Tour of California: Stage 2? Squaw Valley - Sacremento, 214 km

[Bala Verde]

Nice, quick and dirty sprint. The Sky train delivers. Too bad there weren't too many people around especially during the ceremony; it was probably the rain.

Tomorrow pan flat stage (although there is that treacherous Buena Vista Rd »
1.7 mi 196 ft 2.2% grade).

Swift again, or will Goss time his jump better? Let's see if the Rabobank CEO determines tomorrow's race tactics at the breakfast table again... Perhaps if they play the Matthews card, they'd stand a chance.

 

[Highlander]

I just watched the highlights and I was a bit surprised that the officials gave a different time for the second half of the peloton. There was a minor separation in the field, but in a lot of races, they ignore this small gap and just give everyone the same time.

 

[Andre.J]

What a waste of a race.

 

[FabulousCandelabra]

I <3 Peter Sagan. He is pure Beast Mode.

 

[El Oso]

I just watched the highlights and I was a bit surprised that the officials gave a different time for the second half of the peloton. There was a minor separation in the field, but in a lot of races, they ignore this small gap and just give everyone the same time.

Levi was in the first half, they had to make sure he got some extra time

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Nice, quick and dirty sprint. The Sky train delivers. Too bad there weren't too many people around especially during the ceremony; it was probably the rain.

Tomorrow pan flat stage (although there is that treacherous Buena Vista Rd »
1.7 mi 196 ft 2.2% grade).

Swift again, or will Goss time his jump better? Let's see if the Rabobank CEO determines tomorrow's race tactics at the breakfast table again... Perhaps if they play the Matthews card, they'd stand a chance.

If not right, I think you're close. Right now those 2 teams (sky & htc) are looking the meaner of them all.... with Sky in total domination today, but with HTC kind of nipping at their heels. Goss has got the goods, as he's proven thus far in TDU and Oman. If his team works a little better they could notch their first win. Besides those two teams though, I'm not expecting much of a challenge (I may be overlooking Saxo). I was a little disappointed to see Thor and Oscarito fading. I don't think they've got the best team support with the Giro going on, but it seems the performance of those 2 is fading a bit... maybe not so much Thor yet, but definately Oscar.

 

[Astana1]

Nice, quick and dirty sprint. The Sky train delivers. Too bad there weren't too many people around especially during the ceremony; it was probably the rain.

QUOTE]


Tons of people watching the race on the street in the last 10K. It was a pretty cool atmosphere.

That was a great sprint finish.

 

[LugHugger]

What a waste of a race.

I'm afraid that I agree. Dull, dull, dull.

 

[hrotha]

Why, because there was a sprint? Or because it's American?

Personally I love the fact that I can watch a race in the evening with awesome streaming quality, and if the course is any indication and the weather stays in check it'll be a good race.

 

[just some guy]

I'm afraid that I agree. Dull, dull, dull.

After 1 stage ?

If the 1st stage of the tour was cancelled due to an act of mother nature and the 2nd stage was a sprint stage would you be calling it Dull and a waste of time ?

 

[Winterfold]

That was a very confident leadout from Sky, I saw the finish pic before the last km and it looked like it had been easy but they did well to keep cool, especially when the Spidertech guy went.

Good to see HTC being muscled out on the last corner too

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Typical rabofail really.

They have Matthews and Freire, but the guys that are supposed to bring them in position (Boom and Vermeltfoort) were nowhere to help them

 

[El Pistolero]

Typical rabofail really.

They have Matthews and Freire, but the guys that are supposed to bring them in position (Boom and Vermeltfoort) were nowhere to help them

What did you expect, the race is 214km long

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Boom is past his 200km-problem, we saw that in Paris Roubaix.

But hey, they do suck at wet slippery circuits

 

[Astana1]

That was a very confident leadout from Sky, I saw the finish pic before the last km and it looked like it had been easy but they did well to keep cool, especially when the Spidertech guy went.

Good to see HTC being muscled out on the last corner too

That was some pretty ridiculous teamwork by Sky and Spidertech. It's rare that HTC gets *****slapped like that. HTC tried to do their thing, as did Saxobank. Sky timed their move to front really well in waiting for the last lap. It was pretty damn frenetic. Spidertech saw a late opportunity and it looked like they could have pulled it off.

 

[greenedge]

Swifty is faster than Goss on the flats. Goss requires a dragging hill to be quicker near the end. I knew he would win. Bad teamwork by HTC.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

is there a video of the sprint?

 

[Jamsque]

closing stages video up

blahblahblah

 

[LugHugger]

Why, because there was a sprint? Or because it's American?

Personally I love the fact that I can watch a race in the evening with awesome streaming quality, and if the course is any indication and the weather stays in check it'll be a good race.

I'd love to be able to tune in the evening and watch some compelling racing but it just doesn't happen at the ToC. Yesterday's abbreviated stage was dull. Pan flat, break inevitably was reeled in, although Sky's performance was impressive. It would not have been any better had they run the entire stage due to the distance from Donner Pass to the finish line.

Given the available topography, the ToC just does not make the most of it's opportunities. For me the race is a continual disappointment.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

I'd love to be able to tune in the evening and watch some compelling racing but it just doesn't happen at the ToC. Yesterday's abbreviated stage was dull.

Not for a sprint stage it wasn't.

 

[Astana1]

If you thought yesterday's sprint stage was dull then you hate cycling.

 

[lancaster]

we're 1/4 of the way through the ToC. so far i'd say it has been dull.

i watched the last 30km, and thought that there was 25 seconds of interest.

 

[Astana1]

The last 10k was pretty good. Which is pretty typical for a sprint stage. Sacramento didn't look to great but the racing in the city was pretty good.

 

[LugHugger]

You're quite right. I loathe dull, predictable cycling. Even though the Sky performance was impressive, it was typically predictable - hence, Eurosport's commentary team correctly calling the winner 40kms from the line. The stage was featureless and devoid of any interest. Today's stage promises much of the same. I'll catch the last 30 seconds tomorrow which should tell me all I need to know. Hopefully, the next few days can redeem the dullness so far.

 

[Astana1]

I love a sprint stage like the one last night. Fast racing, multiple team trains battling for position, rain challenging the grip level in the corners. Not that often that you see HTC get upended like that. Sky is riding well, Swift is in great form and they imposed their will.

Maybe tonight the big teams will throw someone in a break. Not likely however.