Tour of Cali Stage 1

Had a great time hanging out in downtown Sacramento for the finish of Stage 1 of the 2010 mgen Tour of California.  There was the usual lifestyle festival – filled with booths – as well as a men’s and women’s grand prix that took place prior to the arrival of the main pro peloton. I got some video of both the Women and the Men, and of course all 4 passes of the pro peloton as they finished up.

The turn out was great – it felt a just little smaller than last year, but then I realized that last year was a prolog.  So last year all of the spectators were in Sacramento.  This year, some of the spectators were at the start, or along the route, in addition to all the folks hanging out with me at the finish line.  Definitely more folks overall this year I would say.

The final lap of the circuit got pretty dicey.  Some of the exact details are a little sketchy, but best I can tell Boonan was taken out when he crossed wheels with another rider, and then there was another crash – involving more folks near what appeared to be the final turn before the finish.  I watched as JJ Haedo and Cavendish passed me at the 300m line battling it out for the finish – me screaming ‘Saxo’ like a mad man.  Alas Cav pulled it out at the end, with Saxo Bank taking second place.

Unfortunately a nasty combination of logistics and poor planning on my part prevented me from attending any of Stage 2.  I’ll pick this up again at Stage 3.