1) Like the rain, snow and miserable conditions in the Giro d’Italia, the scorching temperatures in Southern California altered the race to a significant degree. Tejay Van Garderen essentially won the Tour of California on stage two’s climb up Tram Road in 110 degree weather. The same goes for Janier Acevedo from [...]
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Paco Watch final edition. Francisco Mancebo wanted to go home to Spain via Mount Diablo in California. At age 37, it was really his last shot to race closer to home, his wife and young kids. A top five overall in the Tour of California or perhaps a win on the summit finish of Diablo [...]
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Gavin Mannion of Bontrager-Trek somehow ended up on left gutter on the climb up Mt. Diablo. Just past the finish he was as wiped out as a young rider on a development ream can possibly be. Spit trailing off his chin, his right lower leg bleeding from a crash. We caught him just past the [...]
Read moreWe were able to grab BMC boss Jim Ochowicz minutes after his rider Tejay van Garderen essential wrapped up his first overall stage victory in the Tour of California. We were three kilometers down from the summit of Mount Diablo where Van Garderen and his dominant BMC team had put the finishing touches on a [...]
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UnitedHealthcare’s team manager Mike Tamayo has more experience at the Tour of California than most anyone driving a team car. He’s directed everyone from Floyd Landis to Rory Sutherland to this year’s Philip Deignan. He’s come close to the podium and keeps banging on the door in California. Tamayo is meticulous in his preparation and [...]
Paco Watch Part 3 Aiming for a top ten but hoping for top five and maybe a podium and a contract back in Europe, Francisco Mancebo (5 Hour Energy) had mucho grande dreams for this Amgen Tour of California. After a strong start in stage one around Escondido and self-described “agony” on stage two’s Tram [...]
Tyler Farrar was six seconds from winning two stages in a row at the Amgen Tour of California. He’d won the day before, beating all-world Peter Sagan in the sprint along the shoreline in beautiful Santa Barbara. He’d knocked off Cavendish in the 2011 Tour de France and now he’d just scalped Sagan. In a [...]
The WorldTour boys showed everybody how they roll. With crosswinds kicking up and making everybody nervous, the top teams put the hammer down and knocked several GC contenders from the domestic squads down the standings. Cruel but ever so Darwin. With 55K to go in stage five to Avila Beach, RadioShack went full gas [...]
Paco Watch part two. Francisco Mancebo (5 Hour Energy) is out of the furnace after the first two stages and now finds himself in fourth position in the GC battle at the Tour of California. The Spaniard is only 8 seconds behind Michael Rogers (Saxo-Tinkoff) and 51 seconds from Tejay Van Garderen. He has a [...]
Redon, France doesn’t look much like Santa Barbara, California. The town in Brittany doesn’t have the affluent cache of Santa Barbara which sits on the beautiful southern coastline of California. Better croissant in Redon, but we’ll take the Cali pinot noir. Nevertheless, Redon must remind Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Sharp) of his big win today in [...]
Been a tough week chez Garmin. Best laid plans mysteriously foiled and fried from Italy to California. The mystery theatre is what happened to reigning Giro d’Italia champion Ryder Hesjedal. He had some trouble in the time trial and then bombed in the first mountain stage. This despite what appeared to be scary form [...]
Did Tejay Van Garderen (BMC) just win the 2013 Tour of California after only two stages? Why we were just getting, uhh, warmed up, so to speak. After the 106 degree stage one, day two went even higher into the fahrenheit and may have cooked the GC chances of everyone except Michael Rogers (Saxo-Tinkoff) [...]
; Paco watch, part 1 Francisco Mancebo (5 Hour Energy) showed right from the first stage int he Tour of California that he has come to play. The Spaniard with the dark Operacion Puerto past is officially — according the the team website — shooting for a top ten but in reality he is going [...]
10 Observations from Tour of California.
Mancebo and Diablo. A climb too far.
Bontrager-Trek’s Mannion at the summit.
