By Jeremy Arnold

Let’s go to the tapes for a look back at the Stage 7 coverage of the Tour of California brought to us from the helpful, yet confused Versus Channel. As I warm up the old VCR (still haven’t made the leap to TiVo yet…dang), I am mentally preparing myself for the oncoming barrage of program announcements for the standard Versus lineup of fishing, hunting, bull riding, hockey, co-ed fighting presented by Chuck Norris and any number of other shows that focus on marginalized sports. Thankfully, my antiquated VCR is equipped with a remote control so I can fast forward through the frequent commercials, which should be a far more pleasant experience than the live broadcast. Sometimes it pays to be tardy.

But while we are on the subject…can you imagine the department meetings at Versus? Fishing, Hunting and Bull fighting would probably get along until one of them accidentally killed or maimed someone and I could see Cycling, Tennis and Surfing being cool with each other. Hockey is probably sulking in the corner, depressed about even being there and Co-Ed Fighting presented by Chuck Norris is just waiting for someone to make a wrong move. I’m not criticizing Versus (yet) because again, it is all we have here in the States, but the spectrum of sports presented on the channel is a near constant source of amusement for me. I miss the weird shows on OLN though, like the paranormal wilderness investigators. Remember that one? And what did they do with Kirstin Gum? Like I said, this channel fascinates me.

Alright…back to the race. Stage 7 was set in Long Beach (also known as the LBC), which is famous for producing famous people. Taking place over ten laps of a flat circuit and incorporating portions of the Grand Prix course, the final stage of the Tour of California was destined to come down to a sprint. But with all of the domestic teams and a number of Pro Tour teams having been shut out of stage wins, the race was sure to be hotly contested. Now…On to the coverage:

- Phil, Paul and Bob are sporting jackets for the overcast start, with Phil calling attention to “Bobby.” They like to add the “y” to people’s names. Bob mentions that this is a very “American” style of race which I think is a good comment. Can you imagine a circuit race or criterium in the Tour de France? I know they do laps of the Champs Elysees in Paris but not 78 miles. The bottom line for the spectators is that crits and circuit races make for far better viewing than a road race or even a time trial. It’s good that the organizers represent U.S. racing like this and actually give the domestic teams something of an advantage. Even though it didn’t really work out that way last year.

- Olaf Pollack won this race on the same course last year in the inaugural event. I was talking with my dad about the race and he asked, “Didn’t a rider from Poland win last year?” Not exactly but pretty close.

- Frischkorn makes the start gun flyer. Getting the argyle out in front of the camera again. Aggressive move but hey, it’s only 78 miles.

- Phil’s father took a trans-Atlantic trip on the Queen Mary. That’s nice. My Great-Aunt apparently used to live right on this course. That’s nice too.

- A group is off the front with a bunch of American domestic riders and a couple Aussies. The Pate is in there again, as well as Tim Johnson and Ben Jacques-Maynes. Karl Ten Menzies is also up front and at the current time check, Pate is the overall leader on the road. You do really have to hand it to Slipstream as they are seemingly getting in just about every move.

- Discovery on the front - where have we seen that before? I wonder if Basso knew what he was getting himself in for by coming out here. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a Grand Tour winner and arguably the best stage racer in the world just driving at the front of the peloton for another teammate like this. Good karma for later on in the season, I reckon.

- The guys are now discussing George Hincapie’s performance in Stage 6. That may have been a career-defining ride for Hincapie. He will always be known as LA’s right-hand man and a devoted teammate during the Tour de France, but his effort to ride so strongly after suffering a broken arm was a unique performance. Bob recalls his “stratospheric tempo” after catching back on to the group and being none too pleased that the bunch didn’t hold up. It is terrible that GH will not be able to challenge Paris-Roubaix.

- Phil describes the peloton as a “snake that has taken down a big antelope.” That’s actually a very good description. And fitting for the Versus channel…but only if the comment was followed by a human either killing or wrestling the snake.

- BMC is helping. The red and black haven’t been up front a whole lot so this is good publicity more than anything. It’s good to see Andy Rhis sticking with cycling and helping the U.S. scene. I wonder what his reaction will be if Floyd ends up being exonerated - which is looking far more likely. He had a great team that was ruined by this whole process and he had to kick a lot of employees to the curb. Anyway, good to see BMC represented.

