2011 Amgen Tour - Stage 7 & Final Results

Teamwork as smooth as cream cheese. Epic!

Chris likes a little stubble to protect his face too

 As expected, the Mt Hamilton stage pretty much determined the pecking order for the rest of the tour. You never know until it's over, crashes and illness can take their toll, and change the outcome in an instant, but in this case, Mt Hamilton ranked the field for Mt Baldy, and the leading teams became even more dominant.

It was good to see Chris so happy, euphoric even. Finally the respect he deserves. I hope he kicks Contador's ass in the TDF this year. I look forward to seeing more of young riders like Matt Busche, from the great state of New Mexico, in future tours. He was amaing at the top of Mt Baldy.

Schleck's performance was a little surprising, but he is on a comeback, and prepping for the TDF, or that's his story, and he's sticking to it. The rider that was unexpectedly impressive for me was Ryder Heshedal. I was also surprised that Garmin did so little of the work at the front in the San Gabriel Mountains, but then RadioShack had the strength and depth to just go hammer it the whole stage, and Garmin just wasn't able to respond.


The oldest guy to finish the race won it. Big props for Chris Horner!!!

 I do hope we will see another Tahoe stage, weather not withstanding, and with the suggested team TT from Carson City, Nevada to Incline Village. Team TTs are getting really rare, and they are one of my favorites. Especially as a first stage, they give the team a great opportunity to work together and gel. It's snowing up in Tahoe as I'm typing this, so an alternate is definitely needed.

While RadioShack pretty much owned the race, I hope the Amgen Tour will continue to give new riders an opening into the sport. Like the US Open, those opportunities are absolutely necessary if the sport is to continue to flourish, and we love watching them grow up right here in the most beautiful country in the world,  the Golden State of California!

2011 Amgen Tour - Stage 6

Congrats to Dave Z on winning the TT, and setting a new course record in the process, although as Leipheimer pointed out, that was almost a certainty when running in May instead of February. I assume he was talking about thinner, warmer air being easier to push aside, but maybe also stripped out of all that extra winter gear.

Really sorry for Levi that he didn't win today, but I have to say, I really hate his form. It seems to work for him, but jeeze it's ugly. I think the high aerobar position is not his favorite, but the only one left to him by the UCI as his preferred one they outlawed. Frankly, the TT is one area I think there are too many rules. Better to let people ride anything they want, any way they want.

I think Chris Horner is saving his legs for the Queen Stage tomorrow - by far the toughest stage in the history of the Amgen Tour, and likely the ruin of many of the smaller teams. As of yesterday's start, only 6 of 144 riders had left the race, although Thor Hushovd abandoned the race yesterday. I don't have a  count, but yesterday's stage, being so long, and with a surprising 12,000+ ft of climbing, probably took it's toll.

By contrast, I expect many, many riders will blow up and abandon the race on the course tomorrow - perhaps as much as a third of the field. I'll be watching George Hincapie closely, as he did very well in the San Gabriel Mtns last year, and but for a lot of guys tail-gunning him over the last 30km, might have finished on the podium. Also a good indicator of how much he's got left for another TDF.

I was a little surprised to see Dave Z's leg come out wide and grab some air going through a turn. That seems a pretty serious form break, but I wasn't on the bike, so maybe a split-second balance thing. In general I've worked very hard to immediately, and reflexively bring my right knee to the bar as soon as I stop pedaling. It makes a big difference in drag on a compact frame, helps control the bike when coming off or transitioning to the aerobars, and protects my knees in tight corners.

I've been wracking my brain to find a good alternative to a Tahoe stage should bad weather become an issue in the future. I think I've hit on one. A 30mi/48km Team TT from Carson City, NV to Alpine Village, Ca. Not only does the 1,500 ft drop in elevation eliminate snow, but the Sierra Mountains protect the eastern desert from rain and winds that can reach close to 100mph over the passes. The mile high altitude will also allow the riders to put their high-altitude training to good use.

Since all of our big winter storms swirl up from the south, the SSE winds will be headwinds for the riders, so the strongest teams, with the best form, will come out on top. It would establish a valid pecking order for the teams and riders for the rest of the tour, and allow riders in difficulty to drop out of the paceline near the end. (teams only need to finish with 5 riders)

Given how close the course is to Tahoe, just over Kingsbury Grade from South Lake Tahoe, this should keep logistics manageable and provide for some sponsor alternatives. I'm going to suggest it to the Amgen people, and hope they'll give it serious consideration.

Looking forward to tomorrow's massive Queen Stage, and expect Radio Shack will let Garmin do a lot of the work early, as Garmin has 3 guys near the top in the GC.

2011 Amgen Tour - Stage 5

It looks like the early start will have them off under sunny skies, with some big, puffy clouds overhead. The wind is mostly a crosswind that will push them along a bit - very welcome I'm sure for riders with tired legs after yesterday's hard ride.

I don't have personal knowledge of this route, so will be a spectator along with everyone else today. The course looks very flat, except for the final, short climb, so I expect the sprint teams will do well. Thor Hushovd is near the top of the GC, and this stage will suit him well, so I expect he will be near the front a lot.

I'm guessing RadioShack will be happy to have other teams do the work at the front today, until the final KOM climb, and then they'll be in front protecting Horner and Leipheimer's 1, 2 GC positions. The scenery should be spectacular, and ride generally a fast, easy one.

Overall, today will be about recovery before the TT in Solvang, and the massive Queen Stage in the San Gabriel Mountains. I expect the minor teams will want to break away to get in the spotlight, but will get reeled in handily 10-15km before the final KOM, and dropped decisively there to keep the climbing teams' big gains yesterday intact.

2011 Amgen Tour - Stage 4

They've pushed the start time back from 10:15 to 11:45, and should therefore be starting under sunny skies and on dry-ish roads after a thorough soaking rain last night. Winds are from the W and SW at around 10mph today, and generally crosswinds for the long stretch heading south on Mines Rd and San Antonio Rd.

I covered the main climb on this stage in some detail here, so will not elaborate further, except to say Mt Hamilton is a bitch of a climb with horrible, asphalt washboard road that will have your Garmin reporting grades for 14,16 and up to 24% right at the top. Temps will be mid-50s at the top of Hamilton, and its eastern face will be sunny, protected from the wind, and fairly warm.

Expect to see a lot of clothing being stripped off on the long descent to the base of Hamilton from the junction of San Antonio Rd and Del Puerto Canyon Rd, which took the riders into Patterson last year after their climb up Mines Rd.

This is THE stage to sort out the overall standings in Northern California. Piety Monday's stage wasn't run in reverse, which would have made it an epic uphill battle, but yesterday's stage into a fierce headwind all day turned out to be a worthy test, so fatigue will be a factor today.

Great times for European sports fans, as I watched Dirk Nowitzki play the closest thing to a perfect basketball game I've seen in almost 30 years. Really, and truly a fantastic, perhaps once in a lifetime performance.

I kind of enjoyed the poor-man's live blogging from the comments section below yesterday, so think I'll get me a big cup of coffee and have another go at that in a few minutes.

Post Script: An emotional day for Andy Schleck, as his teammate  Wouter Weylandt  was laid to rest in Belgium today. 2,000 friends, family and fans paid their respects. Schleck was reportedly in tears at the start. A fitting tribute to  life cut tragically short. 

Congratulations to Chris Horner, and Levi Leipheimer, who now hold 1st and 2nd place in the general category. They worked their butts off, as did all of the RadioShack squad, so deserved it. Rumor was Lance Armstrong was in the crowd watching..