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Amgen Tour of California: Are you ready for some racing?

Published: Feb. 17, 2006
Simoni is one of two Giro winners racing at Amgen
Simoni is one of two Giro winners racing at Amgen
Photo: Saunier Duval

A colorful, rolling postcard for the State of California begins Sundayin San Francisco, ending a week later, on February 26, in Redondo Beach.Along the route — which will also highlight Marin County, Big Sur, SanLuis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Thousand Oaks — a who’s-who list of topAmerican cyclists will begin their racing seasons fighting to win the inauguralAmgen Tour of California, an event that has quickly emerged as the topUCI stage race in North America.

Leipheimer and Landis are just two of many top U.S. riders to take on the Tour of California
Leipheimer and Landis are just two of many top U.S. riders to take on the Tour of California
Photo: AFP-File photo

Sixteen teams comprising 128 riders from more than 25 countries willtackle the 600-mile tour. Among the athletes scheduled to compete are twowinners of the Giro d'Italia - Gilberto Simoni (Prodir-Saunier Duval),2001 and 2003, and Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel), 2002 and 2005.Also taking the start will be three of the top-10 finishers in lastyear's Tour de France - Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner), sixth; Aussie CadelEvans (Davitamon-Lotto), eighth; and Floyd Landis (Phonak Hearing Systems),ninth. Two riders who wore the yellow jersey in the 2005 Tour will be inattendance — David Zabriskie (CSC), stages 1-3; and teammate Jens Voight,stage 9; as well as stage-15 winner George Hincapie (Discovery Channel)."The Amgen Tour of California is attracting a caliber of riders in itsfirst year that is evidence of the high esteem the race is being givenby the international cycling community," said Bob Colarossi, race managingdirector.

In addition to Savoldelli and Hincapie, Discovery brings Viatcheslav“Eki” Ekimov, Canadian Michael Barry, 2005 Tour de Georgia winner Tom Danielsonand domestique Jason McCartney.Other marquee names include Chris Horner and Freddie Rodriguez (Davitamon-Lotto),three-time world time trial champion Michael Rogers (T-Mobile), 1998 Tourde France podium finisher Bobby Julich (CSC), Canadian Charles Dionne (SaunierDuval-Prodir), Aussie sprinter Stuart O’Grady (CSC) and recent Tour deLangkawi stage winner Saul Raisin (Credit Agricole).“It’s a fantastic group of guys here,” said Horner, who finished thirdat the 2004 Tour de Georgia behind Voigt and winner Lance Armstrong. “Allthe best Americans are here. I’d say it’s one of the best fields we’veever had in America.”Horner said he didn’t expect to figure in the general classification,however. Travel to and from the Tour of Qatar, as well as mandatory UCIhealth tests and the Davitamon-Lotto team announcement, have caused himto miss eight days of training over the past three weeks — most spent coopedup in an airplane.“To do a race of this magnitude, it’s hard to come and not be on goodform and shooting for it, but sometimes you’ve got to do the team stuff,”Horner said. “And when there is a presentation in February and the teamwants you to race the Tour of Qatar, you’ve got to change your focus. It’skind of frustrating, but you’ve got to do what the team wants you to do.”Horner added that Evans had also missed important training days recently,and that Davitamon-Lotto would likely be hunting for stage wins for Rodriguez.Rodriguez recently pulled out of Qatar with inflammation of the Achilles'tendon, but Horner said Fast Freddie has put it behind him. As far as GCcandidates, Horner pointed to the race’s lack of major summit finishes,combined with a substantial 17-mile time trial, as one for time-trial specialists.“I’ve been hearing that Zabriskie is flying right now,” Horner said.