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Tour of California Day Two
Levi giving 100%
The ToC has gotten off to a bang! Levi took the prologue in a nail bitter and then held on to it in stage 2. As you probably know, there was a huge crash in the lead pack, which split the field with seven kilometers to go. Usually if there is a crash with three to go, the riders receive the same time as the field. The head refs got together and decided that due to the huge amount of riders going down, that the time of the peloton would stand when they entered the circuit the first time. If this had not been the case and they had upheld the three kilometers rule, Ben Jacques-Maynes would have taken the leader’s jersey. Tim and Al ran into Ben after the race and he was upset, but took it well. “Tomorrow’s another day of racing.” The weather forecast is for rain Wednesday and Thursday, so those will be epic days.
David Zabriskie after the crash looking a little dazed
David Zabriskie, who I am a huge fan of, crashed hard and is out of the race. Thankfully it is nothing serious, but it is sad to see a top contender go down.
While Al and Tim were out on the course, I got to ride with Greg LeMond. The reason being was I was testing the LeMond Triomphe Ultimate with Bontrager components, which included the Aeolus 5.5 wheels . The ride route was an out and back with a steep winding climb that I’m guessing went up for three miles with some pitches of 15%. I’m a little sick with a nagging cough and at one point I thought I was going to puke as we climbed toward the clouds. But between the need to throw up, I took the time to check out the amazing scenery.
The quick evaluation of the Triomphe Ultimate: very light bike that is super stable. We rode to the top of a really steep windy climb and then bombed down. The LeMond tracked well and was not nervous. The only thing I could feel was that it felt a little slower in the turns. However, I only rode it for an hour and a half. In the near future we’ll have a Triomphe Ultimate for a proper test.
I have never met LeMond, but I like how he carries himself. It must be cool to ride with him. I bet he can still dig deep and drop the hammer when he needs to.
I have oodles of respect for Lemond the racer…but Lemond the person needs to seriously put a filter on his yap. All the comments that he makes about doping and Armstrong only serve to maker him sound like he is disgruntled that he is not the king of american cycling. I am soooo tired of hearing him say “I could have won more Tours but in 98/99 there was a “change” in the peleton..”
Instead focus on what you did well and build up the sport not tear into it…..
As for DZ I was pretty bummed…the dude could have rode for the lead if that is CSC’s plan. My thought is that Leipheimer is going to be riding the Disco train for overall. The upset may come in that last TT…..Can Donald do a duex? Or was that ride a fluke with good tailwind????? Such cycling drama!
It sucks that DaveZ got hurt. But I guess he passed out for a minute and once they got him up, they tried to get him on his bike and riding, and it didn’t work. I think that’s when he went to the Hospital, and under some observation for 24-48 hrs. But at least he didn’t do anything that keeps him off his bike for more than just this week…He didn’t break anything!