2012 Amgen

By Ron Parker with Yvonne Adan

The Golden Gate Bridge in view from the start of Stage 2 Stage 2 Start by the Bay

WOW!! What a week!! Yvonne and I spent a week following ALL the stages of the 2012 Amgen Tour of California. It was quite a trip. We went from Cloudy, Cool and Green Hills of Sonoma Coast to the Warm slopes of Santa Cruz Mountains. Then we went to the Crowded streets of Livermore to the Clear cool pines of the Sierras. Then we went to the Blistering heat and scorched fields of Bakersfield. We went from the Rocky outcrops of San Bernadino Mountains to the Bubbling creek on slopes of Mt. Baldy and finally to the Video Screens of LA Live.

Fan relaxing in the Green Hills of Sonoma Luis Leon Sanchez(Team Rabobank) University of Michigan Fan urging on a Cioast checking out Team Spidertech rider

Stage1: We started by visiting my son, Sam, in . Sam drove us up to Coleman Valley Road for the last KOM of the first stage. I found a spot about 100 meters before the KOM and a little above the road and waited for the riders. A Ralpha truck was setup and doing a roaring by providing hot coffee for the spectators. A splintering break went by with the peloton fast on their heels. Luis Leon Sanchez veered over to the side of the road and did a double take checking out how Levi was doing. Various riders came by in groups until the broom wagon showed up. Shari came by in a Marshalls van with orange gloves on the windshield wipers. We took the road down the hill and went by Bodega Bay for Clam Chowder. The stage ended with a bunch sprint and took his first win.

Stage 2:

Chris Horner and Gregory Rast(Team Levi Leipheimer @ Stage 2 start (Team Omega Pharma-Lotto RadioShack) @ “Meet and Greet” Quickstep) won & Roubaix in 2012 On Monday we went to a meet and greet with the RadioShack Nissan Team at a Nissan dealer on Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco. I got a jersey signed by the team and a Giro/ Tour of California Race Guide for the team. We then followed the team cars down to the Marina, found parking and walked back to the team buses. I got some good photos of the riders as they went down an aisle in the crowd to sign in at the start. They then lined up at the start and off they went. We went across the lawn to see them start from one side of the road to the other. One rider was having a mechanical problem and stopped in front of us to check his bike and get pushed off again. We then drove down the peninsula and up Bear Creek road and found parking for the car by the side of the road. It was shady and cool where we parked the car but was bright and sunny at the last KOM of the day. We talked with a couple that had been at the KOM the day before. Dore Holt ”The Antler Man” was there and started warming up. The Ralpha truck was here and making more coffee. The Marshalls had to stop traffic to put up and put up the inflatable banner. The riders were late but finally showed up. The break for the day had been caught and the peloton was lead by United Heathcare but all the major riders were still there. Tom Boonen was off the back and Dore ran with his small group. One group got sprayed with water and the rider sprayed back with his water bottle while Dore gave him a push. Two riders were way off the back and most people left the area before they arrived. The stage ended with a sprint finish and Peter Sagan took win number2. The two Bissel riders were eliminated on time. We got some sunburn and vowed to wear sunscreen and hats.

Fans we met at KOM in Santa Cruz KOM banner goes up Garmin rider sprays fan with Dore Holt running besides him

Stage 3:

Team RadioShack rider hanging on the Phil Ligget and Paul Sherwen announcers Tim and Shari Nicholls watching the race Team car as they came through the 1st for NBC Sports Network getting ready to on the big screen in Livermore time open the day’s show. Stage 3 took us to Livermore. The riders would come through Livermore twice during the day. They would come through from West to East and then do a big circuit out to Mt. Diablo and Patterson Pass and finish from East to West. We saw the riders come through the first time with a break in place. We went through the Lifestyle Festival and had a nice lunch. We watched the race on the big screen. We saw Shari in front of the big screen at the Michelob Tent, said hello and chatted. This was the first time she had been to a finish as their station was just on the approach to the city. We found a spot by the rail at 150 meters to go. I found a way to step up on the lowest rung of the orange fence to get a shot of the finish. It was a bunch sprint with Sagan taking his third victory. We were like sardines as we tried to exit by the podium and got some shots of the backs of the winners. Then off to Merced for the night.

