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2009 ATOC stage 7, Live Coverage archive
- 11:29 AM: Good day and welcome
to VeloNews.com's Live Coverage of the seventh stage of the Amgen Tour of California, a 143km (88.9 mile) ride from Santa Clarita to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
Today's stage, scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m., begins with 40km (25 miles) of gradual climbing before the route takes a significant hop up Millcreek Summit in the San Gabriel Mountains, a Category three climb that crests at the 60.7km mark (37.7 miles).
Cannondale brings a prototype bike for Liquigas to test at the AToC
While the Liquigas team hasn’t had the race it might have wished for at this year’s Amgen Tour of California, it does appear to have a new bike. When questioned, Cannondale reps only acknowledged that the team has been testing prototype frames. The prototypes were created using the feedback Daniele Bennati provided after racing on a Super Six frame with custom geometry last year. That frame also served as a proving ground for Cannondale to test the use of high modulus carbon fiber, which is now found in the 2009 production model.
Nocentini wins in Pasadena
It can be difficult to judge just how difficult a race is until you can make a direct comparison with a previous result. That was the case Saturday, when enormous crowds, probably the biggest of the week, showed up at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena to see the finale to stage 7 of the Amgen Tour of California. This stage from Santa Clarita was identical to the one that George Hincapie won 12 months ago, when he covered the 89-mile course in a time of 3:50:57. This year, the time of stage winner Rinaldo Nocentini of AG2R-La Mondiale was 26 minutes faster!
The Tour of the Gila is cutting its prize list slightly, but will continue thanks to recent donations
New Mexico's Tour of Gila stage race will hold its 23rd edition this spring, thanks to recent donations that have offset much of an expected budget shortfall. Race director Jack Brennan told VeloNews on Saturday that the event's price list will be reduced 15 percent for all categories and the event is still searching for a title sponsor. The event will remain part of the National Racing Calendar, he said. "Although fundraising goals have not yet been fulfilled we are definitely going ahead with the 2009 event," Brennan said.
2009 ATOC stage 6, Live Coverage archive
- 11:39 AM: Good day and welcome
to VeloNews.com's Live Coverage of the sixth stage of the Amgen Tour of California, a 15-mile (24 kilometers in the more advanced parts of the world) individual time trial around one of our favorite communities in California, the Danish-themed village of Solvang.
Contador TT’s to Algarve lead
A day after being relegated to a rare second place on a summit finish, Alberto Contador turned in an authoritative time trial victory Saturday to take the overall lead at Portugal’s Volta ao Algarve. Contador beat back the likes of teammate Andreas Klöden and reigning world time trial champion Bert Grabsch (Columbia-High Road) on a fairly challenging 33.7km course in the hills along the Algarve Coast to snag his first win of the season and secure the overall leader’s jersey.
On Tap at AToC: Stage 7 – A break at the Rose Bowl?
With just two days left in the nine-day Amgen Tour of California, only six of the 17 teams have won a stage. That means that 11 others are still eager to taste victory, especially those teams that have major American sponsors. Top of this list of teams is Rabobank, followed by Liquigas and Quick Step.
The hottest bike at AToC?
Giant Bicycles had something special at the Amgen Tour of California: Two teams riding a time trial bike it’s developing. This isn’t out of the ordinary, except for the fact that one of the teams has a different bike sponsor. You’ll notice that Rabobank and Columbia are on quite similarly designed bikes, but one says “Giant” on its downtube, while the other sports a “Highroad techdev” label.