“We’ll see if that is true soon enough. I know CSC has been having a trainingcamp in Solvang, so they are all motivated for this race. But if he ison form, I think you’ve gotta go with Zabriskie, or another guy who canreally ride a TT. Bobby Julich, Nathan O’Neill [Health Net-Maxxis], Zabriskie,Floyd Landis, Michael Rogers, Levi… all those guys would be favorites.And George Hincapie, he’s shown that he can do well in his own time trials.He’s in the mix. He should be coming into form, with the spring classicscoming up.”Top domestic team Health Net-Maxxis has spent the past two weeks runninga moving mini-camp, preparing for the race by pre-riding stage routes upand down the coast. Team rider Mike Jones said the 130-mile stage 4 fromMonterey to San Luis Obispo, which travels through Big Sur, will surprisea few people. “It’s very pretty, but it’s a hard stage,” Jones said. “It’srolling, without any major climbs, and it gets flat in Morro Bay, but itwas really windy when we rode it. By then the GC could be sorted out, sosome guys low on GC could get up the road, but I think other guys mightget dropped just because of the length and the conditions.”Riders to watch at the Amgen Tour of California include Health Net’sthree riders from the Southern Hemisphere: O’Neill, Greg Henderson andnew signing Hayden Roulston, who reportedly showed up to the team’s initialtraining camp as the last man standing atop the climbs. Roulston then returnedto New Zealand and won the overall at the Tour of Wellington.“That was kind of expected,” said Health Net team director Jeff Corbett.“Those Southern Hemisphere guys had a combination of good weather and localraces, so it’s inevitable they would be farther along.”Another Kiwi to watch for is two-time New Zealand national road andtime trial Champion Heath Blackgrove, who was the revelation of the Toyota-United Pro Cycling team camp. Toyota-United will make its race debut at the Tour of California with 2005 national time trial champion Chris Baldwin, former Discovery Channel rider Tony Cruz and sprinters Ivan Dominguez and Juan Jose Haedo. Due to illness, 2005 USPRO road champion Chris Wherry will not compete.Corbett pointed to Leipheimer as a likely GC candidate, citing the Gerolsteinerrider’s familiarity of hometown of Santa Rosa, where stage 1 finishes,but added that the race might just produce some bombshells.“I think we’re going to see some surprises because of its early dateon the calendar,” Corbett said. “I expect we’ll be seeing some performancesfrom riders you may not think of. It’s a big gamble to throw all of youreffort into being prepped for a race this early. If Levi or Floyd takesthis race seriously, it will be interesting to see how well they are goingin July. It could prove out either way. If they do poorly in July, theymay have to use California for training in the future. If they do wellat the Tour, then California is the new place to prep. Health Net is realistic.We have some good guys, but we are going to be competing against the bestguys in the world.”Riders from the Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home team who will be competinginclude former USPRO road champion Mark McCormack, ranked No.2 in the NRCmen’s individual standings in 2005; Belarus-native and two-time winnerof the International Cycling Classic Viktor Rapinski; Kyle Wamsley, thirdat the USPRO criterium championships last year; and Italian Davide Frattini,whose career highlights include a win at the under-26 Giro d’Italia.With the arrival of the Tour of California, and its nightly one-hourbroadcasts on ESPN2 at 10 p.m. Pacific time, American cycling industry giants are kicking into high gearto promote their respective products. Clif Bar, Specialized and Giant areall hosting exclusive industry parties to coincide with stage finishes.Health Net-Maxxis has invited ScottThornton of the NHL’s San Jose Sharks to mount a team Cannondaleand ride the stage-3 time trial in south San Jose shortly before the prosbegin rolling out. Navigators Insurance rider Phil Zajicek is also joiningthe fun, with audioupdates and photo blogging.Weather predictions for Sunday’s prologue in San Francisco call fora possibility of rain Saturday night, with partly cloudy skies expectedon Sunday. Highs in the upper 40s to mid 50s are expected in the Bay Areafor the following week.Here’s a look at the stages, and a few predictions on how the race mightbreak down. Google Earth users can download an extremely cool three-dimensional map of the course at theorganizer's website.Prologue: San Francisco (Time Trial)
Sunday, February 19
At 10 a.m., riders begin competition with a short, intense prologuethrough the streets of San Francisco. Starting by the Ferry Building atPier 1, the 1.9-mile course will run along the Embarcardero until makingthe sharp left onto Bay Street that will bring the riders up the tightand steep climb through Telegraph Hill to the finish at Coit Tower.