- Phil mentions Ben Jacques-Maynes and gives him the “Frankly, we’ve never heard of him” treatment. I always chuckle when he says that. Actually, I get the impression that Phil feels bad for BJM because he would have had the race lead after the Santa Rosa crash if the officials hadn’t made their unprecedented ruling. Phil even went as far as to call it a “decision of passion” which I thought was rather poetic. He’s forgotten more bike races than I have ever seen so I’ll defer to his judgement on that one.

- Paul goes into the “As former professionals, Bob and I know that…” routine. I always wonder if Phil feels bad when they do that.

- “There’s So Much Drama In The LBC, It’s kinda hard being Snoop D-O Double G.”

- Floyd Interview: He’s rocking the suit and tie, which is good, but you can tell he’s not exactly a suit and tie kind of guy. He seems to be in very good spirits and is happy that things are getting better, both physically and legally. Despite being criticized for the Wikipedia defense strategy, I think Floyd has opened a lot of eyes about the anti-doping process.

- U23 World Champion Danny Pate. Very few U.S. riders have won World Championships in road events. Can you name them?

- Credit Agricole is on the front working for Thor Hushovd. Is there a more stereotypically Norwegian guy than Thor Hushovd? He’s like a composite drawing of what everyone imagines a Scandanavian guy looks like.

- Bob asks Paul what his favorite sprint was. Paul says Stage 6, won by JJ Haedo after the day-long chase by Discovery. JJ did kind of come out of the shadows for that one but the craziest part was Freddie Rodriguez and Robert Forster getting tangled up. It is still amazing to me that someone doesn’t hit the deck in almost every group finish.

- Now for the Amgen-Love. Patrick Dempsey is here again but there is no sign of the red-headed friend that he was mean to in Can’t Buy Me Love. Remember Courtney Gaines…the kid from Children of the Corn? So Dempsey or Ronald Miller if you choose, may be somewhat familiar with cycling but it’s hard to tell. He’s a good actor. He uses the term “on a lot of levels” quite a bit and mentions Levi’s “magical” time trial and character, as he was “fighting off demons.” Wow, was that just improv? I have to assume that Bob is a big fan of Can’t Buy Me Love. Come to think of it…Ronald Miller actually rode his bike around quite a bit in that movie.

- Phil Liggett during the helicopter shot of the shoreline boulevard: “On the right is Long Beach…Beach.” Please allow myself to introduce…myself.

- Gap is 2:18 and Pate is just out of the jersey. Rabobank is helping for Brown.

- The guys are reflecting on Stage 6 again. Like I said, that may go down as George’s most memorable ride along with his Tour stage win.

- Cyclysm Sundays announcement. They’ve got a pretty solid lineup this year with the notable absence of Milan-San Remo and the Giro. I am curious if they will cover the Paris-Nice if the Pro Tour teams do not race. This UCI/ASO feud is despicable. Little children run this sport.

- A motorcycle almost takes out the field, knocking cones over and honking his horn. What was that? The BMC guys are waving at him. That could have been disastrous. Even if he missed the riders, the cones could have easily caused a crash. Was that Gary Busey driving that thing?

- Good work in the break but the field can see them. The gap is down to 1:45 with 3 to go.

- Phil likes the argyle for Slipstream. But then again…he’s British.

- Focus on Slipstream - The team has adopted a new in-house testing system that checks for metabolic changes in the riders. A good philosophy and Jonathan Vaughters looks like he should be up at CU drinking coffee and discussing Descartes. JV sure brought some of that Euro-style with him back to Denver. The dagger-chop sideburns are still in full-effect.

- As they go to a commercial break, they show the dang eagle-helmet, American flag-guy on the side of the road again. This guy kills me. At least he was just standing there waving his flag and not running alongside the group. Although maybe it would have been entertaining to see him try to run with the race at 30mph. That would have been fun.

- Bob makes the comment that bicycle racing is about, “Cooperation one moment, absolute war the next.” That is a good way to describe the odd dynamic of the breakaway effort and the chase by the peloton. It really is a unique kind of relationship that riders have with one another when everyone has different motives. I wish more of the general public understood the tactical side of bicycle racing because it is really is a fascinating combination of cunning and strength. Such a cool sport.

- Bobby J - The Invisible Man. I have seen Julich a few times but he has been pretty quiet. As quiet as you can be for 4th place I suppose. CSC just has so many cards to play that Bobby was kind of the odd-man out I think.

