LA TT.
It is only 20.9 miles. Which is like saying that Fabian Cancellara is only a guy who rides a bike. Todays was the Stage 7 individual time trial at the Amgen Tour of California. It was in dead solid center downtown Los Angeles. It is the most congested, condensed and chaotic collection of, well, everything, this side of Manhattan. Maybe that is why NY-LA makes of such a juicy hyphenation. Conjures up images, doesn't it?
Today was a big day for the boys. They were being asked to go hard again after a FREAKING BRUTAL (there it is again) Stage 6 135 miles yesterday and by all reports many were seriously considering taking a day off, calling in sick or getting lost on the way to the starting chute. Being there for the entire ride, I don't blame them.
It was big day for the RCVman as he was assigned by Bjarne Riis to ride shotgun in the Saxo Bank team car to be driven by Bobby Julich. We would be tailing GC up-and-comer Matti Breschel. The Saxo Bank squad, despite having a tough tour is filled with stars and reads like a typical Yankee-Dodger series lineup.
* Matti Breschel (DEN)
• Fabian Cancellara (SUI)
• Jakob Fuglsang (DEN)
• Juan José Haedo (ARG)
• Stuart O'Grady (AUS)
• Andy Schleck (LUX)
• Andre Steensen (DEN)
• Jens Voigt (GER)
So off and onto the course we went on a high-speed chase of Matti. The video will reveal what a blast this is, watching Bobby anticipate the course demands via radio to Matti and keeping up with him amid the tight course. RCVman had the A-Cam VERY secure above on the bike rack, the Go-Pro gaffed to the front bumper and was hand wielding the iPhone, all with what at first peek appear to be of scintillating race-day quality.
So tomorrow will wrap it all up. Back to the Rock Store to decide the champion of the 2010 Amgen Tour of California. If yesterday's video was gold, today was platinum.
Kinda like what New York is to LA. With all due respect. Oh, and btw, Tony Martin did a 41:41 33.4K out there to win the TT. Whew.
Pix: The Start in LA in front of the Staples Center
Bjarne Riss and Bobby Julich check RCVmans credentials.
The Saxo Bank Team Car with RCVman-cam on the rack. Everything else is blurry.
Downtown LA street art at Union Station. Can't help myself.
2 comments:
Jens was rocking. Unbelievable. The oldest guy in the race and he's faster than all of them except four, only 59 seconds behind the winner.
Don't know if you saw it but the tarmac was horrendous. Really bad roads, making if difficult to find that path of least resistance. That's OK for a stage but frustrating for a TT. There was fatigue evident, so the experienced vets, such as Jens, used it to the max. Four laps at the Rock Store will decide it starting in about six hours.
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