Tour of Utah-Stage 1

Wowie! I (along with AuntieK and Lifesgreat and I think sulis) volunteered at Stage 1 of the Tour of Utah today. This is a big deal for Utah racing. We had quite a wild weather day. These guys were amazing.

It was nice when the stage started but quickly turned stormy. I was a course marshal and at my first course point the wind was blowing so hard I could barely stand up. The dust caused zero visibility at times. So imagine brutal cross winds, dust, and heavy rain.

The good news is the weather passed (as mountain weather does) and the riders were able to finish with a circuit in downtown Provo with a pretty impressive crowd. Sergey Lagutin took the stage and the young rider's jersey and the KOM (I believe). I wasn't able to attend the whole ceremony as I was "working" and got back to the start after the ceremony had already started. That boy has some quads, let me tell you!

I didn't get many pictures as I was busy wrangling loose dogs, stopping traffic, and cheering the riders on. I wish I could volunteer the rest of the week instead of work. It was quite a fun time. I wanted to get a picture of myself with some hunky, sweaty pro cyclist but it didn't happen. :p Maybe on Friday or Saturday.

Here are the team cars at the start:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ourUtah001.jpg

And the peloton at my second station (after the rain and wind passed):

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...St1peloton.jpg

And here's darling young Sergey on the podium:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ourUtah027.jpg

Fun!!! :D :D

No more pics until Friday? :(

Awesome photos!

Love the Pics. Ooohh I see the Navigators in the picture. Love their bikes oh yep the riders are not bad looking either.:D

I saw Yellow, AuntieK and Sulis. Sulis' and my job was in the VIP tent. We checked credentials, gave out schwag, and schmoozed with guests. I looked out the window before I left and could see dark clouds about 40-50 miles to the SW of the race start. I packed a jacket and umbrella. About 20 minutes after the race started, a great wind arose (clocked at 60 mph- btw, last week a storm came through the area with 100 mph winds) and while Yellow was out on course, the wind blew over the metal finish line structure (pic to be posted), crowd barriers and parts of booths. We were in a large temporary tent and were holding on to the poles while the tent rental company did a fabulous job further securing the tent. The Tour of Utah is largely run by one family, the Prestons. Later, I talked to a Preston family member and was told while the storm was going on and there was nothing to be done, they had a "family huddle and said a prayer". That's all one could do during the storm. After about 30 stressful minutes, with branches flying through the air and feeling like the tent was sucking in and then out, Mother Nature relented and it calmed down. Thankfully, Tstorms in this part of Utah come and go very quickly. Loads of helpers put things in order quickly. By the time the race ended, the weather was nice and all was together again.

Those elf-boys ride faster than I can ever imagine riding. I have some pictures, but need to figure out how to load them onto this site. I am volunteering Wed., Fri and Sat and will get pictures then.

It was funny to hear one of the racers interviewed after the race. He said he weighs nearly 200 lbs so the weather didn't affect him as much as it could have if he were lighter. I talked to others on the course and they said the duststorm was so bad they couldn't see the riders. I heard metal was flying through the air and one announcer said he was waiting to see Dorothy. There are chances of tstorms each day, but not great chances. Let's hope things are more calm.

I had a really nice time and stayed very busy. There is nothing worse than volunteering one's time and not be used.

I will try and post news when I can.

As Yellow and Lifesgreat already outlined, todays stage 1 did not disappoint. I had so much fun. One thing Lifesgreat didn't mention was that as part of the VIP tent we were front and center at the race end. The pelaton did three circuits through the city for the final part of the stage. So we got to see them wizzing by several times before that tiny Uzbeki took the stage win in a dramatic, very fast sprint out. I'll be honest, I didn't know where Uzbekistan was but yeah for him!!! He actually took the Young Riders, sprints and leaders. I am afraid I can't remember who took the KOM. I should run on over to cyclingnews.com to see if they have posted anything yet.

I am volunteering today so I'll try to remember my camera and take some pictures. I'll be at the end of the stage though so no fun mass start picks. I'll try to get some of the cutie patootie riders. I was shocked by how little and extermely young they all are...maybe I"m just too tall and getting too old. :D

I am new at this Photobucket stuff, so hopefully, this will work. If the 10 or so pictures don't come up, click on the "Tour of Utah" link near the top of the page to open the wee album. I didn't take more pics b/c I forgot to clear my camera's memory cards.

http://s106.photobucket.com/albums/m...r%20of%20Utah/

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lifesgreat

I am new at this Photobucket stuff, so hopefully, this will work. If the 10 or so pictures don't come up, click on the "Tour of Utah" link near the top of the page to open the wee album. I didn't take more pics b/c I forgot to clear my camera's memory cards.

http://s106.photobucket.com/albums/m...r%20of%20Utah/

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Nice photos - thanks for sharing :)

Darn, is it just me, or would you like to have a nice stack of bikes atop your bike rack to choose from :D

I also had a great time volunteering at stage one. I was in the volunteer check-in tent, handing out t-shirts and lunches, and making sure everyone was signed in and accounted for. Luckily my shift ended shortly before the big storm hit, so I missed out on all that fun. :rolleyes:
I'll be back to volunteer again on Wednesday and Thursday. :D

looks like it was fun, after the weather passed.

thanks for all the pictures. wish i was there with that sunshine!

These are from the race website:

http://www.tourofutah.com/stage1_photos/index.html