I shot this pic of Phil Ligget and Paul Sherwin at the Bulldog Cafe in Solvang the morning of the Amgen Tour of California Stage 5 Time Trial. Paul was really full of P&V that morning. The little coffeshop was just packed with people - the line was out the door with people waiting for their morning jolt. They were incredibly busy.

But Paul wanted to go behind the counter and have me take his picture there. The staff behind the counter was just going nuts with all the orders, so it could have complicated things quite a bit. Phil said, “Wait just a minute - what’s that you want to do, Paul?” Paul told him that he wanted to go behind the counter for a picture. “Nonsense,” said Phil with a laugh, and that squelched the idea right there. Paul has the greatest sense of humor and can be really funny. We bantered back and forth about being “wicked”, and I’ll leave the story at that... Phil and I commiserated about not making a damn dime off from the Tour de France for Dummies book. He told me it’s always like that.

So George is recovering from his wrist surgery - I’m still amazed at his hundred mile ride on a broken wrist. He wins my Hero of the Amgen Tour of California Award.

I’m starting the usual meetings with the planning for two races: the 17th Annual Sea Otter Classic, and the 33rd Annual SugarCRM Cat’s Hill Classic. The Sea Otter this year is from April 12-15, 2007, and the Cat’s Hill Crit is moving a week back to May 5, 2007. The Cat’s Hill, the Grand Dame of California crits, has traditionally been held on the Saturday before Mother’s Day, but this year we are switching back to one week earlier, Saturday, May 5th. It takes a humongous amount of work by a lot of dedicated people to get these two events up and running. So here we go....

I like this image that I took of Levi Leipheimer and JJ Haedo on the Podium after Stage 4 of the Amgen Tour of California. It clearly shows that in cycling, guys can be rivals, but they don’t have to be enemies. Unlike some other sports, there is a true camaraderie among cyclists. They may be competitors, but they all know that they depend on each other during the race for safety and for support, no matter what team they are on.

Levi was the Golden Boy of the ToC, but Discovery had to work their fannies off for him. It must have been really a bonding thing to have Ivan Basso riding his rear off for Levi. Jason McCartney was just fantastic, showing what he can do in the future. And Tony Cruz must feel like crap about touching Ivan’s wheel and bringing George Hincapie down with him.

Can you believe that George finished all those miles left in that stage with a broken wrist? Holy Crap - he must have been in such pain with all the bouncing around the bike does on the uneven pavement. Will he be out for Paris-Roubaix? How could he be able stand the constant bouncing around on the pavé (cobbles) with his wrist still in the healing mode? If he rides, that is.... What absolute bummer, crappy luck for him... Hang Tough, George....

OMG - What a nail-biter finish for today's Stage 6 of the Amgen Tour of California. A hold-your-breath chase led by Discovery Pro Cycling Team, who gathered up Health Net and T-Mobile to assist them. Only one lap of the circuit left and the DC guys closed the gap. Everybody was thinkin' Hushovd or Bettini, and out of nowhere came JJ Haedo to take the sprint. JJ wasn't wearing his green jersey, so was able to sneak up the side. Was that on purpose - a clever CSC strategy? Whatever - it worked... JJ really motored.

I watched and listened on the Tour Tracker - Robbie Ventura and his side-kick Joe did a great job commentating. Love the Google map tracking....

So Levi Leipheimer stays in Yellow, but he must have been pretty worried there at the end. Those guys were haulin A - they were just thundering around the circuit and O'Grady gave his all with the good fight. That guy has guts and legs to go with it...

What a race...

The Levi Leipheimer Look at the Start House in the Stage 5 Time Trial of the Amgen Tour of California. Levi looked like he would have ridden or run barefoot over hot coals to get the win. I have several shots of him there, and every one of them shows this same do-or-die- trying look. This guy is totally awesome. It was interesting that he said the same thing that Lance used to say - that what motivated him was the thought of facing the rest of the team at dinner that night if he failed. He just couldn’t let his team down after how hard they are working for him. Every one of those guys on the team are riding their hearts out for Levi..

Jason McCartney was absolutely outstanding with his hard work during the stage from Sacramento to San Jose, and then he turns in another outstanding performance to come in third in the TT... I have watched him mature into the consummate rider since his first training camp in Solvang, where he came up to me and shyly asked, almost in a whisper, if he could borrow my car to go to the grocery store. I really like this guy - he is gonna go far....

So I reluctantly left the Tour of California and headed back to San Jose yesterday after the race ended. Had an obligation here and you do what you gotta do, right? I’ll be watching on the Tour Tracker today, for sure.

