Landis Lurks at #ATOC

It's possible that the 2010 Amgen Tour of California will be remembered more for what happened off the race course than on.

Today at the Stage 6 individual time trial, held on the wide, flat boulevards of downtown Los Angeles, Floyd Landis who two days ago disrupted the race with reports of his own admission to doping throughout his cycling career and allegations against other top riders, made his presence known without so much as touching the race course.

Landis sat huddled in the hospitality tent belonging to his team sponsor, Ouch, protected by burly armed bodyguards. Immediately after the race media and photographers swarmed the tent perimeter assuming that if Landis was there to talk more about his allegations he would be granting interviews.

No such luck as the canary apparently decided he had sung enough, and after a time escape to a waiting vehicle.

Don't let the door hit 'cha on the way out.

Back To Business

There was one person riding in the Amgen Tour of California who was not distracted by yesterday's turmoil. Peter Sagan, 20-year old  rider from Slovenia, riding for Team Liquigas, was victorious for the second day in a row, winning the punishing 135.5 mile stage from Palmdale up to Big Bear Lake.

After 6 hours, 7 minutes and 8 seconds in-and-out of the saddle, Sagan beat out Rory Sutherland (United Healthcare) and Michel Rogers (HTC-Columbia) for the win.

Sagan also continues to hold the Best Young Rider title and he demonstrates a maturity and ability well beyond his years. Racking up his fifth career win in his first full year riding for an International Pro team, Sagan is nicknamed the Terminator by his teammates for his propensity to destroy bicycles.

Our prediction is that  he will maintain the title for what's appearing to be his ability to destroy the field.

Michael Rogers continues to hold the GC lead with a four second advantage over David Zabriskie, Sagan holds third place at 9 second back, and defending ATOC champion Levi Leipheimer of Team Radioshack is 14 seconds out. With only 35 seconds separating the top 9 riders, tomorrow's individual Time Trial through downtown Los Angles promises to be one for the books.

Paul Mach, cyclist from University of California at  Davis, riding for Team Bissell, is in 31st place 35 minutes,54 seconds off the lead, and is holding 7th place in the overall Climber standings. For inside perspective on the race, read Paul's blog here.

Drama!

Well, so much for what most people thought would be a calm Stage 5 of the Amgen Tour of California.

The day turned into a drama of Shakespearean proportions, both on and off the race course.  Floyd Landis and Lance Armstrong became the Cain and Abel of bike racing, as the day started off with the surfacing of accusatory emails written a few weeks back by Landis where he confesses to having doped his way through his own cycling career, and accused Armstrong and many others of doing the same.

It seems the emails had not surfaced due to the overall lack of credibility in Landis' claims, but Landis continued to push and finally got what he wanted, becoming the spoiler and headline-grabber for the day.

Armstrong immediately responded by hosting an impromptu press conference before the start of the Stage and his comments, along with those of Radio Shack team director, Johan Bruyneel, also implicated in the doping scheme by Landis, are here.

Although Armstrong claimed that he was not bothered by Landis' claims it soon became obvious that he did  not possess his usual form and finesse in the saddle as he got caught in a crash at mile 13, just after the Stage start. He got back on the bike and continued to ride for about 20 minutes but, as a huge gash near the bottom of his left eye continued to bleed, Bruyneel pulled him off the course to head to hospital for xrays.

Back on the course the rest of the Peloton continued on the 121.5 mile course to Bakersfield, rolling through golden fields that slowly gave way to the Sierra foothills.

But, the drama for the day was not over.

 As the riders neared Bakersfield, a breakaway, led by HTC-Columbia rider Mark Renshaw was caught. At the front of the pack was a group of riders including overall race leader David Zabriskie, of Garmin-Transitions and Michael Rogers, also of HTC-Columbia and holder of second place. Earlier in the day, at mile 16, Rogers had pocketed two bonus  points and drama at the finish lined ensued as Peter Sagan, rider for Team Liquigas and holder of the White jersey for Best Young Rider, surged for the Stage win and Zabriskie and Rogers ended in a virtual tie. Those two seconds picked up earlier by Rogers became critical and at the end of the day, the Golder leaders jersey changed shoulders as the Aussie became the overall GC leader.

 After 570.5 miles of riding, across two-thirds of the state of California, the race leadership was decided by two seconds.  Levi Leipheimer, after losing Armstrong, one of his top domestiques, remained in third place 10 secs back.

Molto Veloce!

That's how they say 'very fast' in Italian, and that's what Francesco Chicchi of Team Liquigas was today when he was first to cross the finish line in a confused bunch sprint to conclude Stage 4 of the Amgen Tour  of California  in Modesto, CA.

After a 121.5 mile cross-state ride, through intermittent rain showers and some fierce winds, Chicchi surged at the finish line to beat out two rival world-class sprinters Juan Jose (JJ) Haedo of Saxo Bank, and Mark Cavendish of HTC Columbia, who wore the Green Sprinters jersey for the stage. For Haedo it was a double dose of frustration as he was second for the second time, having finished just behind Cavendish at Sunday's Stage 1 finish.