Notes: This short, intense effort should favor explosive riders withtime-trial skill, such as Hayden Roulston, Nathan O’Neill, CSC’s FabianCancellara, Jason McCartney, Viktor Rapinski or TIAA-CREF’s Danny Pate.Stage 1: Sausalito to Santa Rosa (Road Race)
Monday, February 20
With the 11 a.m. start on the Marin side of the San Francisco Bay,Stage 1 will cover roughly 84 miles from Sausalito to Santa Rosa. On itsway up Highway 1, the moderate course will run through the Marin Headlands,flanked on both sides by national parkland, before leaving the Point ReyesNational Seashore for the race's first sprint competition line in PointReyes. After crossing into Sonoma, spectators can watch the race for thestage win unfold as the field completes three laps of a technical finishingcircuit in downtown Santa Rosa.
Notes: Three finishing circuits at 3.1 miles each. All the favoriteswill look for Leipheimer to take the stage win in his hometown, but willhe be able to escape the bunch?Stage 2: Martinez to San Jose (Road Race)
Tuesday, February 21
The race will next turn south toward two decisive days in San Jose.After neutral parade laps in the start city of Martinez, the 95-mile stageis a hilly ride through the East Bay that will bring the race over itsfirst significant climb. Coming 22 miles before the finish line in downtownSan Jose, the Sierra Road climb east of the city center will be the firstCategory 1 ascent in the King of the Mountains competition.
Notes: With a major climb near the finish, this is a chance for theclimbers to make a move heading into the time trial. Health Net’s MikeJones described this course as “hillier than people will expect.” Lookfor Scott Moninger (Health Net), Heath Blackgrove and Justin England (Toyota-United),Cadel Evans (Davitamon-Lotto), Gilberto Simoni (Saunier Duval), Saul Raisin(Credit Agricole) and possibly Davide Frattini (Colavita Olive Oil).Stage 3: San Jose (Time Trial)
Wednesday, February 22
A 17-mile individual time trial on the outskirts of San Jose will testthe cyclists on an undulating course along the Chesbro and Calero Reservoirs.Start Time is 11 a.m.
Notes: Four significant climbs on the course will separate the contendersfrom the pretenders. From Horner to Leipheimer, this is the stage manyare claiming will determine the general classification. Whether that provestrue or not, watch for Zabriskie, Rogers, Landis, Leipheimer, Danielson,Hincapie, O’Neill and Julich to lay down their bids for stage (and overall)wins. Last year’s Tour de Georgia time trial podium finisher Chris Baldwin(Navigators Insurance) could surprise as well. Who knows, Horner mightjust prove his predictions wrong and finish on the podium here as well.Stage 4: Monterey to San Luis Obispo (Road Race)
Thursday, February 23
The "Queen Stage" of this year's race begins in Monterey and followsscenic Highway 1 where the mountains run into the Pacific Ocean. At 130miles, this is the longest stage of the 2006 race and will test the riderson consistently hilly and technical terrain. The six-hour day will seethe athletes go through the community of Big Sur and by Hearst Castle beforeshifting inland toward the finish in San Luis Obispo.
Notes: The general classification may be determined by this hilly stage,or it may be close enough that the run-in to S.L.O. turns into a dogfight.A series of climbs before the finish could bring fireworks.Stage 5: San Luis Obispo to Santa Barbara (Road Race)
Friday, February 24
Starting in Mission Plaza in San Luis Obispo, the moderate 105-mileStage 5 to Santa Barbara will follow the central coast until the sprintcity of Guadalupe, where the field will leave the flatlands and head eastto the Santa Ynez Mountains, via the Solvang area. The riders will thenface the four-mile Category 1 climb to San Marcos Pass before descendingto a beachfront finish in Santa Barbara.
