I’m quite frankly sick to death of hearing about Lance and his apparently inexhaustible ability to be targeted by, and just missed by, doping investigations. More importantly, I’m tired of it being the only story the main stream american media seems able to cover related to cycling.  Well, that and a cyclist killing a pedestrian. For americans this was an amazing year in bike racing, but you barely heard anything about in on the talking picture box. Two major pro level stage races in the United States. An American team battling it out in the olympics. American cyclist Chris Horner apparently inheriting the reigns of Cycling Media Ambassador for the american Audiences. These are exciting times for those of us in the states that are paying attention. For the rest of the population, apparently cycling is only about allegations of cheating from over a decade ago.

With all of this hoopla, you think that the Armstrong events were absolutely critical to the sport of cycling. But what impact with the USADA / Lance debacle actually have?  Well, only one of two.

Scenario One: The (still) immortal Lance

There will be continued bickering, lawyering-up and public statementifications (read that carefully) until ultimately, some obscure court that no one has ever heard of will completely side-step the doping allegations, In this scenario, the Court of Arbitration for Sport will decide that the USADA has no authority to strip medals and wins. If this happens, historians will need to rewrite the name “Armstrong, L. United States” across the white out they just recently placed across his name.

Scenarion Two: Lance only had 9 lives (and already used up 8)

Alternatively, the ruling may stand. Lance may be stripped of his wins for all posterity. The sport will be cleansed of the evil dopers – oui? No. In fact, almost all of the 2nd place finishers that would be promoted to first if Armstrong is stripped of his titles are themselves accused and/or convicted dopers. That’s progress, right?

Lance’s characterization of these allegations as a “witch hunt” may be true. However, unlike the madness in Salem of oh-so-many years ago, this time around thar be real witches in the woods.

May is bike month. We all know it, and many of us go on about it. We get bike to school day, bike to work day, and in addition a whole bike to work week! Local coffee shops, bike shops and assorted business get the excuse opportunity to set up tables along popular bike routes and paths giving away free swag and looking very bike-friendly. This should be a month for me to rejoice – to share enthusiasm and passions with the greater cycling community. A time for us to pat ourselves on our collective back and take stock in how far advocacy efforts have come. And May is action packed with a lot more than just advocacy and riding to work. On the racing front, we had not only the grand american race Tour of California, but also the Giro d’Italia.  The Tour of Cali was especially engaging for me this year, as I watched one of my personal favorites – and fellow old guy – Chris Horner appear to struggle through the Time Trial with an anchor on his bike. The setback would have crushed the spirits of other folks. But the drama unfolded in the final significant climbs of the race as Horner, Jens Voigt (another personal favorite and fellow old guy) and others took a flyer off the front. Slowly riders from the break away dropped one by one, until Chris Horner had actually made back all the time lost in the TT and then some.  He climbed his way into first place on paper – as Phil Liggett likes to say – and had me on the edge of my seat. Unfortunately the herculean effort was not enough and he was eventually caught. But what a way to highlight what bike month is supposed to be about – enjoying all aspects of bicycles. Rolling the cruiser, commuting to work, or ripping the peloton apart.

Unfortunately, this time around all Bike Month managed to do for me was remind me that the other 11 months are not bike month.  June came this year to punch me in the gut and drive the point home. June has brought us the apparent implosion (again) of what should have been the best team in the peloton – RadioShack Nissan Trek. Andy Schleck has been plagued by … something … all season. There are already rumors of the Schleck boys leaving the squad. When the team announced their Tour de France lineup, Chris Horner was not on the list. This lead to all kinds of speculation and drama as to why that happened. Shortly thereafter, it was announced that the presumed Tour de France GC contender Andy Schleck was not going to make it due to injury. Ahh, but poor Bruyneel wasn’t done with bad news yet. Just when we thought it was over, Bruyneel and Mr Armstrong find themselves in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Yup – doping allegations again. What is a cycling enthusiast to do.

But hold on a second…

I once again started my commute on a bicycle this morning in beautiful San Francisco. I passed numerous folks doing the same thing. I continue to ride my bike and enjoy it. And despite the fact that folks are predicting a guilty finding for Armstrong would “destroy cycling” my bike will still pedal and roll regardless of a USADA decision regarding Armstrong.

