Wrapping Up The 2009 Amgen Tour of California

What He Said
For those of you who didn't think Lance Armstrong (Astana) could play second fiddle, you would be wrong. According to some accounts, he actually enjoyed it.

Although his cancer initiative, LIVESTRONG, seemed ubiquitous and his supporters out in full force during the Amgen Tour of California, the man strangely was not. You could even say he shied away from the spotlight.


During his lone podium presentation, after the Prologue, when he received the first Amgen Breakaway from Cancer Jersey, he quickly scuttled off the stage seemingly leaving it for those more deserving of the spotlight on that day.

Below are some of his post-Tour thoughts on a variety of subjects.

On his impression of the Amgen Tour of California:
“I was very impressed with the event, and I think I speak on behalf of the other riders in the field when I say that everybody enjoyed the race. Obviously, we would have liked the weather to be a little different in the beginning of the race, but you can’t control that.”

“All-in-all this is a really great race. It’s really good to be back racing again. I’ve been here before in a car but it doesn’t feel the same. Most of these boys came ready to go and they got better as the race went on. We ended up getting tired because we were riding off the front for most of the stage. Hats off to the organizers, the state, and the people who came out to watch this race. I think I can speak for everyone when I say that this was a great race. I’m excited to be back and I had a hell of a good time.”

“With Mt. Palomar, you have a climb that’s not exactly right down the street from people’s houses. It’s a remote climb and there were people camping out; it was very European-esque. The crowds all week have been amazing. From the start in Sacramento, to the finish of today’s stage in Escondido, I don’t think anyone can believe these crowds. It has been awesome.”

On the crowds during Stage 7:
“The crowds were simply amazing. Yesterday in Pasadena the crowds were really impressive. When we entered the circuit at the Rose Bowl, a legendary stadium, we saw hundreds of thousands of people lining the course.”

On the final day of the Amgen Tour of California:
“The final day of the Amgen Tour of California was tough. The Palomar Mountain climb was really tough; it is legit. It is twelve miles long with an elevation of 5,000 ft.; very similar to what we’d see in Europe. It’s steady, consistent. There aren’t a lot of climbs in the U.S. like that.”

On his performance in the Amgen Tour of California:
“I think there are a couple of factors that play into my performance. This only being my second race back is a factor. The team riding in the front for the entire race really takes a toll, and you can’t recover the same a rider who is sitting on someone else’s wheel. Having said that, being up front gives you the added advantage of being in a jersey, so the team morale goes up. I can’t complain. I wouldn’t say that I’m 100 percent, but I felt better today than I did yesterday. I’m glad we’re not racing tomorrow (laughing). The early weather made it hard for everyone to recover; it’s hard to prepare for bad weather.”

On the importance of athletes with interesting stories to help keep interest in cycling strong:
“Any time you want to create a movement, it needs to start with one person. You look at the personalities that we’ve had over the years, and the sport has ebbed and flowed with them. For athletes, it’s almost a part of our job. That is why we have to develop our young guys that can keep people interested in cycling. You have to have an interesting story, so that people will pay attention. People know Levi now, so they are going to go out and cheer for him. Ultimately, people will follow the story. If you don’t have people that have interesting stories, the sport will go away.”

“We have a history of having good races in the U.S., great events that get started and tons of people get involved, and then they just fall away. We can’t have that happen here. The momentum is too strong, and in four or five years, this race needs to be even bigger.”

On riding as a domestique for Levi Leipheimer:
“I saw Levi a couple of times this winter, and then of course at training camp, so I knew he was focused and motivated. Nobody came in here with any expectation to ride for Levi. As long as I can continue to achieve my goals from the cancer perspective, if I ride all year as a domestique, it’s still a win-win for me. It might be good for me personally too. I’ve spent 15 years sitting on people’s wheels, so it felt good to be up front and pulling weight. I was just excited to be here. We don’t mind working for Levi; there was no doubt in our minds that he was going to be strong.”

MASH Unit
During my time in the media room, I met Kristian Hansen of TrackStand. If you're not familiar with the term "track stand," its a technique often used by track cyclists in sprint events to balance themselves, with little to no movement, solely on their two wheels.

