Tour of California

[li10up]

I don't remember which one, either Phil or Paul, made a comment about Levi having cotton in his nose. They said it was to help him breath better. Levi was warming up for the TT at the time. I thougt it odd...how could cotton in your nostril help you breath. Then I thought maybe they put something on it to help him breath later on...like some sort of decongestant or something. Anybody have any insight on this? Or did they misspeak and it's just there to catch the ...well you know what.

[Trekhawk]

CC - My photos are of Ivan Basso, Paolo Bettini (world champion) and Fabian Cancellera (Time Trial World Champion).
It was extremely windy and the latter had kleenex up his nose because of either a cold or allergies. During his warm-up he was practically gushing, which made his fast time even more remarkable. I have some more pics of Hincapie, O'Grady, Danielson, etc, but right now there are just too many photos I have to go through.

Oooh I would love to see a pic of Stuey pleeeeaaaase.

[bikerchick68]

http://www.photoshow.com/view/SI4Ud9VZ

wow, what an amazing experience... having had this opportunity last year as well, I knew better what I could expect, what I could do and not do and felt more comfortable all around...

It was awesome seeing my friends Mark and Hector again. Mark is in charge of the Mavic crew and Hector is on Moto 1... Mavic provides neutral support to ALL the teams. It is very cool how fast they can change a wheel or a give a rider an entire bike! Yesterday they gave 2 people new bikes, assisted George Hincapie and Tony Cruz when they crashed and did numerous wheel changes... I have to say, the driving skills required are astounding and my friend Mark ROCKS at this! You have the riders averaging 30 mph, the entire caravan of cars around you and riders coming THRU the caravan (after pulling off for a "nature break" or a mechanical issue) all within a foot to inches, literally. Then you have slow climbs where everyone is bunched up, and FAST descents down windy roads with everyone bunched up still. We descended Grimes Canyon at 60mph with tight turns and riders flying by... whew! Not a job for the faint of heart, let me assure you... In between all that, Mark has to man the radios, instruct his crew where to be at any given time, AND watch what's happening on the course. I would have been overwhelmed. I can't say enough how amazing it is to see it all happen from there in the front seat by him. Another Mavic crewmember rides in the back seat and helps "spot" riders coming up, as well as passing wheels, tools and food out the window to the Moto WHILE we're doing 30-40mph! Incredible really.

The race started at 11AM... I got there at 8AM. I got to see the Mavic contingent arrive, get a ton of close ups of the pros and get numerous signatures!!! I got signatures of Levi Leipheimer, Jens Voigt, Thor Hushovd, Bobby Julich, Paolo Bettini, Chris Horner, Danny Pate, Brian Dziewa, and Tom Danielson... it was pretty cool.

I hope you enjoy the photo show...

[maillotpois]

Amazing!!!

[Adventure Girl]

I hope you enjoy the photo show...

Thanks so much! It was like being there!!! Your writeup and photo show were excellent, exceptional, exquisite, first-class, great, magnificent, outstanding, priceless, prime, superb, supreme, tiptop, top-notch, wonderful!!!

[jobob]

What AG said !

[snapdragen]

Fantastic!!!!

I'm a tad jealous.....

[bikerchick68]

thanks ladies! glad you enjoyed it... ya know, when I saw Hincapie and Tony Cruz crash I had NO IDEA he'd BROKEN his wrist I heard them on the radio say he was getting the wrist checked by the medic... and I was told Levi tried to hold up the peleton to wait for him, but they went. Hincapie was not happy about that apparently and worked hard to get to the front and then spent the rest of the day making them pay for not waiting. I have to say even Mark and Nate were saying it was a fast pace and they were really racing... apparently George has a wee bit to do with that!

[bcipam]

I caught the Show in Long Beach. Had a great time just walking around and seeing hte circus that was. The race was secondary since I had no clue what ws going on (watching it on TV is so much better). I stood around the team trailers before the race and watch the riders come out. It was like ants leaving thrie home going in every which direction. Some of the better photos I got:

Ivan Basso


Rasmussen and Rabobank

Were I sat from the finish - I can't remember ever being so cold!!!!

[bcipam]

A few more. Not the greatest but gives you an idea of what went on.



Bobby Julich signing autographs


Brian Vandborg - the riders were everywhere. At one point a rider came up to me stopped and used my shoulder to balance. He was very attractive but too close for a photo. As he rode away I realized it was Thor Horsvold!!!

[slinkedog]

BC68, thanks for the amazing write up and slide show! I can't wait to show my husband all your amazing photos!

Pam, that's way too exciting about Thor! Sigh. I like Thor.

[Bluetree]

I hope you enjoy the photo show...

That was awesome. You really get a new perspective on all the stuff that goes on to put on a bike race!
BTW, What kind of frames were those bikes on top? I noticed the components were SRAM Rival.

[bikerchick68]

bcipam... cool pics! The one of Bobby J is really good. He's HOT! How cool that Thor used you for support... he's a big guy compared to a lot of the other riders... impressive how fast he can go considering his comparative size...

Slinke thanks! I had fun putting the show together... good thing they only allow 100 pics or you'd all still be watching... LOL!

Bluetree... those are the new Cannondale frames. Cannondale custom paints them for Mavic and then they add their badges. The Cannondale logo is still there but painted the same color as the bike... it's a pretty cool setup. They have custom gearing that can be used quickly for any rider... campy or shimano makes no dif... and they have setups for climbing, sprinting etc. Fascinating to listen to the guys explain it to people asking. Wish I understood it all better. If you ever see the Mavic group out, stop and talk to them. They like answering questions for people... it's good for them and good for the fans of racing...

[Bluetree]

One more question, albeit a silly one...

How do you pronounce Mavic? I've heard people say Mah-vic, May-vic... etc.

Boy, did I get grief when I pronounced SRAM "S-RAM", which was the way everyone I knew pronounced it. It is simply... "Sram'

[slinkedog]

We always say, "mah-VEEK." Don't know if it's right or not.