By Eddie Arnet
Floyd Landis and Team Phonak took the lead in the inaugural Tour of California. They had to keep an eye on three riders after that. Team CSCs David Zabriskie posed the greatest threat of all three. Floyd was second, 29 seconds behind him. Next came Bobby Julich (CSC), at 34 seconds. George Hincapie, (Team Discovery), was 45 seconds behind. The rest of the 120 riders were all a little over a minute behind. It is impossible to catch up with a top-level rider or team, even if disaster strikes. The Cali Tour’s remaining four stages are closed out by the expected pack.
The Floyds Phonak team is able to ensure that they win the Tour of California by marking Bobby, George and David. The Phonak team will be there to support them if either of these riders or their teams makes a move. They will do everything they can to ensure Floyd finishes the remaining stages at the same pace as the three closest competitors. Floyd’s 29-second cushion will be untouched as long as they keep that in mind.
SPARRING AT FINISH
The remaining stages of Tour de California were perfect for teams with name sprinters after the Stage 3 San Jose Time Trial. Only one stage had any hills mentioned, but those ascents were not enough to separate flatlanders from climbers. The remaining stages of the Tour of California were decided by tactics. Team CSC and Discovery’s contenders only rode as hard as Floyd Landis or Team Phonak. CSC and Discovery might give a break to one of their sprint stars or domestiques if things are calm. It gives another person a chance to win a stage, and earn their moment of glory.
CHRIS HORNER SAYS IT LIKE
The Tour of California was not boring. The first leg of Stage 3 was full of drama after the Time Trial. Floyd took control of the race. Stage 4, which covered 140 miles, was by far the longest stage of the Tour. Sixty-five mile in, the Tour’s longest stage, Stage 4, was completed. While the top three contenders and their teams kept an eye on each other, a small group formed a break. The break did not contain any riders that were serious General Classification contenders so the main peloton rides its own race. The pace was controlled by Phonak.
Floyd Landis was forced to change the front wheel. Road stage racing has a rule that the leader must flatten before the peloton relaxes and the rider can get back in the flow. Just after Floyd had fallen, Chris Horner (Team Davitamon – Lotto) made an heroic solo effort to chase the break that had now extended to 45 seconds. Chris claimed that he didn’t know Floyd had fallen because the Phonak team was still controlling the pace. Instead of helping Floyd get back in the peloton, Horner dropped back. Horner did it and made a lot of riders crazy.
Chris crossed the gap quickly and easily. The riders in the break saw Horner joined them and were all very excited. They told Chris he wasn’t welcome up there and that he should drop back. Chris refused to give up and stayed the course. Because a 12 rider break could be a huge success and build a lead of 10, 20 or more minutes, the riders were furious. Horner will not allow it to happen. In 13th overall at
The main peloton riders were unfriendly towards Horner after the break was finally swallowed up. After being dissed by Chris, Floyd Landis seemed upset. Floyd claimed that it wasn’t that much of a deal after the race and the controversy was almost over the next day.
Chris Horner’s comments afterward about the incident are the best part of this story. He stated that it was hard to believe the number of wusses in the break. Those of you who have spent enough time on the road training to understand the attitude will be able to appreciate his words.
THE HIGHLIGHT TO BRING FLOYD SAFELY HOME
After Floyd Landis’ impressive time trial win it was impossible to regain the lead. However, there was still hot racing:
*This long stage, where Horner upset the feathers of a few riders, ran from Monterey to San Luis Obispo. The first 9.1 miles of this stage were used for a neutral parade through Monterey. After the Chris Horner fireworks and racing began, Stage 4 was completed with a field sprint won by Juan Jose Haedo (Arg). This was Haedo’s second victory in the field sprint so far on the Tour. Floyd Landis was 20th, Cadel Evans 26th (Aus; Team Davitamon – Lotto), and Tom Danielson (Discovery team) 35th. Chris Horner was 40th. These four riders finished in a group that included 84 riders, who all received the same finish time. The winner’s average speed was 45 km/h. This is 130.9 miles.
*Stage 5 was a 105.3-miler from San Luis Obispo Santa Barbara. Three rated climbs were included on this stage that weren’t difficult enough to challenge Floyd Landis and Team Phonak. Although the climbs did not break up the pack at the front, they did help. The pack was still there, but only 34 riders were left. Discovery Channels George Hincapie proved once more that he can sprint and climb, winning the race in a timed of
*The Stage 15 cms route is 89.5 miles from Santa Barbara south towards Thousand Oaks. There were a few rated climbs on this stage, but not enough to break apart the pack. T-Mobiles Olaf Pollack, Germany, won the Thousand Oaks circuit finish-field sprint with 89 riders. To win, he averaged 42 km/h and finished in a time record of
*After a 45-mile transfer to Redondo Beach the Tour of California concluded with a 76.5-mile circuit race. Olaf Pollack beat Juan Jose Haedo by a mere 0.3 seconds to win the Tour of California.
THIS IS THE EXTEND
Floyd Landis, an ex-Junior, Under 23 and Rookie Of The Year Norba Champion, won the Final General Classification after racing 596.3 miles. His time was 2
Horner was the fastest in Sprints Classification, out of the three mountain bikers plus Chris Horner (real person roadie), With 23 points, he was placed 6th. Olaf Pollack won this category with 47 points.
Team Gerosteiners Levi Leipheimer won the Mountains Classification (KOM), with 31 points. Floyd Landis was 4th with 10 points.
Thomas Peterson, Team TIAACREFs, won the Young Riders Classification. He finished in 38th place GC with a time of 2:38.
The top three Team CSC riders (David Zabriskie-2nd and Bobby Julich-3rd respectively, Christian Vandevelde-9th respectively) had the best results. CSC awarded them the Team Classification award for a combined GC time 6
You might think that all these rules for roadies are complicated and unneeded. But Chris Horner spoke about his own family members. You’ll smile, and then you can head to the nearest epic singletrack.