- We learn that JJ Haedo has more wins than any single team in ToC history. With four victories, he has actually won 25% of the Tour of California stages over the past two years. If you exclude the Prologue and Time Trial stages, he has won a third of the entire race. Not bad. Phil compares him to Robbie McEwen but I’m not sure about that. I’m not sure who I would compare him to because he’s a big guy but has good acceleration. It will be interesting to see how he does in Europe.

- Phil mentions that Patrick Dempsey spent $7,000 on a bike for this event and then jokes, “He’s got too much money.” I wonder if that was more a crack about having to buy a bike right before the race than about the amount he paid. Once again…what’s the deal with Ronald Miller? He’s the biggest celebrity they could rustle up in Long Beach? You’re telling me Snoop Dogg wouldn’t be down? You’ve seen him rolling on the lowrider bikes. He’d be on board for sure.

- The break is starting to crack a bit and Menzies goes it alone for a while. This guy has been racing full-blast since the beginning of January but CSC is on the front so it’s game over. Even though he is Ten Menzies, he cannot outride Bjarne Riis’ red and black death squad.

- T-Mobile and Credit Agricole are up there with CSC now. Uh oh, Horner is jumping up the right side for Freddie while Jens Voigt is doing the rock and roll action and killing it on the front. I think Horner made him mad by coming up on them like that. Seriously, Jens Voigt presented by Chuck Norris rides like he’s mad at his bike or something. Like it did something bad and needs to take a beating. I think he is such a cool guy because he just rides every last bit of anger and fury out his body and only has good vibes left over.

- The riders are on a really sketchy section of road with a dropped and separated shoulder that Bettini handles beautifully. That was really amazing. 8 of 10 recreational riders would have eaten it there for sure even if they weren’t racing, but the Cricket (and everyone else behind him for that matter) just kept jumping his front wheel around until he got back on the right surface. This guy Bettini can ride a bike. Maybe that’s why he gets to sport the rainbow kit. By the way…any guesses on the only U.S. World Champions in the road race or time trial? I know.

- They are winding it up for the sprint and Rabobank is coming really hard on the right. Haedo is boxed in. Graeme Brown is going early…Henderson and Dominguez coming around him…Dominguez!!!! Ivan Dominguez wins the stage for Toyota-United. Great finish there as Brown just went way too early and The Cuban Missile snuck through for the only domestic American victory of the Tour. Super happy that TUP was able to get the victory and represent the U.S. circuit on the top podium step.

- You really have to like Ivan Dominguez. What a story. Cuba is not exactly a powerhouse in the cycling world but somehow Dominguez has carved out a very impressive list of professional victories. He’s fun to listen to as well but right in the middle of the interview they started pumping the Versus theme music. Oh well. He mentions that it was a straight sprint which was better because it was, “Safer…a little bit safe. Still bumping.” A little bit safe. But not much.

- Bob then asked how he got to the finish and I thought Dominguez’ answer was funny. He said that he was staying behind Graeme Brown but mentioned that he was surprised there was not more of a battle for his wheel. I think Tom Steels has a good idea why no one wanted to follow Brown’s wheel. The guy has a serious reputation for taking people out in bunch finishes but all he did here was take Ivan Dominguez to the finish line.

- 78 miles in 2:39. Basically 29.5 mph avg.

- Bob interviews Overall Race Winner, Levi Leipheimer and mentions that the stakes for the Discovery Channel team were “stratospheric.” Without a sponsor for the 2008 season, this is definitely a big win for the organization. Interestingly, Levi mentions that he would have to think about whether or not this Tour of California victory is his sweetest. I know the Tour of Germany and Dauphine Libere wins were against more stacked competition but I figured he would have just said this was the best for PR purposes. Unfortunately, half the people watching this race probably couldn’t name one of his European results.

All in all, this was a great race. Good courses, crowds and the best field of professional bicycle racers this country has ever seen. The “Hometown” guy won and the Domestic squads did not go home empty handed, winning a stage and animating the race from the very start in San Francisco. Cycling in this country looks strong and hopefully this event will only grow in stature and popularity.