So that’s what I’ll do. I’ll let June suck for Bruyneel and Armstrong. Come July, I’ll be keeping track of the Tour de France and enjoying it. Bike Month is irrelevant to me, honestly. I don’t have a bike month, or even a bike year. I have a bike life, and plan to until I can’t turn my pedals any more.

Some of you may have noticed that I’ve been fairly silent about this year’s Tour de France.  To be honest the first week was kinda hard to watch – and I was not really motivated to write about it much.  It is unfortunate when the most dramatic moments of the race have been the result of folks surviving through horrible crashes. Sure, I’ve mumbled short quips on Twitter, and we’ve been discussing stages over in the VeloReviews forums, but no real write ups here at JustAnotherCyclist.

Things appear to have turned around today though.

It was a fantastic stage with the drama marked by – get this – folks racing their bikes.  I only saw the final 10Km after I came in from my morning ride, but that 10Km was filled with attack after attack after attack.  Voeckler in the yellow jersey is fantastic.  Not only is the guy a fighter to begin with, he’s got a couple of minutes (at least 2:37 if I recall correctly) over the primary GC contenders, and is therefore highly motivated to pick up precious seconds before getting into the true climbing stages.

This motivation lead to the yellow jersey being out front – on the attack.  This is different from the normal strategy of the whole team working to protect the yellow jersey.

The attack out front was picked up in the end though.  The peloton was driven in the final kilometers predominately part by Jens Voigt, pulling the group along with a grimace on his face to protect the Schlecks.  In addition, it seemed like the entire peloton was hell-bent on destroying HTC Columbia today.  That, combined with the numerous turns going into the finish line, created some difficulties for the Columbia lead out train.  It came down to Cavendish and Greipel in a sprint to the line.

But enough of my analysis.  Check out the final kilometer for yourself.

[singlepic id=57 w=320 h=240 float=right]I found it particularly rewarding to watch Chris Horner win the 2011 Amgen Tour of California.  Horner is one of my favorite riders in the peloton.  As anyone that has been reading my posts will have noticed, I’m primarily a Leopard-Trek fan.  Or, more precisely, I’m a Voigt, Schleck, Schleck and Cancellara fan, and they just happen to still be riding on the same team.

While my Leopard Trek fandom comes form watching the guys race, my appreciation of Chris Horner is much more personal.  I had the opportunity to both meet and ride with Chris Horner at last years Clark’s Corner Cycling Challenge.  That’s where I learned that, well, Chris is just a really cool guy.  There are few folks as down to earth, approachable and humble.  Oh – and the guy seems to have a perpetual smile on his face.

Horner even mentioned Clark’s Corner in one of his video diaries taken during the Tour of California:

[singlepic id=65 w=320 h=240 float=left]One of the things that struck me about standing next to the guy is how tiny he was last year – at least to me.  What is interesting about that is that Horner has stated that getting his weight down was key to winning the AToC.

Levi Leipheimer had made a couple of joking comments to the press about Horner “Getting the diet under control,” and Horner himself was quoted regarding his dieting efforts by VeloNews as saying:

We [Chris and grilfriend Megan Elliott] tried it the grocery route, preparing healthy meals at home, but I wasn’t losing weight. While cooking meals, I was snacking, too. Often you don’t start cooking dinner until you’re hungry, and dinner takes an hour to make. Next thing you know, you’re shredding cheese and cutting yourself an extra thick slice to nibble on, or taking a handful of almonds, or eating a piece of the bread that is supposed to go with your pasta, and even though your dinner is only supposed to be 1,000 calories, you’ve added an extra 700 just snacking while making dinner.

It looks like other folks might get the opportunity to rub elbows with Chris Horner in the same way I did.  Indications are that he will again be attending the Clark’s Corner Cycling Challenge on September 25th in Ione, CA.  I spoke with Kraig Clark regarding this second annual event, and it looks like things will be changing a little bit from last year’s format.  This time around it will be a bit more traditional, with set routes of varying lengths.  I would also highly recommend the VIP dinner – as the food last year was fantastic.