Notes: With only a minor climb waiting in stage 6, the major climbnear the finish in Santa Barbara could be the last chance for GC contendersto make their statement. If the race hasn’t been decided after the timetrials, look to the final climb of stage 5 to prove pivotal.Stage 6: Santa Barbara to Thousand Oaks (Road Race)
Saturday, February 25
This 90-mile stage with a hilly profile from Santa Barbara to ThousandOaks features four KOM climbs in the 80 miles that precede three laps ofa three-mile circuit in Thousand Oaks that will cover the stage's finalten miles before finishing at title sponsor Amgen's corporate campus.Stage 7: Redondo Beach (Circuit Race)
Sunday, February 26
The race will culminate with a flat circuit race in Redondo Beach.The stage will be active as the riders compete on ten laps of a 7.65-milecircuit along the Redondo Beach Esplanade and through an intermediate sprintline in Riviera Village before returning to the start/finish line on HarborStreet. Thousands of spectators will be able to watch the race developas the cyclists vie for the honor of winning the final stage of the firstAmgen Tour of California.Roster for 2006 Amgen Tour of CaliforniaTEAM CSC (Den)
2 JULICH Bobby USA19711118
3 BAK Lars Ytting DEN19800116
4 CANCELLARA Fabian SUI19810318
5 KROON Karsten NED19760129
6 O'GRADY Stuart AUS19730806
7 VANDE VELDE Christian USA19760522
8 VOIGT Jens GER19710917
9 ZABRISKIE David USA19790112
Directeur sportif: RIIS BjarnePHONAK HEARING SYSTEMS (Swi)
11 LANDIS Floyd USA19751014
12 ELMIGER Martin SUI19780923
13 HUNTER Robert RSA19770422
14 JALABERT Nicolas FRA19730413
15 MARTIN PERDIGUERO Miguel Angel ESP19721014
16 MC CARTY Jonathan Patrick USA19820124
17 MOOS Alexandre SUI19721222
18 ZAMPIERI Steve SUI19770604
Directeur sportif: SAVARY ReneDAVITAMON-LOTTO (B)
21 EVANS Cadel AUS19770214
22 DOCKX Bart BEL19810902
23 HORNER Christopher USA19711023
24 JUFRE POU Josep ESP19750805
25 KAISEN Olivier BEL19830430
26 MERTENS Pieter BEL19800828
27 RODRIGUEZ Fred USA19730903
28 VAN HECKE Preben BEL19820709
Directeur sportif: VAN LANCKER EricGEROLSTEINER (G)
31 LEIPHEIMER Levi USA19731024
32 HASELBACHER Rene AUT19770915
33 HIEKMANN Torsten GER19800317
34 HOJ Frank DEN19730104
35 KOPP David GER19790105
36 KRAUSS Sven GER19830106
37 LANG Sebastian GER19790105
38 WEGMANN Fabian GER19800620
Directeur sportif: HOLCZER Hans-MichaelPRODIR - SAUNIER DUVAL (Sp)
41 SIMONI Gilberto ITA19710825
42 BENITEZ ROMAN Jose Alberto ESP19811114
43 DIONNE Charles CAN19790315
44 GIL PEREZ Koldo ESP19780116
45 GOMEZ MARCHANTE Jose Angel ESP19800530
46 OLSEN Aaron USA19780111
47 PINOTTI Marco ITA19760225
48 RICCO Riccardo ITA19830901
Directeur sportif: FERNANDEZ MATXIN JoxeanDISCOVERY CHANNEL PRO CYCLING TEAM (USA)
51 SAVOLDELLI Paolo ITA19730507
52 BARRY Michael CAN19751218
53 BRAJKOVIC Janez SLO19831218
54 DANIELSON Thomas USA19780313
55 EKIMOV Viatcheslav RUS19660204
56 GUSEV Vladimir RUS19820704
57 HINCAPIE George USA19730629
58 MCCARTNEY Jason USA19730903
Directeur sportif: BRUYNEEL JohanCREDIT AGRICOLE (F)
61 RAISIN Saul USA19830106
62 HIVERT Jonathan FRA19850323
