Photo by Mark Johnson/ironstring.com
If you're looking for great ToC and other cycling photos, you should check out the work of Mark Johnson. The photo above is his, which I post because it features yours truly on the far left. Mark's Tour of California gallery is up at the Competitor SoCal site and shows a lot more variety and experimentation than my own. You may also recognize his photos from CyclingNews.
An inside perspective, based on the food that each host city provided:
I had some computer and time issues at the end of Stage 7. As I recover back home the photos will continue to trickle out, but for now there are some breakaway and peloton photos that have been added to the Stage 7 Photo Gallery.
What follows is hearsay and personal opinion, but as I've seen some confusion as to what happened at the end of Stage 6 with Mark Cavendish losing the stage, I thought I'd try and clarify things as best as I understand:
Team High Road cited The Levi Rule in protest of Cavendish's 20 second penalty. I feel that the comparison is a bit apples and oranges, regardless of how you feel about the rules being bent in Levi's case. In particular:
In other words, I think Cavendish's victory was too flagrant to ignore and I think Levi would happily have accepted a 20 second penalty to latch back onto the peloton -- he would have still won the 2007 ToC, though only by one second. In fact, Levi did get a time penalty in the Tour de France getting a water bottle ride from the Disco team car after flatting before a climb. Disco also complained about that penalty, but strategically it was still the right decision.
Let's do it all again in Georgia (I hope)
If you have 'em, I'd like to hear them. More specifically, this was the first test of my new photo gallery system. If you let me know what you liked/hated, or why Flickr is so much better, please sound off so that I can make things better. Thanks!
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| Photo by Ken Conley |
Levi was relentless when it came to the champagne fight -- I've never seen such a bleary-eyed podium. Dominique Rollin also tried to score points with the Rock Racing girls by handing them flowers, David MIllar showed patience in opening his champagne even as Levi sprayed him, Christian Vande Velde was smart enough to hand-off his baby before the champagne fight began, and Zabriskie was even smarter to use the giant check as a shield and then run off the stage with it.
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| Photo by Ken Conley |
Team High Road got redemption today as George Hincapie delivered from the breakaway. After misjudging Dominique Rollin in Stage 4 and losing victory in Stage 6, High Road can at last celebrate. You had the feeling that there were many in the peloton content to see if Hincapie or any of the other riders in the break could pull one out for their teams. Tom Zirbel had the boldest move, surviving several laps off the front, Michael Creed made a go for Rock Racing, Rory Sutherland put his Most Aggressive jersey to use, and Jason McCartney tried to bookend the ToC for CSC, but Hincapie had the best legs.
It's only fitting that the 2008 Tour of California end with soggy conditions, though more severe snow and flash flood conditions were avoided. As if tuned to race time, the sun and a rainbow emerged for Levi Leipheimer to gaze upon as he accepted his second straight overall victory. Leipheimer used the platform to continue to argue for Tour de France entry, as well as spray David Millar and Christian Vande Velde with champagne.
Slipstream-Chipotle has made impressive gains in just a year. With second and third place overall, best team, and Steven Cozza animating the breaks, it looks like they will be a team to watch on the international stage.
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| Photo by Ken Conley |
Last year Santa Paula had firetrucks. Now they have a flag. Can't wait 'til next year.
Due to the possibility of flash floods and snow on the Stage 7 course -- this is the Tour of California, after all -- the course may be modified tomorrow. Fans are advised to monitor the Tour of California Web site for updates.
Surprisingly, not all riders are dreading the possibility of snow on the summit of Milcreek Summit. Bobby Julich, a Reno native, savored the idea and encouraged organizers to take snow machines up there if the severe weather didn't materialized.
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| Photo by Ken Conley |
Above: Mark Cavendish Gets His Victory Salute on Course, Pagliarini Gets His After the Race
Once again Luciano Pagliarini once again raised the Brazilian flag on American soil, but first their was much confusion. At first the stage seemed to be the miraculous comeback of Mark Cavendish to take the stage: a crash on the second lap, a hectic chase to get back in the peloton, and victory in the final sprint -- only the miracle turned out to be the assistance of a team car that he hung on to. High Road says that Cavendish's rear derailleur was broken and needed fixing, the judge said 20 seconds and no first for you. It's a disappointing result for the San Luis Obispo-based Team High Road, which is still looking for Tour of California success.
Above: Mark Cavendish is in the peloton on the first lap, but soon finds himself banged up and chasing alone
Today is the type of finish that makes a photographer groan. You get the shot of the person first across the line. You get lots of photos of the celebration afterward. And then the person who walks onto the podium is not the person you shot.
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| Photo by Ken Conley |
You can tell it's the start of the season -- Levi's backup bike is still his old Discovery Channel bike, albeit with a black piece of tape that somehow disguises its origin.
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| Photo by Ken Conley |
Today started off ominously -- the skies poured rain off and on before the stage start and the navigation dial on my camera, which has the important duty of selecting my autofocus point, was only recognizing two out of its nine directions. Riders were stilled dazed from yesterday's efforts: Danny Pate talked about only being able to put down 1000 calories yesterday on a day he burned 5000. There seemed to be a lot less riders taking warmup rides than last year. And then it got better, much better. The roads dried off. Blue skies rolled in. My camera started working again.