Sacramento was treated to some fantastic pro racing as the modified stage 2 course of the 2011 Amgen Tour of California offered 3 circuits around the state capitol building.  A breakaway of 4 riders struggled to stay ahead of the peloton, but were caught before rolling onto the streets of California’s capitol city, where huge crowds waited despite the threat of poor weather.

Rain fell briefly just as the riders started to duel it out trying to get teams positioned for a sprint finish.

At the end of the day, it was Ben Swift of Team Sky that claimed the sprint – and of course the overall leaders jersey at the end of the first active day of racing of the tour.  Ben Swift stated that he actually felt the rain may have helped him out:

The rain helped me a little bit.  Coming from Britain, you get to experience riding in rain.  It puts a fear in
some people and helps you control things more.

Racing continues tomorrow as Route 3 travels from Auburn to Modesto.

In response to anticipated weather conditions, officials have moved the start of stage 2 of the 2011 mgen Tour of California to Nevada City, CA.  The start time has also been delayed to 12:15 Pacific Time.  This essentially moves the start along the original route to the location and time it was expected to pass the new start location, thus allowing the rest of the 61 miles to follow the originally planned route.

The route was expected to leave Squaw Valley and pass over Donner Pass.  However, the threat of more winter-like conditions again raised concerns for the safety of riders, spectators and crew, prompting this change.

This will mark the second year that Nevada City has hosted a stage start, the first being Stage 1 of the 2010 Tour.  Andrew Messick, president of AEG Sports, also spoke of the possibility of a return again:

Nevada City did an outstanding job hosting the first stage of the 2010 race and we know that the riders and fans will appreciate the return.  We owe a debt of gratitude to Andy Chapman, Carol Chaplin and everyone in Squaw Valley, who worked tirelessly to create what would have been an exceptional Stage 2 start and hope that we will have an opportunity to bring the Amgen Tour of California to the city in a future year.

This change will have some rewards for spectators in Sacramento, CA however.  Originally the route was scheduled to make only a single pass around the state capital building.  However, in light of the shortened course race officials have increased that to 3 circuits through the heart of the city.

According to officials:

Following the peloton’s 12:15 p.m. PT departure from Nevada City, California, the riders will travel approximately 61 miles to Sacramento, picking up the original Stage 2 route.  The riders will enter Sacramento at approximately 3 p.m. PT and complete three circuit laps before finishing in front of the Capitol Building between 3:30 and 3:45 p.m. PT.  The race’s original schedule called for only one complete circuit, but due to the modified course, the additional two circuits were able to be added.

Stage 1 of the Amgen Tour of California was unfortunately canceled due to the risks presented to riders, spectators and staff by winter-like weather conditions.  Many riders expressed their agreement that the cancellation of stage 1 was the right thing to do.  This was further underscored by reports that as many as 6 race marshals may have been involved in an incident or incidents resulting in their motorcycles crashing in the slippery conditions.  There are no reported injuries as a result of these crashes.

However, while stage 1 is behind us, there is still risk of potential impact on tomorrow’s stage 2.

Current predictions are for a 50% chance of snow at Donner Pass – the highest elevation of the route.  At a press conference on Monday following the stage 1 cancellations, officials stated that a plan ‘B’ was already in place for the second day of racing.  Given that the rest of stage 2 is mostly downhill after Donner Summit, this plan B could possibly be a modification of the starting location.

Stage 2 diverts off of the path of Interstate 80 onto CA Highway 20.  The descent into the valley continues through Nevada City before finally turning south for the flat run up to Sacramento.  The course does a loop around the state capitol building as it has done in past years, and is likely to result in a sprint finish to the line.

Update: Stage 1 was canceled. And Delores Pickford (@dpk4d) gives us a really good example of why.

The official release from officials says that Stage 1 of the Tour of California is slated for a 1:15pm Pacific time start – using a much shortened course allowing for the scheduled end time of  3:15-4pm pacific to remain as scheduled.

However, given the weather that just rolled through Sacramento, there still remains the possibility of a complete neutralization of the inaugural stage of the 2011 race.

