By John Wilcockson
Photo: Casey B. Gibson
Never before has there been such a plethora of leading time trialists on display in an American stage race as fans will see this Sunday and next Friday at the Amgen Tour of California. Three of the top four from last year’s world TT championships will be competing — gold and silver medalists Fabian Cancellara and Dave Zabriskie of CSC, and their former teammate Brian Vandborg, now with Discovery Channel — along with the top two from the Tour de France prologue, Thor Hushovd of Crédit Agricole and George Hincapie of Discovery. Joining them are such powerful riders against the clock as CSC’s Bobby Julich and Jens Voigt, Discovery’s Ivan Basso, Levi Leipheimer, Tom Danielson and Thomas Vaitkus, three-time world champ Michael Rogers of T-Mobile, Chris Horner of Predictor-Lotto and Robert Gesink of Rabobank.
The chances are that CSC and Discovery will dominate Sunday’s short San Francisco prologue time trial along the Embarcadero and up Telegraph Hill, which twirls up steep streets, some as steep as 22 percent, from Fisherman’s Wharf to Coit Tower. This climb was first used for a prologue time trial in the 1985 and ’86 editions of the Coors International Bicycle Classic. Coloradan Ron Kiefel won both times, relegating Andy Hampsten to second place by five seconds in ’85 (Tour winner Bernard Hinault was 64th), and acing his 7-Eleven teammate Raúl Alcalá in ’86.
It was only natural that two decades later, Amgen Tour of California race director Jim Birrell, who also worked the Coors race, chose Telegraph Hill for the 2006 prologue — and the crowds packed the steep sidewalks just as before. On the road, Kiefel’s legacy was taken up by Leipheimer (then riding for Gerolsteiner), who scored a five-second victory over Julich, followed by Hincapie and Phonak’s Floyd Landis — who went on to take the event’s longer time trial and the overall title.
With defending champion Landis on the sidelines (he’ll be attending the race festival to promote the company that restored his damaged hip and can’t race before his May 14 hearing with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency), expect Discovery’s Leipheimer, Hincapie and Danielson and CSC’s Julich, Zabriskie and Cancellara to be the protagonists — along with some of the younger guns mentioned above.
Not every climb in a stage race has to be decisive to make an impact. Just by being included — particularly if attracts big crowds like Telegraph Hill — it brings Tour de France-style character to the course. If the climb is decisive, so much the better. That’s the case with many of the hills at this coming week’s Tour of California.
Let’s take Monday’s stage to Leipheimer’s hometown of Santa Rosa. Unlike 2006’s relatively easy run-in, which resulted in a field sprint at the Wine Country city, this year’s 96.8-mile course from Sausalito travels farther up the Pacific Coast Highway through Bodega Bay to tackle what could become another of the race’s legendary climbs: Coleman Valley Road.
The 25 miles from the coast to Santa Rosa are all on narrow back roads that, combined with the initial 800-foot elevation gain in 2 miles followed by three 300-foot “walls,” are certain to break up the pack. A repeat mass-sprint win for J.J. Haedo, now with CSC, looks remote. Hincapie or Gerolsteiner Fabian Wegmann might be a stronger bet.
This year, Santa Rosa fans will get a second chance of decisive action the following morning on a new stage 2 that mirrors the Sonoma-Sacramento stage of the Coors Classic. It opens with the vicious Trinity Grade, a 3-mile, 1500-foot climb out of Glen Ellen that has gained local notoriety in Santa Rosa Cycling Club’s annual double century ride, the Terrible Two.
When Trinity was first used in the 1985 Coors race, Hampsten used its sharp turns and double-digit grades for a blistering attack. Only three riders could follow him: eventual race winner Greg LeMond and his Canadian teammate Steve Bauer, and New Yorker Doug Shapiro. They arrived in Sacramento seven minutes ahead of the pack, with Bauer picking up a solo stage win.