I’ll also put up a few shots in the gallery. I switched to the Mozilla browser, and unfortunately, the upload for images on Smugmug is much slower than the one for IE, and the pics don’t upload in the order that I select, so I have to go back in and rearrange all the gallery pics... It is a slow, time-consuming process to go through a thousand images and select the right ones, crop and color correct, and then sit and wait for the slow upload. Obviously, my Dinosaur DSL Earthlink connection plays a big part in all this...

And I want to say thanks to all the people who came up and said hi to me. I'm always surprised at how many folks read this blog and view the smugmug gallery, and who recognize me. Thanks to the gal in Buono Tavola in San Luis Obispo for saying hello. Cycling fans are just the greatest people one could ever meet...

Attended the Floyd Landis Town Meeting in San Jose last night - it was well attended and the presentation by Michael Henson was compelling. There is no way that a thoughtful, fair-minded, intelligent person could look at the mish-mash of crap that the Chatenay Malabry Cesspool calls lab reports and still say that it was a scientific, accurate report of his results. Over-writes, redactions, unreadable numbers and bar codes, plus numbers so far out of the Bell Curve that they should be thrown out. Violations of WADA’s own flimsy procedures are rampant in the copies of the actual reports that were shown in the excellent, but brief, Power-Point presentation.

So it should be clear in the May hearing what is the right and fair thing to do. The right thing for accurate and trustworthy lab science and for all the powerless riders. Yes, powerless, because the UCI, which purports to be a union for the riders, is one of the accusers. Yes, the fair and right thing is clear.

BUT... the panel is from a group of people who have been pre-selected (and paid) by the CAS or UCI, or whoever runs the show. Yes, Floyd’s team gets to select one (I think it is one), but it’s from that same panel. They are not uninvolved panel members. They are in the same Mafia as the accusers - they are sworn to confidentiality and are prohibited against speaking out on behalf of the riders, even if they think the process or the decision is wrong and unfair. This is so grossly unfair and unjust - it is a farce, just like the Dick Pound show.

We all need to speak out right now and lend our support, not just for Floyd, but for the next innocent rider who is flicked with inept, erroneous results that can ruin his career. Go to www.floydlandis.com to see how and where your letters can help. And please take the time to snail mail - it has more impact on the governmental bureaucracy than emails do.

Oh yes, Amgen Tour of California Stage 3 that ended in San Jose with a thundering field sprint: I am putting up a handful of images of the final few meters.... the look on Levi Leipheimer’s face says it all... The guy never gives up. www.velogal.smugmug.com

The Stage 2 of the Amgen Tour of California 2007 in Sacramento saw Floyd Landis at the finish. Yeah, I know JJ Haedo turned on his big engine and powered ahead of the field sprint. You can read about it in a hundred places, but I was excited to see Floyd Landis making his presence known in Sacramento. He was looking sharp in a pin-stripe suit, and was signing autographs like crazy - the fans were lovin’ him!

I caught a few shots of Floyd when I first arrived, way before the race did. I was walking down the course from where I parked, and saw a couple of sharp-dressed men, who looked like corporate guys on their way to a meeting at the Capitol. Wow - it was Floyd and did he look good... Floyd is gonna have a Town Hall meeting tonight (Wednesday, the 21st) at the Tied House at 65 North San Pedro Street, from 6 to 9. A $35 donation will get you in the door and help with Floyd Fairness Fund. And you can see more shots of Floyd by clinking on the Link to my Smugmug gallery.

I hear that Arnie Baker has some new documents that show that the “typo” in the Chatenay-Malabry Cesspool of errors paperwork is not a typo at all, but clearly some other rider’s result. Not only does this mean that screw-ups in testing have occurred (big surprise), but that some other Tour rider must be sweating bigtime right now. Some other rider did a dumb testosterone trick and is silently sitting by, letting Floyd take the rap and ruination? Is that what this means? If so, this other guy needs to get nailed.... Let’s see if the LNDD and UCI and WADA and USADA do anything at all with this info.. Or they also silently sitting by, ignoring the errors and injustice, and letting Floyd get nailed.. Any bets?

I skipped the start in Stockton this morning, and drove home last night to get some stuff done, like this blog. I put up a big Stage 2 gallery in my www.velogal.smugmug.com gallery. Saul Raisin was also at the finish line and rode across it, just like he’s gonna do for real in a couple of years. Go Saul!

Oh No - Not again! Z hits the ditch and is out. Our Hard Luck Kid, Dave Zabriskie, crashed out about thirty miles from the finish. Went to the hospital with a concussion, but is Ok - sort of. Wishing you well, Z. Keep on keepin' on, dude.

Thr wifi here at the motel is si slow and intermittent that I couldn't put up any pics of Stage 1 last night. Not that I have a lot of action shots. I walked away from the finish line to a corner to shoot the first lap, and then the crowds were so thick that I couldn't get back through to get on the course at the finish line. So I missed the crash shots and the finish line shots, and finally crawled under the barricade and into the TV filming area. I crawled under the TV platform and watched the action, but it was looking into the direct sunlight and not good for shooting, for me, anyway. so I just chilled and watched the drama. Then I hustled down to get some podium shots.