While I myself was riding across Sacramento – about 100 miles west of the South Lake Tahoe start of Stage 1 – I found myself caught in a hail storm, and thunderstorms continue to roll through this area.  However, the official release sent out at about 11:30 am states:

Stage 1 of the 2011 amgen tour of california to start at 1:15 p.m. pT

Route Shortened Due to Later Start Time, but Still Includes KOM and Sprint Competitions

Lake Tahoe, Calif. (May 15, 2011) – After monitoring weather conditions overnight and this morning, while consulting with public safety and race team officials, organizers of the 2011 Amgen Tour of California have announced that the current and projected weather conditions will allow Stage 1 of the race to start at 1:15 p.m. PT at the original start line in South Lake Tahoe.  Race officials will continue to pay close attention and monitor the course and all other conditions. If at any time it is determined to be unsafe to continue, the race will be neutralized.

The new route (which merely eliminates a portion of a loop around Lake Tahoe) will continue to take the riders from South Lake Tahoe to Northstar around the west side of Lake Tahoe and will be approximately 50 miles.  The projected finish timing, which was to be between 3:15 and 4 p.m. PT will remain unchanged.

The Lifestyle Festival in Northstar will open as scheduled at noon PT, with the timing of the Amgen Breakaway Mile remaining on schedule for 2:30 p.m. PT.

“We have been in constant communication with all parties involved in the 2011 Amgen Tour of California – from public safety and transportation authorities to teams and all of our partners – to ensure our decision protects the safety of our riders and fans,” said Andrew Messick, president of AEG Sports.  “We thank everyone for their tireless efforts in bringing this race together, and pledge that we still have a great day of racing ahead of us today.”

Fans are still encouraged to come out to the start line at Montbleu, where rider sign-in will take place at 12:15 p.m. PT, allowing them to see the cyclists up close before they take off for the start of the race.  Unfortunately, with the change in course, people will not be able to see both the start and finish in person.  Fans in the South Lake Tahoe area who want to experience the Stage 1 finish at Northstar will need be on the road by 12:30 p.m. PT at the latest.

Beginning with a neutral start that takes the cyclists west out of South Lake Tahoe, the race will follow the second half of the original route and feature highlights including:

• King of the Mountains (KOM) competition at Emerald Bay at approximately mile 13
• Sprint line at Tahoe City at approximately mile 31
• KOM competition at Brockway summit at approximately mile 43

The revised stage 1 map revised puts the route along the west shore of the lake, a route familiar to many that have ridden in this area.

Riders in this years Tour of California will be wearing wrist bands to honor fellow cyclist Wouter Weylandt.  Weylandt was a rider for Pro team Leopard Trek.  His life tragically ended after a crash in stage 3 of the Giro d’Italia.

Stage 4 of the Giro was neutralized in memorial, with riders completing the stage as a group, Leopard Trek leading across the finish.

Also joining Leopard Trek at the front of the peloton was Tyler Farrar, friend of training partner of Weylandt.  Farrar opted not to complete the Giro after Stage 4 in an understandable move to mourn the loss of his friend.

The move of the Amgen Tour of California to mid-May as caused many of the top riders in pro cycling to opt out of the Giro in favor of the California event – especially those teams with large US title sponsors.  Among them is Team Radio Shack.

Levi Leipheimer mentioned the effort on his twitter feed by saying:

All riders, team staff & race staff will be joining @leopardtrek in wearing these at AToC. We will not forget! http://t.co/iSZYlnI

If you are planning on attending the finish of Stage 2 of the Amgen Tour of California.  Sacramento can be tricky it park in and negotiate on a good weekend day.  Throw in all of the traffic for a major cycling event and you’re likely to find yourself walking miles even if you do drive downtown.  However, Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates (SABA) are helping to solve this problem for you.

As in previous years, SABA will be manning a bike valet service on the lawn of the capitol building.  You can ride your bike right to the finish line, and SABA volunteers will place your bike into a safe, fenced, staffed ‘bull pen.’  You’ll be given a claim ticket which you can use to claim your bike when you are ready to depart.  And besides, riding your bike to a bike race just seems to complete the experience – doesn’t it?