Levi Leipheimer and Astana were the big winners on the day as Levi once again defended his overall lead in Solvang. Slipstream had a banner day as well -- they weren't able to beat Levi, but they took second, third, and sixth places. CSC took fourth and fifth, but Cancellara wasn't pull off his best effort after a rough week in the rain.
Dominique Rollin took third overall in the Tour of Missouri and was on the receiving end of Hincapie's closing ceremony champagne dump. Today it was Rollin's turn to take the top spot atop the podium after Rollin was able to solo away from Hincapie for the stage victory.
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| Photo by Ken Conley |
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| Photo by Ken Conley |
Dominique Rollin took the stage, sprinter's lead, and most aggressive award with a well-timed attack from a break that the Astana was content to leave hanging 2-3 minutes off the front of the peloton for most of the stage. Rollin's exuberance after the stage made up for the gloom, rain, and snot that marked the faces in the rest of the peloton. "It was a crappy day," in the words of Danny Pate.
It was the longest stage in Tour of California history, clocking in at just over seven hours, and the riders spent it in un-Californian conditions. The winds were high enough to shake my car on Highway 1 near Bixby Bridge and sandblast my skin. The rain got worse rather than let up and a dozen riders abandoned on a day that most seemed just interested in surviving. Jackson Stewart left with hypothermia after putting himself into the virtual KOM lead. Sprinters Ivan Dominguez and Henrich Haussler also abandoned as did Slipstream's Tom Danielson. The peloton may have little legs with which to race tomorrow's decisive time trial. I'll have to see if my camera equipment survives the night -- my autofocus was on the fritz at the stage finish.
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| Photos by Ken Conley |
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Chechu lead a group of Leipheimer, Gesink, Zabriskie, Millar, Horner, and others, Cancellara and Voigt chased close behind, and The Rock Racing Three (Hamilton, Botero and Sevilla) rode ten minutes up the road. The fog rolled in and out, chunks of snow were present, and I bumped my focus settings and botched a shot that I spent 2 hours waiting for -- Photoshop to the rescue!
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| Photo by Ken Conley |
Mount Hamilton was a big addition to today's stage, but the results were eerily familar -- so much so that Fritz of Cyclelicio.us was able to pull one of my 2007 photos for his stage 3 summary. Last year it was Levi, Voigt, and Gesink over the top of Sierra Road. The trio survived and Voigt easily took the sprint. This time around, Levi and Gesink were lucky to leave Voigt behind and negotiate a rider's agreement: Gesink took the stage, Levi the overall lead. From comments Leipheimer made after the stage, it sounds like Astana and Rabobank had worked this possibility out the night before.
With Farrar being a sprinter, it was well expected that the overall lead would be up for grabs. This came sooner than expected, however, as Farrar dropped out with a stomach bug. Farrar had hoped to transfer the jersey to Danielson, but Danielson was already far behind on the Mount Hamilton climb. Millar and Zabriskie had good rides and are both within striking distance to take the lead at the Solvang time trial. Fabian Cancellara also rode in with Millar and Zabriskie and sits in a close second at 13 seconds back.
I did an interview for The FredCast after Stage 1, which some of you may have already heard. I talk near the end, almost half an hour in. Thanks to David for inviting me to be on and get well wishes to both his thumb and his computer.
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| Photo by Ken Conley |
Erin sent me a link to a George Hincapie podcast that was done on behalf of Breakaway from Cancer. Breakaway From Cancer has been a big part of the day-to-day events in the finishing cities of the Tour of California and Hincapie also participated in a charity ride with them just before the Tour start. In the podcast he talks about his training, his first season with High Road, and, of course, Breakaway from Cancer.
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| Photo by Ken Conley |
The Tour of California got a bit of the old and new today and a world champion in between: Tom Boonen took his first victory in the Tour of California, Tyler Farrar put on Slipstream's first overall leader's jersey, and Mario Cipollini showed that he has more kick than fellow riders gave him credit. CSC's dominance of this year's Tour of California ended as Haedo flatted in the final circuits. He was able to chase back but was outkicked by Cipo for third. Dominguez was less lucky and finished off the back of the peloton with a teammate.
All were wet and worn after a long day pedaling in chilly rain and winds. BMC rider Scott Nydam had the longest day as he went on a solo effort up the early Trinity Grade climb and latest through all the intermediate prizes on the day. Nydam picked up BMC's second most aggressive rider award and Jackson Stewart defended his KOM lead.
I spent the early part of the day on Trinity Grade. Levi Leipheimer's dad helped me climb a tree and Levi's wife Odessa brought along their dog Smokey to help cheer Levi along.
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| Photo by Ken Conley |
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| Photo by Ken Conley |
Fabian Cancellara had his arms raised up in the air long before his teammate JJ Haedo crossed the finish line to take his fifth Tour of California stage win. The peloton found itself split in two as it entered Santa Rosa with big sprinters Ivan Dominguez and Luciano Pagliarini already eliminated from the sprint competition. Hincapie hit the deck in the final kilometer and came across a bit battered.