So here it is in the wee hours of the morning, and the wifi is momentarily working. At least enough to post and to give you a shot of some Sausalito Spice (or S&M) at the Start of Stage 1.

Levi Leipheimer took the prologue TT win by just a hair, but that's enough to let him ride victorious into his home town of Santa Rosa tomorrow. If you take a look at the images of Levi in my Smugmug gallery, you'll see a determination on his face that was unstoppable. Great day for Levi and great day for the Discovery Team.

It was just great in San Francisco and the crowd was huge... I ran into so many of my cycling friends that it was just like class reunion time. Anthony of cycling.tv tapped me on the shoulder and gave me a hug as I was talking with Odessa Gunn, who also hugged me. She, of course, was ecstatic over Levi's win. Lots of folks came up and thanked me for this blog and my smugmug gallery - that was really nice to hear, and I thank you all for reading.

I got caught in the most horrible traffic jam after the race ended - I was trying to figure out what I did last year to have missed the traffic. I guess I stayed pretty late hob-nobbing around, and missed the jam-up...

I took tons of photos, but I'm too fried to put up more than a few... More prologue images next week...

So I am standing on the side of Sierra Road this morning, waiting for the riders to appear. It's a bit before 10:30 am, very quiet and peaceful. The Webcor San Jose King of the Mountain Corporate Challenge started at 10. Breaking the quiet, I hear the sound of a car engine and I'm wondering if it might be the lead cars in the caravan. I look down and around the corner and what do I see but a yellow taxicab. OMG, of all the things I might expect to see on this road, a taxi is not one of them... Go Figure - I don't know, either.... A race official had to take a taxi to get there? A CEO decided to not bother with all the suffering to get to the top and just took a taxi? Beats me...

Anyway, it seemed to be a great turnout and the first riders, David Rodrigues from the Navigators team, and Andy Ball, head of Webcor came up that nasty Sierra Grade like it was flat. Tons of sharp-looking Specialized kits were on the road - the red is really snazzy. And of course, the Specialized Angel was at the top.

So I took a ton of shots, and you can see them at Velogal's Smugmug Gallery

For Discovery Pro Cycling Team fans, here’s a Media Advisory from PJ Rabice:

Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team Presents 2007 Team
Video presentation of Basso, Leipheimer, Hincapie and Team -- Download Clips via Satellite

WHAT: Watch a specially produced video on www.ThePaceline.com and download VNR video clips via satellite presenting the 2007 Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team, including Ivan Basso, Levi Leipheimer, George Hincapie and Tom Danielson with comments from Lance Armstrong and Johan Bruyneel.

Additional team information, including rider bios, photos and sponsor information can also be found on www.ThePaceline.com in the “MEDIA CENTER”.

WHO: The entire 2007 Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team, Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, and the Team’s Sports Managers.

WHEN: Video Presentation available Wednesday, February 14th at 8am EST (www.ThePaceline.com)

SATELLITE DOWNLOAD WINDOWS
#1 - Wednesday 2/14 at: 1600-1615 EST (3:00-3:15P CT)

#2 - Thursday, 2/15 at: 1300-1315 EST (12:00-12:15P CT)


WHERE: Produced video presentation can be viewed at: www.ThePaceline.com

Download the Video News Release followed by Raw Clips at:

KU Band Analog 36 MHz
SAT: AMC 2
XPDR: 1
DOWNLINK FREQ: 11720
POLARITY: Vertical
TROUBLE #: 512.415.6862

OK, Heads-Up! If you haven’t already signed up for the Webcor Inaugural San Jose King of the Mountain competitive climb up the infamous Sierra Grade, then there’s still time. Whether you are a CEO or not, there’s a spot for you at this event. Sign up and get the adrenalin and that lactic burn going...

Here's the info from my buddy and cycling event colleague, Frank Scioscia:

CEO CHALLENGE and CHARITY RACE/RIDE EVENT - AMGEN TOUR OF CALIFORNIA

This Sierra Grade Cycling Challenge is on Saturday, February 17, on a 25 mile portion of the Tour of California Stage Two course, including the Sierra Grade, a 3.6 mile climb at an average ascent of 10 percent. The Saturday Charity Ride is limited to a total of 300 cyclists and the CEO/Celebrity Charity Division will be limited to 30 people.

The CEO/Senior Executive Winner of the Sierra climb will be recognized ON THE PODIUM at the 2007 San Jose Stage of the Amgen Tour of California, in front of the San Jose City Hall on Wednesday, February 21st, as will the fastest men and women finishers. Sweeet...A Limited Edition Official Amgen Tour of California Felt T75 bicycle is waiting as a prize.