63 KAGGESTAD Mads NOR19770222
64 MARINO Jean Marc FRA19830815
65 PATOUR Kilian FRA19820920
66 PAURIOL Remi FRA19820404
67 PORTAL Sebastien FRA19820604
68 VOGONDY Nicolas FRA19770808
Directeur sportif: LEGEAY RogerT-MOBILE TEAM (G)
71 ROGERS Michael AUS19791220
72 DAVIS Scott AUS19790422
73 GILING Bastiaan NED19821104
74 GREIPEL Andre GER19820716
75 KOHL Bernhard AUT19820104
76 KORFF Andre GER19730604
77 POLLACK Olaf GER19730920
78 RABON Frantisek CZE19830926
Directeur sportif: HOLM BrianHEALTH NET PRESENTED BY MAXXIS (USA)
81 FRASER Gordon CAN19681119
82 HENDERSON Gregory NZL19760910
83 JOHNSON Timothy USA19770805
84 JONES Michael USA19780119
85 MONINGER Scott USA19661020
86 O'NEILL Nathan AUS19741123
87 ROULSTON Hayden NZL19810110
88 SAYERS Mike USA19700112
Directeur sportif: Corbett JeffNAVIGATORS INSURANCE CYCLING TEAM (USA)
91 BROOKS Benjamin AUS19790321
92 CHADWICK Glen Alan AUS19761017
93 DAVIDENKO Vassili RUS19700317
94 GRISHKINE Oleg RUS19750210
95 KOBZARENKO Valery UKR19770205
96 LAGUTIN Sergey UZB19810114
97 O'LOUGHLIN David IRL19780429
98 ZAJICEK Phil USA19790320
Directeur sportif: BEAMON EdwardKB Home Mexican National Team (Mex)
101 ALDAPE Antonio MEX19781120
102 ESPARZA Fausto MEX19740602
103 GARCIA Jose MEX19721201
104 GONZALEZ Domingo MEX19700130
105 HERNANDEZ Manuel MEX19760612
106 LAM Arquimides MEX19780902
107 LUGO Edgardo MEX19760327
108 MEZA Miguel MEX19770519
Directeur sportif: GOMEZ AlfredoCOLAVITA OLIVE OIL-SUTTER HOME WINES (USA)
111 RAPINSKI Viktor BLR19810617
112 ARTACHO Gustavo ARG19670915
113 FRATTINI Davide ITA19780806
114 GRABOWSKI Zachary USA19850226
115 HERRIOT Todd USA19690506
116 MCCORMACK Mark USA19700915
117 WAMSLEY Kyle USA19800103
118 WREN Tyler USA19810304
Directeur sportif: MCCORMACK FrankTOYOTA-UNITED PRO CYCLING TEAM (USA)
121 BALDWIN Christopher USA19751015
122 BLACKGROVE Heath NZL19801205
123 CRUZ Antonio USA19711031
124 DOMINGUEZ Ivan CUB19760528
125 ENGLAND Justin USA19780717
126 HAEDO Juan Jose ARG19810126
127 FRIEDICK Mariano USA19750109
128 GARCIA Jose-Manuel MEX19721201
Directeur sportif: ANDREU FrankieTEAM TIAA-CREF (USA)
131 PATE Danny USA19790324
132 CREED Michael USA19810108
133 EUSER Lucas USA19831205
134 FRIEDMAN Michael USA19820919
135 HUFF Charles Bradley USA19790205
136 PARISIEN Francois CAN19820427
137 PETERSON Thomas USA19861224
138 TOLLESON Taylor USA19850713
Directeur sportif: VAUGHTERS JonathanKODAKGALLERY.COM-SIERRA NEVADA PRO (USA)
141 PERRAS Dominique CAN19740211
142 ALLEN Jason NZL19810817
143 DIETRICH Michael USA19810529
144 GILBERT Martin CAN19821030
145 JACQUES-MAYNES Ben USA19780922
146 LOPINTO Peter USA19800109
147 STEWART Jackson USA19800630
148 ZWIZANSKI Scott USA19770529
Directeur sportif: ZELLNER RobinJELLY BELLY CYCLING TEAM (USA)
151 ALBERS Kirk USA19690206
152 BAJADALI Andrew USA19730501
153 CANDELARIO Alex USA19750226
154 JENSEN Brian USA19760413
155 JONES Brice USA19790109
156 MANION Caleb AUS19810130
157 REISTAD Nick USA19830420
158 RICE Matthew AUS19790429
Directeur sportif: VAN HAUTE Danny
 

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