A long day for Jackson Stewart off the front earned him the KOM jersey and Most Aggressive award on the day.
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| Photo by Ken Conley |
Prologue Pre-Race Photo Gallery
Look who's come to town:
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And some warmups:
It's not about the bike:
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| Photo by Ken Conley |
It's real folks... Steven Cozza has much to fear.
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| Photo by Ken Conley |
Cancellara showed he is a man of the prologue by dominating his way to victory and becoming the first non-US recipient of the Tour of California leader's jersey. On a day in which tenths of seconds mattered, Cancellara dominated the field by nearly six seconds on the short 2.1 mile course.
I'll have many photos to come, including Zabriskie's retro-ugly mustache as well as non-racing news makers Hamilton, Sevilla, and Landis.
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| Photo by Ken Conley |
Press Conference Photo Gallery
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Rock Racing got the big news today as Michael Ball called a press conference just before the official kickoff press conference: Cipo is in but Ball claims that either his whole team will start or none at all. Race organizers readily admit to bending the rules a bit to allow Cipo to be a last minute addition, but Rock Racing will be only allow five riders at the start, and none of the Puerto Three. It puts AEG in a tough position as they took half a million of Ball's money, but it's the UCI that actually has control over who starts. Michael Ball will most likely pull some sort of stunt tomorrow by having his banned riders (Botero, Sevilla, Hamilton) attempt to start and he'll have to figure out if he really meant what he said.
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As for the actual press conference, it was full of your general pablum by sponsors and organizers. My photo reel is full of riders pulling at their faces in boredom, but it was nice to see a very packed press conference. Analogies were made between Rock's situation and Astana's, and Levi was careful in his wording not to rule out switching to another team for the Tour de France while pimping LetLeviRide.com. Jens Voigt was there sporting some road rash from a recent crash and rumor has it that Zabriskie is sporting an handlebar mustache, ala Cozza.
Steephill.tv took video -- I'll link to it as soon as I spot it on his ToC page.
It's now countdown T-minus 2 days to the Tour of California Prologue and I'm feeling the ToC vibe in full. I'll be following the Tour of California in my car from start to finish. Look for photos of the race to go up on http://kwc.org/cycling/photos/ shortly after each race finishes. Those of you with RSS readers can subscribe to http://kwc.org/cycling/photos/atom.xml. I'll reiterate again: I won't be using Flickr, except perhaps for a teaser photo or two.
For events like the Tour of California I'm more focused on photography and usually a bit too exhausted to do race summaries, so I'll do my best to link to others doing race summaries, commentaries, etc... as I find it. Please feel free to send links my way and I'll aggregate them here. Speculatively:
Quick Step is hosting a dinner at Ribsibisi in Petaluma after Monday's stage as a fundraiser for the NorCal High School MTB Racing League. Limited tickets are available.
The 2008 team rosters for the Tour of California have been released. It's amazing to see Leipheimer, Bettini, Boonen, Horner, Zabriskie, Freire, Cancellara, Wiggins, Julich, Hincapie, Voigt, and more all racing in California -- I'm going to be busy with the camera. I wish Baldwin was on the list as well, but you can't everything. The sprint finishes and time trials will certainly be exciting.
The big surprise was Rock Racing: despite being a founding sponsor, they submitted an abbreviated list of 5 riders. Puerto has raised its ugly head again and has taken out Hamilton, Botero, and Sevilla. Leogrande is still on the list inspite of USADA's attempt to have his samples retested. VeloNews speculates Cipo as a last-minute addition -- he'd certainly bring even more fan enthusiasm.
Read on to see the ToC 2008 rider list.
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| Photo by Ken Conley |
Levi Leipheimer and Chris Horner came to speak in Palo Alto at a fundraiser for the Tour of California. Riders for High Road, Jelly Belly, and High Road also showed up to sign autographs for fans. It was an interesting time, seeing at news of Astana's ban from ASO events is still being absorbed. The new bit of news on that front is that Levi indicated that Astana would be launching some sort of online petition to rally American fans. Other topics of conversation included Horner's virility, air resistance of ponytails, and the Tour of California.
Video:
Also, enjoy the photos.
Those wishing to view my Tour of California photos take note: I will be posting my photos to http://kwc.org/cycling/photos instead of Flickr this time around. You might see a teaser or two on Flickr, but not much more. I've outlined my reasons as best I could: in brief, I feel that I need to move my professional photos off of Flickr to keep my professional and personal life separate, improve traffic, better link my photos and Spare Cycles, and give me something new to tinker with. I can probably rattle off even more reasons, though I still love Flickr and I apologize to Flickr users that will be inconvenienced.
I've been busier than I had anticipated so kwc.org/cycling/photos is not quite what I had hoped it would be at this point, but it's a start. Suggestions are of course welcome.
Sheldon Brown is someone who most of us never met but knew through his larger-than-life presence in the online cycling community. He's greatly missed but lives on in the knowledge that he's passed to us.
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