So that’s it for the 2007 Tour of California presented by some company whose name I do not recall. I think it started with an “A” or something…

By Jeremy Arnold

Hey there race fans. Instead of recapping all of the race action from Stage 6 of the Tour of California from Santa Barbara to Santa Clarita (which you should all know by now anyway), I will attempt to analyze some of the more interesting elements of what turned out to be a fascinating race. Whereas last year’s similar stage, held on a slightly different course, was something of a standoff, the penultimate stage of the 2007 edition was anything but controlled. With crashes, attacks, chases and a wild finish, the calm start down by the beach in Santa Barbara gave nary a hint of the action that would soon take place on the road to Santa Clarita.

Unfortunately, the biggest news of the day was that George Hincapie had broken his arm above the wrist during an early race fall with teammate Tony Cruz. Attacks were beginning to form at the same time and despite Levi Leipheimer’s request for a “Time Out” the field began to split apart. Levi was somewhat critical of these moves during the post-race interview but it is difficult to imagine the entire field just lollygagging around until both Cruz and Hincapie were back in the fold. The unwritten rules of cycling are unwritten because too many people disagree with them and break them under the guise of “That’s bike racing.”

Speaking of which, I heard the ever-popular phrase “That’s bike racing” a lot this week, usually accompanied by a shrug or a general “whatever” kind of tone. I heard it first in reference to the wind changes during the prologue that kept many of the top contenders from the podium. Then I heard it when people were questioning the official’s neutral finish ruling after the crash in Stage 1. In Solvang people discussed the possibility of the gusting winds throwing riders off course prior to the Time Trial and almost inevitably used the phrase. And most recently, Levi said it after declaring that he had wished the riders were “more polite” when his teammates hit the deck on Stage 6. There is a palpable attitude of acceptance that things will not always go as planned for most bike racers which I believe is a function of the inherent danger of the sport as well as a personality component that allows them to accept and fight through adversity and pain on such a regular basis. Hincapie’s remarkable ride after suffering his injury is a testament to these traits. It was terribly unfortunate but hey, “That’s bike racing.”

Anyway…bike racing is at its best when the action is animated and Stage 6 provided arguably the most drama and tension in the history of the Tour of California. After chasing down Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano (that’s one guy with 4 names, not 2 guys with 2, by the way) of Rabobank, a group containing Stuart O’Grady and Michael Rogers got off the front and was soon joined by another chase, bringing the number of riders in the break to nine. With seven Pro Tour riders and two of the stronger domestic riders in Victor Rapinsky of Navigators and Danny Pate of Slipstream, the break quickly built a sizeable gap on the scattered peloton.

Just in case anyone wasn’t aware, Stuart O’Grady is pretty much a total badass and as I chatted with some of the American riders before the start in Santa Barbara, he rolled by and ended up standing next to me for a while. Now, I’m not exactly a skinny guy for a bike racer but O’Grady made me feel like a little twig. The dude is seriously thick and it is quite evident standing next to him that you do not want to throw down with this guy. I don’t know what it is about those Australians but jeez, O’Grady and Menzies could be the new WWE Tag Team and make some extra coin in the off-season. Monsters.

So it was fitting that when O’Grady started barking at his breakaway companions to get to business, they pretty much all fell in line and worked well together. Would you just sit on a group when Sergeant O’Grady is yelling at you? Better to work hard and risk popping than feel the wrath of an angry Australian hard man, I always say. As such, the gap grew to over three minutes for the effort, as O’Grady became the virtual race leader on the road, having started the day only 1:20 behind Leipheimer.

It was about this point when Discovery finally got things back together, with Basso, Danielson, McCartney and the remarkable Hincapie all taking massive pulls and stringing out the field. The peloton began to spread apart as echelons formed with Disco effectively trying to put CSC in the gutter as Jens Voigt and Bobby Julich stuck to Levi’s wheel at the back of the train. There was a period of time shortly after Hincapie got back to the main field where he got on the front and ended up gapping everyone but Danielson by pulling so hard. It almost seemed like he was trying to bridge up to the break by himself but I have to think he just caught everyone off guard with his tempo. Honestly, Big George’s ride on Saturday was among the most impressive I can recall. Maybe the Stars and Stripes jersey is working a little Captain America magic because that was one heroic performance. I’d say he and Levi are square now after Levi’s help in the ’06 USPRO championships and GH’s efforts in this race. It’s all cyclical…doing the bull dance…feeling the flow.