In 1986, the 14 strongest climbers emerged from an early-morning mist over the 1800-foot summit, chased by a 25-strong group, while the remaining 45 starters (14 teams of six riders, compared with 18 teams of eight riders this year) arrived in Sacramento almost 10 minutes back. Before the two front groups merged on the Sage Canyon climb out of Napa Valley, the winning break moved clear: LeMond and Hampsten again, this time with Alcalá, Norwegian Jaanus Kuum and Frenchman Bruno Cornillet — who picked up the solo stage win and his moniker “wrong way Cornillet” after twice being led off course in the final mile, He was awarded the win despite crossing the line five minutes down.
In today’s world of bigger teams and faster speeds, a breakaway win in Sacramento seems unlikely in this year’s 116.3-mile stage 2 — though a large part of the peloton will likely be left behind on the half-dozen climbs in the opening 60 miles. In introducing the new course, race director Birrell said: “It’s a great sprinter’s stage. The pack will separate over Trinity Grade, then come back together in Davis.” Perhaps he’ll be wrong.
Wednesday’s 94.6-mile stage 3 from Stockton will again finish in San José after climbing what is already a Tour of California legend, the frightening Sierra Road climb that created the most significant breakaway of last year’s race. Sierra Road, which climbs through 1800 vertical feet in 3.5 miles, shredded last year’s field. Only 12 men contested the sprint finish, taken by Hincapie, while more than 100 riders finished between three minutes and 24 minutes back.
This year, should Leipheimer attack as he did last year on Sierra Road, he could spring clear with teammate Danielson and some other climbers — but unlike 2006 he would have the might of the Discovery team blocking for him behind rather than working to chase him down for Hincapie. This will put the pressure on CSC, should the Danish team have enough riders up front after the severe climb.
With last year’s too-long, too-decisive San José time trial transferred to a 14.6-mile test at Solvang on stage 5, the Amgen Tour’s longest day — the spectacular 133.7-mile stage 4 from Seaside to San Luis Obispo down the Big Sur coast — takes on greater importance. It could again end in a sprint, but should the wind be a more decisive factor a successful last-minute break could emerge from a reduced main group.
With so many ace time trialists in the field, the rolling Solvang TT through the vineyards of Santa Barbara County will be a close-fought contest, with the top finishers separated by seconds rather than minutes. The battle between those men who did the best at Santa Rosa and San José should settle the final GC.
One of the most popular climbs at the 2006 California Tour was the narrow, backbreaking Balcom Canyon climb, to where some 10,000 fans headed from their homes in the Los Angeles area.
“We used to ride out here on our training rides,” said John Wordin, the iconoclastic ex-manager of the Mercury pro team, who gave Landis his first road contract and who last year was standing in cycling gear on the abrupt climb’s 1400-foot summit. “It’s not very long but it’s the steepest climb around here.”
The fans will be back in Balcom Canyon next Saturday at mile 66 of the California Tour’s 105.4-mile stage 6. It’s nasty, but the short climb is unlikely to make much of an impact on a field of seasoned pros that has another 30 miles or racing before the three-lap stage finish in Santa Clarita.
Another mass finish is likely at the closing 10-lap, 78-mile circuit race in Long Beach. So the sprinters will finally have their day in the sun, just as they did in 2006. But with February historically the wettest month in central California, rainfall would make the days over Coleman Valley Road, Trinity Grade, Sierra Road and Balcom Canyon even more challenging.
There couldn’t be better terrain for watching what should prove a fascinating battle for supremacy between the Discovery team, now captained by Basso, and CSC, the team that Basso often led to victory before his controversial transfer this past winter. Given the comparable strengths of their eight-man squads in California, the difference could come in the extra incentive the U.S. team has to attract a new title sponsor in 2008 after Discovery Channel pulls out. And that could mean overall victory for the ambitious Leipheimer, Discovery’s designated team leader this coming week.
Be sure to check in with VeloNews.com for Live updates throughout the 2007 Amgen Tour of California. – Editor
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