The overall GC standings were unchanged for the day, with David Zabriskie of Team Garmin-Transitions remaining in the Golden leaders jersey. Lance Armstrong, currently in 14th place, took a tumble on the slick roadway during the last circuit through downtown Modesto. He quickly climbed back on the bike to finish the stage without losing any time off the leaders, due to the 3k rule which grant riders a free pass on crashes within 3km's of the finish line.

Tomorrow's stage, also 121.5 miles, through the heart of California's mid-region farm belt, stretches from Visalia to Bakersfield. Our hunch is most of the riders will be hoping to cruise through the stage in preparation for  what could be an epic Stage 6 on Friday, from Palmdale up the treacherous climb to Big Bear, a first for the ATOC.

Double Trouble

This photo might seem a bit cheeky but we couldn't resist.

If things keep going their way, Team Garmin-Transitions might want to employ some of their sponsors' GPS devices to assist them  in tracking which locations on the planet they are winning stages at on any particular day.

 With both the Giro d'Italia and Amgen Tour of California being run simultaneously the Argyle Army was given (along with many other pro teams) no choice to attempt but to divide and conquer.

Which was exactly what Garmin was able to do today with dual victories turned in by sprinter Tyler Farrar at Stage 10 of the  Giro and David Zabriskie in Zabriskie's  adopted home state of California.

After the completion of todays' Stage 3 of the ATOG,  the general classification is now made up of Zabriskie in the Golden leaders jersey, Michael Rogers of HTC Columbia, 4 seconds out, and Levi Leipheimer of Team Radio Shack a mere two seconds behind Rogers.  It  now appears as though the Amgen leader board is beginning to be compiled with the usual suspects.

With regards to Leipheimer, if winning three consecutive tours didn't at one time seem like an improbable feat, now the pressure of winning number four, combined with rumblings that his previous years competitors' were not close to peaking, is surely rattling the gears. However, the look in Leipheimers eyes and his presence on the road, leads us to believe that he's primed for the challenge.

And, one thing is for certain, this ATOC is shaping up for some dramatic stages to come.

Tomorrow's ride starts in San Jose and travels across the flat San Joaquin valley to end in Modesto, CA. Sounds like  sprinters delight.

Other updates: Lance Armstrong is currently in 12th place in the GC standings, 27 seconds behind the leader.  Paul Mach, the University of Davis applied mathematics PhD student, who had an outstanding ride in Stage 1 is currently in 26th position, 1 min. 41 sec behind the leader. And, Peter Sagan, of Team Liquigas-Doimo, remains Top Young Rider, holding 4th place in the GC, 21 sec off the pace.

Meet Chef Duffy

Last evening we had the distinct pleasure of meeting Geert Duffeleer, aka Chef Duffy, chef and operations manager for Team Radio Shack.

Chef Duffy has been preparing post- and pre- race meals for Lance Armstrong and his teammates since the late 90's. He helped fuel Lance to victory in his first Tour de France win in 1999, and all his successive campaigns as well. Since, then he's cooked around the globe, and we caught up with him here in Santa Rosa after Stage 2 of the ATOC.

In his off-season, Chef Duffy is from the Gent Area of Belgium.

For a closer look at how Chef Duffy prepares an evening meal for a ravenous pro cycling team, check out this video made last year at the Tour.

The next time you're thinking your job feels a little challenging, stop and sympathize with Chef Duffy. A man who's been on a mission to fatten up the world's most elite cyclists and has failed miserably. Just kidding, Chef Duffy!


 Bon Appetit!

If you're interested in viewing another vital cog in the Armstrong machine, check out our earlier post on Alan Buttler, bike mechanic to the stars.

No Escaping Showers in the Golden State

When the organizers of the Amgen Tour of California made the decision to move this years event from the cold, windy month of February to the springtime month of May, in their wildest dreams they probably never imagined  what they would see on the road today. And, by doing so, the cycling gods, whom for the last four editions had been enjoying gifting the Peloton their wet package of mother nature, could possibly ignore denying themselves another go-around to add to their continued amusement and the Peloton's continued misery in what became another survival quest Stage in the Amgen's tour history.

The top three survivors of today's romp in the rain are representatives of top teams vying for victories in this years Peloton. Taking line honors was Brett Lancaster of Cervelo Test Team, second, also capturing the Rabobank Best Young Rider Jersey was Peter Sagan of Liquigas-Doimo and rounding out the podium at third was Lars Boom of Rabobank.

And, then there is Thomas Rabou, from Schijndel in Southern Netherlands, riding for Team Type 1. In an inspired  ride, Rabou not only captured the King of the Mountain Jersey along with the Most Courageous Rider Jersey, but also captured  the essence of what the Amgen tour is all about. At the Stage press conference, Rabou explained, only when asked, that his mother is on the winning side of her own battle with cancer and that this victory will encourage her to continue the fight. "I think she will be very proud of me today. I want to dedicate this jersey to her," said Rabou.

Tomorrow the riders will embark from the queen city of San Francisco, California, and finish in Surf City, USA, otherwise known as Santa Cruz, California.

Cowabunga!!