATOC may well be a major focus of Zabriskie's season.

 

[just some guy]

I agree 100% and I've been saying the same thing since they decided to move it from February. The weather would be so much more predictable and it would open up virtually any Sierra climb they wanted to do. If it snows in Tahoe on Sunday it will be a bit of a fluke, but not unheard of in May.

Nobody seems to care about the Vuelta, so I doubt they'd get any flak for going against it.

Except the Spanish , Spanish teams, teams with Spanish sponsors, people wanting a 3 week stage race to get ready for the world champs, young GC riders who need a more relaxed 3 week tour to get used to the type of racing, GC riders from the tour or Giro looking for a 2nd tour. etc etc

 

[taiwan]

A lot of nonsense in this thread, for sure. First off, if you can't find a start list, you probably didn't look too hard... http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/amgen-tour-of-california-start-list-1

The ToC got a boost from Lance's participation, just like the TDU, but it was started when LA was retired, and it'll get on just fine without him. AEG isn't some bush league outfit, and they have ties to the Tour. Their plan is to build the race as a premier tour-prep race and showcase for the top American teams. That's a solid plan.

It's funny, much of hate seems to be directed at the race as if it's an extension of LA, and therefore it must be hated, too. Honestly, the only 'hate' I hear of the race is from some posters on this forums, and a couple locals stuck in traffic. It's a good event, and it'll continue to grow. Tales of its demise seem a tad bit premature.

As far as 'over-hyped', well...excuse them for promoting the race! I mean, what should they say? "It's not the Tour or the Giro, but it's OUR RACE!". Gimme a break. They're trying to build interest in a relatively new race without much history. So far the organizers have done a great job. Some folks are going to hate it for what they think it represents, regardless of the quality of racing, which is actually damn good. Their loss.

Yeah, Lance-hype would have exaggerated the amount of coverage, but you still hear too much about it. If you watch bike races as commercial endeavours then you probably would enjoy the hype for it's own sake: Well done them. The quality of the racing is damn good only if you choose to overrate it. Objectively, it's been a stage race with no MTFs, like the recent Tour of Romandie. Boring. You wonder why big european riders of various types are attracted to it, and the answer, again, is surely money: the American market is important to the sponsors. Nothing to do with cycling. So if the sport is race promotion then the ToC is a great race, so is the TDU. If the sport is cycling...

Some people, including Americans, are homers.

Last year the Giro provided arguably the best day of racing of the year, and teams are sending weak selections because the Tour takes precedence. Last thing we need is a boring race with deep pockets and a linguistic advantage elbowing it's way into the calendar at that time.

IMO. And I'll leave it there so people can talk about the racing.

 

[Ferminal]

He has been, and so has Levi and the RS crew. It is a race that Levi SHOULD win, but with Andy and others...may not.

FYI- The Amgen Tour of California has been ranked the 3rd best stage race...period. Heard this on the pre race show the other day. Phil mentioned it, and many top riders said they consider it right after the TDF and Giro...some are hoping it grows in length...interesting.

A pity those "top riders" don't pay it the same respect as they do the Giro and Tour, by actually racing it and not using it as a training ride.

Given the poor races this year at P-N and Catalunya (possibly Pais Vasco too)and the nice parcours in this year's AToC it could very well rank as the 5th best stage race this year. It will not beat T-A or the 3 GTs, then Dauphine/Suisse so maybe 6th-7th if it's an exciting race. I hope it is exciting but having a shallow field and being dominated by TT'ers may not help its case. We might end up with the two MTFs being like Green Mountain in February.

That's why it will be disappointing if attacking riders like Horner and Martin are held back by their defensive leaders.

 

[Astana1]

Last year's ToC was anything but boring. Lots of meaningful lead changes and a good three way battle.

Americans probably are being homers about it. Just like Italians are homers for their race etc. etc. Nothing wrong with that at all.

TA was good mainly because the best riders seem to be favoring it over PN. It's a better place to get racing miles because of the weather.

 

[Polish]

And you know what a ridiculous comparison that is. Andy coming ahead of brad on the GC is because he is a vastly superior rider not because TOC is the best TDF preperation.

Your trolling has reached an all time high.

Select few riders make it onto a TdF Podium. They do it by paying attention to a myraid of details. Training Plans are a major detail.

BTW, I was not comparing Andy to Brad. I was comparing the Rhundfart to the Tour of California as TdF prep. I will admit the Rhundfart has better beer. Hopefully, Brad weighs his beer before imbibing. Attention to details are what separate the contenders from the slacker pretenders. Burp.

 

[Califootman]

The ToC seems to have used all its luck with respect to good weather in the first couple years when they had mild Februarys. So they move the race to May and now have to alter the stage along the Pacific coast (admittedly due to rains earlier in the year) and may also have to alter the stages around Lake Tahoe due to expected snow. I guess it's fortunate they didn't get approval to put a stage through Yosemite, since Tioga Pass road isn't expected to be cleared of snow until sometime in June.

I'd like to see them move the ToC later in the year, but with ASO owning part of the Vuelta and in partnership with AEG on the ToC I don't see them setting those two races up for competition. I think it would be neat to have the ToC and the USA Pro Cycling Challenge in Colorado form the heart of a late "North American season" on the racing calendar. It would probably be contested mostly by American teams and those with American sponsors, but some European teams/riders who'd had disappointing seasons on the continent might be lured over in an attempt to salvage their year or earn more points for next year.

 

[theyoungest]

Last year's ToC was anything but boring. Lots of meaningful lead changes and a good three way battle.

Americans probably are being homers about it. Just like Italians are homers for their race etc. etc. Nothing wrong with that at all.

TA was good mainly because the best riders seem to be favoring it over PN. It's a better place to get racing miles because of the weather.

Let me tell you: from a European point of view, it was awfully boring. I used it to fall asleep to. Except for that stage where Langeveld paced Rogers to the win, that was entertaining.

 

[El Oso]

I think it's sad they went back to Solvang for the TT. last year's track in la was so beautiful

The Solvang course is really nice although its probably too undulating for pure TT riders. The downhill on the second half of the course is really fun. Solvang is also a great area for riding, which is why the TOC always tries to visit it.

 

[flicker]

It would be unfortunate if it snows in Tahoe, and the race is altered. Beautiful area to showcase.

 

[Polish]

It would be unfortunate if it snows in Tahoe, and the race is altered. Beautiful area to showcase.

Stage One's Brockway Pass is only little lower than Passo di Gavia.
Maybe we will end up with an EPIC picture of Levi plastered with snow?

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

FYI- The Amgen Tour of California has been ranked the 3rd best stage race...period. Heard this on the pre race show the other day. Phil mentioned it, and many top riders said they consider it right after the TDF and Giro...some are hoping it grows in length...interesting.

I bloody hate all these anti-american posts.

Every country has idiots who get over excited about their home event, but there's no need to s**** them like this.


EDIT -

How in the world is sp oof filtered - is the filter that simplistic it can't tell the difference when a word is prefixed? And does anyone actually find that word offensive anymore? Weird.