If you are a CEO/Senior Executive, you can contact Frank Scioscia at 650.814.8326

Inaugural Webcor San Jose King-of-the-Mountain Ride
Ride Begins at 10 a.m.
Sat., Feb. 17
San Jose City Hall
for more info, go here:
Webcor King of the Mountain

OLYMPIC YEAR SPONSORSHIPS

Here’s a chance to work with Webcor around sponsorships and promotions of their Elite Women's Team. At Sunday's Amgen Tour of California Prologue in SF, Webcor is hosting a VIP event near the Start Line at the Ferry Building.

Opportunities are in any, or all, of these three areas:

1. VIP Booth at the Stage Two Finish on Wednesday, February 21, in front of San Jose City Hall
2. VIP Luncheon on Wednesday, February 21, also at San Jose City Hall
3. Limited space in the CEO Cycling Challenge on Saturday, February 17, on a 25 mile portion of the Stage Two course, including the Sierra Grade, a 3.6 mile climb at an average ascent of 10 percent.

The Saturday Charity Ride is limited to a total of 300 cyclists for the small entry fee of $100 apiece, and the CEO/Celebrity Charity Division - with the King of the Mountain recognition - will be limited to 30 people.

The pre-ride event includes the following elements:

Participants will gather at San Jose City Hall on Saturday, February 17, for a pre-ride breakfast. The ride will start at 10 a.m., with Police motorcycles leading a rolling closure north and east along the Stage Three Finish route from City Hall to the base of the Sierra Road climb. At that point, cyclists will cross a timing pad to activate timing chips. Not only will cyclists have the opportunity to personally preview Stage Three, they will be able to compare their time up the grueling Sierra Road climb against the Tour's professional racers. Sierra Road is a 3.7 mile, 1830 foot climb. The cyclist with the fastest climb time will be presented with a Limited Edition Official Amgen Tour of California Felt T75 bicycle on the Podium at Wednesday's stage finish line at San Jose City Hall.

After summiting, riders will complete the Sierra/Calaveras/Piedmont loop and
ride west along the Stage Three Finish route to City Hall. The total ride
is approximately 25-26 miles. The Amgen Tour of CaliforniaSan Jose stage is at Stage 3

It is proposed that CEO participants will participate in a press conference
at the summit of the climb to express their support Silicon Valley
Leadership Group's initiatives to impact Global Warming. Following the
press conference, the CEO group will be given a police motorcycle escort
rolling enclosure back to San Jose City Hall for a luncheon.

The pre-ride will be limited to 300 pre-registrants. The registration fee for the pre-ride will be $100.

The elements of the Stage 2 finish for the CEO groups would include:

-VIP parking under City Hall.
-Luncheon at San Jose City Hall in the City Manager's 17th floor conference
room overlooking the finish area and festival village.
-Entrance to the Amgen Tour of California hospitality tent and special finish line
viewing area on the City Hall plaza.

If you are a CEO/Senior Executive, you can contact Frank Scioscia at 650.814.8326

2nd Annual Amgen Tour of California Rolls into San Jose Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2007 Amgen 2007 Tour of California

Yikes! After 2007, these bottles will say something else. USA Today just ran an article saying that Discovery Channel will not be a team sponsor after the 2007 season. The article said that a change in the Discovery Channel management is the reason. We all know what some of the media will try to make of it, don't we? You know, the ones like Le Creep.

I'm glad that I got some of the team's used water bottles as I followed them last year and this year. I think this year's bottles are really cool looking, just like the Discovery kits. Oh, Dammit Anyway, I just got used to being Discovery....

I was getting shots of the team rounding the corner from Hwy 246 heading up Drum Canyon. when Lance Armstrong spotted me. "SAAAMMMEEE", he yelled at the top of his lungs as they flew by... The guys had a long ride yesterday, going out west of Buellton, up Drum Canyon and Cat Casyon and on up to the top of Figuroa.

This morning, everyone heads down to Ojai, and risks their lives riding on the busy major highways. I am heading back to San Jose, and I'll be kinda holding my breath till I hear that everyone made it OK. There is just so damn much road rage against cyclists, and, while there are many patient, courteous drivers, all it takes is one nutcase to kill somebody.

I remember a few years ago when we were training in Arizone, some redneck guy in a huge truck went ballistic on a narrow mountain road, and passed the team and cars on the right side, on a curve. He was driving fast in the mud and sliding all over the place - it wasn't flat and was the most stupid, scary thing I'd seen. If one of the guys had moved a foot to the side, they would have been killed.

So I may check out the CSC team training this weekend and try to get some images up.

Thanks for reading my training camp reports again this year!