Tour of California thread

Discussion in 'The Roadie Hangout' started by protijy, Jan 27, 2009.

  1. Tri_Danimal

    Tri_Danimal No More Uphill? :-(

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    Was anyone else bothered by the way americans try to just get on camera. Shit some of the spectators almost hit the the riders and caused crashes. This would make me not want to race in america compared to europe, where they run on the SHOULDER of the road not the yellow line. It really bugged me if you cant tell.

    Also when i was at the 150m line in pasedina it really gave an understanding of how fast these guys ride when you could feel the gust of wind they generated as they rode but. The peleton knocked a little girl over into me. she wasnt paying attention at all.
     
  2. foofighter

    foofighter Ride More Talk Less

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    let's animate that shall we

    [​IMG]

     
  3. Keith B

    Keith B Professional Lion Tamer

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    Awesome!!! Love that!!!
     
  4. MTBMaven

    MTBMaven This is Shangri La

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    There are many cases where races have run into people on the course in Europe. Rider being hit by posters all manner of things happen in Europe. I would say things are far more tame here in the US compared to Europe. These guys are used to it.

    I was amazed at the speed Levi worked his way through the crowd as I tried to chase him on foot.
     
  5. lukewiens

    lukewiens New Member

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    i must say...what a great race!! i hope amgen keeps on forking over for this thing...this is good stuff for california and all of the host cities. i am curious of what the race organizers thought of the stage setups this year??

    personally being from sacramento (and not having much pride for the place), i hope they move the prologue back to san francisco....it was just a much better atmosphere.

    so post 'em up if you got 'em...final stage pics, before this thread fades away until next year.

    nothin' special here...sure were a lot of dang people!!
     

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  6. Mr. Bungle

    Mr. Bungle New Member

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  7. roach

    roach Full Singletrack Tuck

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    Yes! Better every year. This year's course was the toughest so far. We are so lucky to be able to see the worlds best cyclists in our local mountains!

    I drove up to Angeles Forest Hwy on Sat and on Sunday rode from Cole Grade to Palomar Peak to watch the race. Stage 8 was a real ass-kicker, and it showed on the riders faces. I took a few pics from Angeles Forest (1st two attached) and some from Palomar just below the snow line. Palomar was so fun! The peloton was all broken up and I saw some crazy suffering! It was beautiful!
    I only saw a few racers that didn't look totally pummelled, they were: Levi, Frank Shleck, Chris Horner, Vande Velde, and George Hincape. They all looked cool and collected. Freddy Rodriguez was off the back, alone, and looked so hammered I couldn't even bring myself to photo him. Painful!

    Can't wait till next year!
    Attached photos
    Angeles Forest Hwy
    1) Astana leads the chase
    2) Tyler Hamilton, suffering off the back

    Palomar Mt. - South Grade Road
    3) Chechu leads Lance to bridge the gap with Hincape and company in tow.
    4) 2nd place Dave Z. shadows Levi
    5) little further down the road, a Rabbobank rider feels the glorious pain.
     

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  8. Pickettt

    Pickettt New Member

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    I was embarrassed...and I wasn't even there.
     
  9. MTBMaven

    MTBMaven This is Shangri La

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    The levels to which I screwed up at the Amgen continue. :) I found out that Police escort was to take Levi to an interview with the top three racers. Well Levi never made it to that interview. Why? Because he was being escorted to medical control by his UCI Chaperone (aka MTBMaven). Oops :)
     
  10. lkn2ryd

    lkn2ryd Member

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    You must stop beating yourself up!

    Brother, you did your job. Period. You would have had to get badges and names, maybe "citizen arrest" the coppers b/c they were interferring with your duties!

    Stop worrying, Levi won. You rode Pasadena and didn't kill a runner. Life moves on. You should be proud and stoked. We are proud and stoked!:drunk:
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 24, 2009
  11. MTBMaven

    MTBMaven This is Shangri La

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    :) Yeah I'm starting to laugh at it more now. It's pretty funny actually. It's kind of strange that if this process is SO important that they would have volunteers do the work. I mean there were only 4 of us, it's not like they need a team of hundreds. So I'm trying not to stress.
     
  12. Abui

    Abui Active Member

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    Mancebo tries mountain biking

    (from north ranch yahoo group)
     

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  13. Sweetpea

    Sweetpea Member

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    I'm not sure of the numbers but I think that over 160 riders started the course and only about half that number finished. Is that true? What happened to the others?

    Do these guys get paid for all of their work?
     
  14. 53-12

    53-12 by design

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    Drop out for various reasons, injury, sick, lack of fitness even. Then there were those like Tom Boonen, who skipped the last day to get back to Europe and prepare for the Spring Classics (more important to him). And yes they all get paid, they are pros, it's their job.
     
  15. Sweetpea

    Sweetpea Member

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    so they're eligible for worker's comp and/or unemployment? hmmm....nice gig...

    do the foreigner's need green cards?

    You don't really need to answer, I'm just curious, that's all.
     

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