Tour of California Teams

[El Oso]

Horner 2011
Mick 2010

Sorry, "previous" was the word I was looking for. I will remove my foot from my mouth

 

[nobilis]

CN could've edited a bit the article from the official ToC website instead of copy/pasting the entire article.

unless it's not the official website of a race, it's funny to read sentences like these:

the 16 world class teams chosen to participate in the 2012 race will include Olympic hopefuls and Tour de France contenders representing more than 20 countries

and to insert "Amgen Tour of California" in every sentence.

 

[CQmanager]

Kevin Livingston is the competition director for ToC. He also lives in Lance's basement. Guess it is not surprising that he chose to screw Frankie.

No kidding, with Kenda it was obvious and perhaps with the CC they could play that "Ex Doper" excuse card, but I'm ****ed about the Jelly Belly exclusion as they have been supporting US cycling for so long and they deserve the spot over any dev team. They may not have the best team but still better than any dev team so F.U Lance Armstrong!

 

[Froome19]

Kevin Livingston is the competition director for ToC. He also lives in Lance's basement. Guess it is not surprising that he chose to screw Frankie.

Cant be much room in there can there?

 

[El Oso]

Glava Tour of Norway. You make the assumption the teams wanted to go to Cali but were turned down in favour of Ag2r; maybe they simply said "sorry, this year it just doesn't suit the calendar we're looking for".

Yes, I am making that assumption to a certain extent. However, I would think, in the case of Saxo, not necessarily Sky, sponsors, specifically Specialized, would want them in Cali.

 

[Richeypen]

Yes, I am making that assumption to a certain extent. However, I would think, in the case of Saxo, not necessarily Sky, sponsors, specifically Specialized, would want them in Cali.

Sky had no intention of doing Cali

 

[BeachBum]

It doesnt really matter who they have selected, everybody knows it will just become a showdown between Radioshack and Garmin as those are the only big teams, whose riders peak for the race.

...and Omega-Pharma-QuickStep. Levi will peak and try to win. BMC will have Van Garderen. ...but yah, the US riders are the only ones that peak for this race.

Why would they take AG2R instead of Sky or Saxo Bank? They are the only team I can see without an American connection.

I thought about AG2R for a while, and then I remembered that they did the race in 2009. Must be some reason they want to come out again, and I guess AEG likes them.

 

[El Oso]

I thought about AG2R for a while, and then I remembered that they did the race in 2009. Must be some reason they want to come out again, and I guess AEG likes them.

That's about all I could figure for a reason. Nocentini won a stage that year and then went on to wear yellow. They don't really have any big American sponsors, the only one being Reynolds wheels, but I wouldn't consider that significant enough for a big push.

Maybe they just wanted a vacation from the Euro peloton, a la the Schleckettes, or nobody else from the Pro Tour wanted to come.

 

[Damiano]

I'm sure Astana would have liked to be there though.

"janibrajkovic ‏ @janibrajkovic
very disappointed @AstanaTeam didnt get in @AmgenTourofCali"

 

[AntonioRossi]

Disappointed to see that Jelly Belly was not invited but bontrager and exergy were. Would have liked to see Jelly Belly again.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

wow what a sucky participation list then. no colombian teams and all the domestic teams suck too much to be of any importance other than competitive and jamis who aren't invited. not long before utah and colorado will overshadow this.

 

[The Hitch]

wow what a sucky participation list then. no colombian teams and all the domestic teams suck too much to be of any importance other than competitive and jamis who aren't invited. not long before utah and colorado will overshadow this.

Utah already overshadows this. a much better race. Colorado meanwhile is even worse.

Disappointed to see that Jelly Belly was not invited but bontrager and exergy were. Would have liked to see Jelly Belly again.

Agree.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Utah already overshadows this. a much better race. Colorado meanwhile is even worse.

coloraod sucked last year but this year I heard they will have a killer course

 

[The Hitch]

coloraod sucked last year but this year I heard they will have a killer course

I heard that it will be essentialy the same. could be wrong though.

 

[Boeing]

No kidding, with Kenda it was obvious and perhaps with the CC they could play that "Ex Doper" excuse card, but I'm ****ed about the Jelly Belly exclusion as they have been supporting US cycling for so long and they deserve the spot over any dev team. They may not have the best team but still better than any dev team so F.U Lance Armstrong!

speaking on behalf of all Cali-freds, myself included, the best part of spending all that time standing on the side of the road waiting to see 3 seconds of cycling live is the Jelly Belly car throwing freebees to the crowd too.

 

[El Oso]

http://inrng.com/2012/03/tour-of-california-invites/

Interesting theory on TT1:

Amgen is a large US pharmaceutical company. Team Type 1 is backed by Sanofi-Aventis… a large French pharmaceutical company. Sanofi is a direct competitor of Amgen, their have a portfolio of drugs that compete with Amgen and are racing each other in the lab to bring new drugs to the market.

 

[theyoungest]

http://inrng.com/2012/03/tour-of-california-invites/

Interesting theory on TT1:

And the organizers only recently found out about this? Team Type 1 has been in the race before.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

And the organizers only recently found out about this? Team Type 1 has been in the race before.

sanofi wasn't a sponsor back then

 

[theyoungest]

sanofi wasn't a sponsor back then

Ah, right.

Poor Team Type 1, your sponsor is the one thing that keeps you out of the most important race of your season.

 

[Microchip]

... I'd like to see Cipollini in this race ...

 

[DirtyWorks]

this lisn't wont hold at all. as colombians team get auto wildcards and satelite teams like radioshack u23 can't ride

Yes, I don't know how the ToC will get around the simple fact there are Continental American teams (not U.S.) that have an automatic invite to this event. More UCI selective rule enforcement maybe? That's never happened before though...

The Jelly Belly exclusion plain sucks.

Still no anti-doping this year? Magic 8-ball says "It is certain." Nice prep for the Big Show in July.

 

[nowhereman]

wow what a sucky participation list then. no colombian teams and all the domestic teams suck too much to be of any importance other than competitive and jamis who aren't invited. not long before utah and colorado will overshadow this.

Colorado overshadowed the ToC in it's first year. The fact that it conflicts with the Giro absolutely writes it off for me. Lame race as far as I'm concerned. But if I had to pick a winner, Van Garderen is my boy.

 

[theyoungest]

Colorado overshadowed the ToC in it's first year. The fact that it conflicts with the Giro absolutely writes it off for me. Lame race as far as I'm concerned. But if I had to pick a winner, Van Garderen is my boy.

Van Garderen can't win it, Mt. Baldy is too hard for him. The two baldies will reign again.

 

[CQmanager]

I agree ... I was there but got no candies as I was standing 200m from the finish of Mt Baldy stage and the cars are not allowed there

 

[Highlander]

speaking on behalf of all Cali-freds, myself included, the best part of spending all that time standing on the side of the road waiting to see 3 seconds of cycling live is the Jelly Belly car throwing freebees to the crowd too.

I totally agree. I've never been to the California, but I go to the Philly race every June. Jelly Belly has some of the best jerseys in the peloton and I get to eat a lot of jelly beans, so I'm happy -- even if I'm hyped up on sugar.