The CaliRado Cyclist

Hey Folks, it’s going to be a short recap of Stage 4 today because I just flew into Santa Barbara from Colorado and boy, are my arms tired. Yes, that is the worst joke in the world and yes, I said the exact same thing last year. But then again, it’s been a long day and I just finished riding the TT course in Solvang, so I don’t feel too guilty about it. Or maybe “windsurfed” would be a more accurate verb because “riding” seems too mellow.

Anyway, I really shouldn’t complain because at least I didn’t have to ride for 7 hours in the rain, wind and cold of Stage 4 from Seaside to San Luis Obispo like the rest of the ToC peloton. Despite the fact that this stage takes place over potentially the most spectacularly beautiful course in all of professional cycling, the weather in late February can be problematic to say the least. Jackson Stewart, who has managed to make it into almost every post I’ve written this week but was forced to abandon the race with hypothermia after being in an early breakaway would probably concur.

The weather also factored in the breakaway actually making it to the finish on a course that has historically ended in a field sprint into downtown SLO. A few minutes ahead of the peloton, Canadian Dominique Rollin got away from his companions to snatch the stage win from Big George Hincapie and give Toyota-United yet another ToC scalp. Even though I always like to see the domestic teams step up, it would have been nice for the High Road captain to get a victory in the team’s new hometown.

Also adding to this sentiment is the fact that Toyota-United chose to bring exactly ZERO U.S. riders to the biggest race in America this year, which is something I am not entirely comfortable with. Zilch for the U.S. Now, I understand that the Southern Hemisphere guys are all flying right now but come on Pettyjohn and Morning Hair, where’s the homegrown love?

Granted, I am certainly biased toward my boys Wherry and Baldwin and would have liked to see them in the race but I guess it’s tough to argue when the team racks up a win like this. Rollin is one strong dude though and is likely to stand atop many a podium this year. I just hope that the U.S. riders don’t take a back seat to all the foreigners rocking the TUP stars and stripes kit. I’m talking to you Chris x 2. Represent.

Levi maintained the overall lead and seems poised to defend last year’s TT victory in Solvang but there are a bunch of fast guys breathing down his neck who could snatch the yellow jersey with a good ride and a bit of luck. Anything can happen in this event and riders that make it through cleanly will consider themselves very fortunate.

There have been a couple of changes to the course including a pretty tough climb right after the start but the route remains similar to last year. Culminating with the decisive climb through Ballard Canyon, there are ample places in this event where time can be gained or lost in massive chunks. If the weather is even close to as nasty as it was when I was out, there is going to be carnage on the roads surrounding this little Danish village. Between the rain, wind, road conditions, climbs and numerous technical descents…it could to be a wild, wild scene.

Let’s all keep our fingers crossed for good weather on Friday. After all, I didn’t come back to Cali for Colorado temperatures. Come on Mother Nature…help a brother out.

The CaliRado Cyclist

Due to a slight error in judgment by the race organizers, Stage 3 of the Amgen Tour of California traveled from Modesto to San Jose. Modesto and San Jose? Really? Anyway, as we struggle to overlook the numerous shortcomings of the host cities for a moment, it should be noted that this was a great course which succeded in reshuffling the GC without giving away the final winner. Oh, the drama.

I usually try to provide some interesting local information for the ToC host cities but I am kind of stumped by Modesto. And the promotional city commercial they aired during the Versus coverage was one of the most depressing things I have ever seen. Perhaps all you need to know are these four facts:

1) Modesto is commonly referred to as “a great place to live, a horrible place to visit.”

2) Modesto’s official slogan is “Water Wealth Contentment Health,” which is emblazoned on a large arch downtown near the start line. A contest was run in 1911 to determine the slogan. The original winning slogan was: “Nobody’s got Modesto’s goat”. The second place entry was the final winner.

3) The area is plagued by some of the worst air quality in the nation, on occasion surpassing even that of Los Angeles.

4) Modesto is also reported to have had the highest car theft per capita rate in the United States in 2005 and 2006, although it dropped to fifth in 2007. So they’ve got that going for them. Which is nice.

Okay, now that we know where not to visit when in California…let’s get to some race action.

BMC got Nydam in the early break and he secured enough mountain points to take the jersey from his teammate Jackson Stewart. I have always wondered if this kind of jersey swapping within teams ever causes any conflict. I am pretty sure it’s not an issue with these guys but it’s yet another one of the fascinating dynamics of bike racing.

The break ended up being joined by Steven Cozza of Slipstream/Chipotle, who seems to be dueling with Dave Zabriskie for the most suave mustache in the peloton. I’m just jealous because I couldn’t grow a lip warmer like that even if I stopped shaving for the rest of my life.

The whole facial hair thing reminds me of the Cheers episode where the guys have a beard growing contest. Hilarity ensues as Cliff ends up winning due to a little artificial follicular enhancement. I miss that show.

Sadly, one Slipstream rider who will not be competing in the mustache contest this week is Tyler Farrar. The overnight leader of the race was forced to take a seat in the sag wagon as he was apparently suffering from a stomach bug that is making its way through the event. It’s amazing how quickly the tides can change in this sport and it was pretty rough seeing the dejected rider try not to boot in front of the cameras. Not good times.

Once the contenders got to the base of Mt. Hamilton, it became the Postal/Discovery flashback show as Chechu Rubiera got on the front and proceeded to shell all but a select few riders by the summit. Apparently Jose Luis Rubiera Vigil (no wonder they gave him a nickname) still has the goods and Levi stepped right into the Alpha Dog role by barking tempo instructions for the entire climb.

Team Astan-ostal-overy was certainly riding with a lot of motivation putting Horner, Gusev, Brajkovich, Rubiera and Leipheimer in the front group all the way to the base of the final climb up Sierra Road. Others in the lead selection included David Millar, Christian VandeVelde, Fabian Cancellara, Bobby Julich and George Hincapie.

Eventually Robert Gesink from Rabobank took the front and quickly dropped everyone except Leipheimer, Horner and Zabriskie. With C-Ho occupying the tail-gunner position, the foursome rode at the Dutchman’s pace until Zabriskie lost contact near the summit. Horner continued to mark the Slipstream rider and the duo reached the peak about a minute behind Leipheimer and Gesink.

After a quick descent the current and former Rabobank riders desperately tried to maintain their advantage over a chase group that had swelled to about fifteen riders. In full pursuit of the leading duo, a veritable All Star Time Trial Team including Millar, Julich, Cancellara, and Zabriskie were able to take back much of their deficit but not enough to catch Gesink and Leipheimer by the finish in Downtown San Jose.

Fittingly, Levi granted the stage win to the lanky Dutchman who was largely responsible for the final time gap. With no time bonuses awarded at the finish, the gap of 18 seconds to the chase group was enough to give Leipheimer the overall lead. Fabian Cancellara was impressive yet again, finishing in the front group and ending the day in second place overall at 13 seconds back.

The race seems to be leading toward a big showdown in Solvang on Friday as a host of excellent time trialists will do their best to overthrow the man in the Retro Shooting Star kit.

Stage 4 begins in Seaside and ends in San Luis Obispo. Much better than Modesto and San Jose.