The break stayed strong over the short but steep Balcom Canyon climb where all kinds of yahoos threatened to become a full-blown hazard to the safety of the racers. The Pope was running around on one side of the road while the Grim Reaper ran across from him. Two idiots, one in a USC shirt and another with the Norwegian flag painted on his chest, ran into each other and proceeded to bump Hincapie, forcing his hands off the bars momentarily. Honestly, I’m scared that some fool is going to take out a prominent rider and seriously tarnish the reputation of this event. I think that the organizers are going to have to put more security or something up there because it was frightening how close they were to a potentially race-altering accident there.

Speaking of idiots – what about the Eagle-helmet, football jersey, huge American flag-waving guy that seems to be at every race and runs alongside the road causing massive annoyance and problems? I know he’s from Texas(take that however you want), but other than that I just know that this guy is a serious hazard. I saw a great photo of him in handcuffs, being escorted by a police officer after the Sierra Road climb on Stage 3. Awesome, but they should have locked his ass up for the rest of the race. Now don’t get me wrong, I am all for exuberant cheering and support but these fools that run alongside the road are not benefiting the riders at all. They are a dangerous nuisance and are doing it out of pure selfishness, so that they can either get on TV or have another story to bore people with. A true fan of the sport or anyone with even the slightest understanding of bicycle racing should have more respect for the riders. It’s a bike race, not a circus. Just ask Lance Armstrong, Giuseppe Guerini and Thor Hushovd if they think it’s a good thing to have the spectators interfere with the race. Now you can add George Hincapie to the list. RESPECT. I honestly can’t wait for a rider to pull a Wellens and just freaking sock one of these fools as they’re riding past. Once again, I vote for either Menzies or O’Grady to just hop off and start duking one of these chumps. That might make ‘em think twice. And I would LOVE it.

Side note on Danny The Pate - For anyone who saw the coverage on TV or the internet, how crazy was Danny Pate’s descent with a flattening tire? Not sure if anyone noticed, but the Pate basically did the entire final descent on 40psi, getting gapped on every turn and then having to sprint back on in the straightaways. This sequence reminded me of a story about John Tomac doing some mad descent on his rims and actually passing people with sparks flying off his wheels when he was with 7-Eleven. I can’t remember what race that was but if anyone recalls that story, please let me know that I am not making it up. Maybe the Tour DuPont? I’m certain I remember hearing that. Regardless, The Pate did some serious work during the Tour of California and the flat-tire descent was pretty rad. D-Pate needs to get another crack at Europe here soon - the Colorado Springs kid can really race a bike and seems to have no fear whatsoever. Good qualities in a bike racer.

Anyway…despite the efforts of the breakaway, Discovery and Health Net ended up closing the gap and caught them just outside the finish in Santa Clarita. A hectic and scattered sprint resulted in Robert Forster doing a little tango with Fast Freddie Rodriguez and riding with one leg for a while. Some seriously good body control and gymnastics by the German but not exactly an ideal sprinting strategy. The big Argentinean JJ Haedo managed to find a clear line and took his fourth Tour of California stage win ahead of Greg Henderson, Bettini and Hushovd. University of Colorado alum Alex Candelario provided the best domestic result with an 8th place finish despite being blocked by the Freddie/Forster acrobatics.

Considering that JJ Haedo won again, I have to address a comment that T-Mobile owner/director Bob Stapleton made after Stage 4 into San Luis Obispo. He ended up saying, rather matter-of-factly, that Gerald Ciolek was faster than JJ. Now…I have mad respect for Mr. Stapleton and see him as a truly positive figure in the world of professional cycling but…let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. I know Ciolek is fast and all but Haedo is a freaking rocket when things go right and it would be really hard to validate a claim that anyone was faster than the Argentinean during the Tour of California. Give the German U23 World Champion a little time and he may deserve the title but for now, JJ Haedo is the best sprinter this race has ever seen. He seems like a genuinely good guy too, which is always cool.

At the end of the day, nothing really changed much but Stage 6 of the Tour of California was the most exciting day of the event so far and gave a hint of the growing CSC/Discovery rivalry and the potential of this race to become a true battle in future editions. Great weather (so far at least) and great racing like this will only solidify the reputation of this event as truly world-class. Now if we could only do something about these idiots on the side of the road…anyone want to join me with a Taser next year? I’ve got my eye on that dude from Texas with the eagle helmet. If the cops don’t get him, I hope someone pulls a little vigilante justice next time. The responsible and respectful fans need to stand up to these clowns. In the words of the Weatherman, “Keep it classy California.” We have to be better than that – the racers and the event deserve it.