Peter Sagan(here third) beats Haussler(here Haussler(2nd) Boonen(3rd) and Sagan(1st) Tom Boonen comes over for an first) 2nd & Tom Boonen(here right)3rd On podium for Stage 3 interview by Bob Roll Stage 4:

Fan waits for her husband to cycle part of the Here he comes!! Dave Zabriskie, Levi Leipheimer and Tom course to last KOM on stage 4 to Clovis Danielson ride in the peloton. Stage 4 was from Sonora to Clovis. We drove up Ca 140 to Mariposa and then over three KOM in succession to Oakhurst. It was definitely and up and down course all day. We found a spot before the last KOM for the day and settled in. We met a couple where the man was tall and lean and had ridden part of the course. One of the course directors stopped and handed out a bunch of green t-shirts to a group of kids. of Nissan was in the break. The break was less than one minute ahead of the lead peloton. The stage ended in another bunch sprint with Sagan winning his fourth stage. We traveled to Bakersfield for the night. We had dinner at a Basque restaurant with good and bountiful food. As we were driving to the restaurant we noticed several teams entering the Doubletree Hotel. After dinner we stopped at the hotel. As I was out taking pictures I saw Dave Zabriskie from Garmin, said hello and wished him good luck on the Time Trial on the next day. of Rabobank was in the parking lot on a time trial bike and trainer.

Most of the riders stayed at the Dave Zabriskie(Team Garmin) checking with Robert Gesink(Team Rabobank) warms DoubleTree in Bakersfield the mechanics in the evening before the TT up on the TT bike to get used to the position Stage 5:

Trying to avoid the heat in Bakersfield!! Alex and Mary were great fans of the Dave Zabriskie as Captain America race!! captures the TT win!!

Stage 5 was the Time Trial in Bakersfield. The weather report was for a warmer day. When we got to Bakersfield College it was a scorcher. We found a spot on top of the hill in the last kilometer. There were lots of umbrellas and canopies. We saw the couple from the day before and her husband was going back to the car for a canopy. I went back to the car for a golf umbrella and tied it to the top of a tripod with a rope. It helped a lot but required a hand on the rope as the lifesaving breeze came up later. The high for the day was approaching 100 degrees. We were joined by Photographers from pelotonPost.com, 1photo-op.com and willshootphotos.com who was shooting for Graham Watson. It didn’t help that they had freshly paved that section of the course and it soaked up and scorched my feet. We had a couple next to us, Alex and Mary, who were great companions and bicycle fans. They were from LA and have been to the “Tour”. They had an extra copy of the start list which was a big help. They provided pads for the pros in front of us to get off the hot asphalt. They took the empty water bottles of the pros and made me envious of their pump sprayer cooler. Yvonne got the loan of a stool from another couple so she could sit in the shade under my umbrella. Kristin Armstrong won the lady pros. Captain America Dave Zabriskie took the Men’s race and is now in the overall lead. team RadioShack Nissan took second. Tejay Van Garderan, Team BMC, took third. had a disappointing ride and is 2:50 minutes back of the race lead. We packed up and headed back to the car. We dumped water each other and left town looking for cooler climes. We stopped in Gorman for refreshments and food and were invigorated by the cooler air to drive to Ontario.