As single speed or fixed gear bicycles, often referred to as a "fixie," are popular with bicycle messengers and most urban cyclists and commuters, the term is also used when applying the balancing technique on the street.

Aside from following the tour down the coast, which was the "fun stuff" to Kristian, he was closely monitoring the exploits of the guys from MASH SF, who rode the entire 2009 Amgen Tour of California route on fixies (yes that includes the all the ascents and descents on a single speed bicycle with no brakes)!

Check out the images of their adventures, HERE.

Gallery Hopping
Speaking of beautiful Tour of California photos, the Boston Globe compiled a nice group of photos from the AP and Getty Images.

If you're a Lance Fan, your search for photos should begin and end with Elizabeth Kreutz. A nice subset of pre-Tour of California photos appeared recently in SI.com.

And who could forget the great Tim De Waele's (TDWsport.com) series of Lance versus Syringe Man on Stage 4.


April? How About June
Even before the conclusion of the 2009 Amgen Tour of California the speculation of further expansion and a new location on the racing calendar was already rampant. Some suggested a move to April as a Giro d'Italia warmup, but now there is momentum for a shift to June dates.

The Power of Social Media
For those of you who are not familiar with the power of social media, you need only review the case of the search for Microsoft Researcher, Jim Gray. Although the search for Dr. Gray was eventually abandoned, the mobility of social media made the effort to find a solo boat lost at sea that much easier.

As most of you already know, Lance Armstrong is on the social networking tool Twitter (and yes we are one of his 171,732, as of this posting, followers). When his one-of-a-kind time trial bike was stolen after the Amgen Tour of California Prologue in Sacramento, he enlisted the help of the "twitterati."

And in a matter of days, the bicycle was returned sans wheelset to the Sacramento police department.

I may be a bit biased because as bloggers we belong to this Web 2.0 phenomenon, but I can't help but feel that Armstrong's bike was recovered that much faster, and/or at all because of the speed with which social media/networking tools work.

Now comes the unfortunate news that Amgen Tour of California runner-up David Zabriskie's house was robbed during the race. A list of the stolen items can be found here and here. Get your Blackberry's, iPhone's, Twitter, Facebook, or MySpace accounts going and let's see if we can't help find DZ's stuff.

Anyone with any information on this burglary or the location of the items is asked to call the Tips for Cash line at (801) 799-INFO (4636). Please reference case #09-32767

I Wish I Had A Double Burger
The winner of our post-Stage 1 Triple Crankset T-Shirt giveaway was Frank, who answered both parts of the question correctly. The rider in the bottom photo is Chris Horner (Astana), and he was infamously known for heading to In-N-Out Burger for a Double-Double with onions, fries, coke and a milkshake after Stage 1.


Horner's caloric intake for that meal: 1,958.

For an elite level cyclist who just covered 173.1 kms at an average speed of 25.786 mph (distance and speed of Stage 1), Horner might have actually been short a few calories in replenishing what he burned off on that day.


Frank, send an email with your address, t-shirt size, and choice of t-shirt color to thecrank@triplecrankset.com.

Long Wait
The 2009 edition of the Amgen Tour of California saw the incorporation of several new host cities to the race route. Folks from Merced, Clovis, and Visalia represented their communities well and signaled to the rest of California that cycling or the love of the sports isn’t solely reserved for their coastal counterparts.

On my way out of the town of Visalia after the start of Stage 5, I walked alongside a burly workman who sported a cap and his hair in a long ponytail. He was, at first glance, someone you might not consider a cycling fan or a cyclist. But as the conversation deepened, the joy and excitement that emanated from his voice was clearly palpatable.

Reggie has been a long time cyclist and cycling fan that grew up following the likes of Davis Phinney and Greg Lemond, among others. “I’ve lived in Visalia all of my life, and been following cycling since the Seventies,” he said. He had delayed the start of his workday to take in the race festivities. He added, “I still cycle and after 30 years, professional bike racing has finally come to my hometown, so I couldn’t miss it.”

Photos: Kathleen King (first); Leonard Basobas (second)