Stage 6:

Sylvan Georges(Team Ag2R) looking for Jeremy Vennell(Team Bissell) & Gregory Dave Zabriskie(on far left) is led by his energy to finish the stage as the only Rast(Team RadioShack) will get caught teammate into Big Bear. breakaway to ever succeed in the ATOC!! before the finish Stage 6 was from Palmdale to Big Bear. We drove up HWY 17 to Crestline and followed along the race route. In the San Gabriel valley it was cloudy. As we drove along the course we were in thick fog. As usual we saw a couple of the tour groups that follow the course. These are Carmichael Training and Breakaway from Cancer. We arrived at the last KOM and we were out in the sun. It was beautiful to look over the top of the clouds. It was slightly breezy and cool. The officials at the KOM weren’t sure they were going to put up the banner arch as a breeze had knocked one down. We had some lunch we had brought along. It got foggy were we were at and so decided to move higher were it would more likely be clear. We drove up the hill to about 14 miles from the finish and found a spot to park. We watched many riders go up the hill and the usual line of tour vehicles. No one else was around. The break came through with Sylvan Georges from Team AG2R from France still with a decent lead 2 and a half minute lead over Gregory Rast from RadioShack and companion. Then the Peloton came through two more minutes back. Garmin was leading the chase with a few LiquiGas riders thrown in. The stage ends with Georges being the first rider in win a stage in the Tour of California from a breakaway. Dave Zabriskie from Team Garmin remains in the lead. Peter Sagan is second on the stage and remains in the sprinters jersey. We drove down the hill and found some folding stools at Bass Pro Shop in Ontario. We had a great dinner at the restaurant attached to Bass Pro Shop.

Stage 7:

Russ will run with riders!! Russ’s friend from Mississippi reads as she Man with a Cool Breeze Jersey finds waits for the riders. the road a bit steep!! Stage 7 was from Ontario to Mt. Baldy. It would be a decisive day in the General Classification battle. The plan was to drive up to Mt. Baldy Village find parking, watch the group come through and then go up farther on the mountain. We didn’t find parking in the Village and didn’t want to pay the $20 or $30 people were asking for parking. We found that Yvonne’s Senior Forest Service pass was good and didn’t have to buy a daily parking pass. We went up the mountain to see how the parking situation was. We got up to a 180 degree switchback in last 5K and marshall told us there was no parking past that point so found a good spot and parked. Unfortunately, there was no cell phone service so we had no idea what was happening in the race. We met Russ from San Diego and his companion visiting from Mississippi. They had been in Big Bear the day before. They said parking was no problem and that they found an uncrowded place on the course at 200 meters to go. He said there were only about 1/5 the number of people at the finish as two years ago. Russ said he would run with the cyclists as he had last year. He said he ran alongside and George told him to push if he was going to run. There was a steady stream of cyclist going up the hill and a few coming down. Russ had his bike and had ridden up to the top. The creek was just behind where we parked and sat by it and took some pictures. The rushing water was sooooo relaxing!! There was no traffic for awhile and then a huge stream of cyclists. . They closed the road @11:30am for the race to go by Baldy Village the first time. Several thousand cyclists must have gone up the hill after watching the pro riders pass Baldy Village. A couple of people came back by bike to their parked cars from the village. They said Horner had gone out on a breakaway with a couple of teammates and had a good lead. Another car came up and parked and said he was going to be the Grim Reaper. He had on a California Triple Crown Jersey. I asked him if he knew Linda Bott and Foster and he said yes he did and that they were good people. A stream of about ten small shuttle buses came up the hill so they could shuttle down the VIP’s. The loudspeaker truck never did come by as there was limited parking at the top. Here comes the Columbian Team rider with Horner about 20 yards in the back. Shortly later there was the attack of Robert Gesink(Team Rabobank) with Danielson trying to catch onto his wheel. Robert Gesink wins the stage from Columbians, Atapuma and Duarte. finishes in 5th place. Chris Horner finishes in 6th place. Previous race leader Dave Zabriskie finishes in 11th place 1:25 minutes down. Robert Gesink now leads the General Classification with Zabriskie in 2nd and Danielson 3rd. We drove off the mountain with bicycles keeping up with us until we turned off the main road.

Dore Holt pushes hard to get up the hill!! A steady stream of cyclists ride up the Russ running with Busche and Zabriskie!! hill!!

Stage 8:

The finish in LA at Staples Center!! Frankie Andreu chats with Garmin Peter Sagan wins for the 5th time!! soigneur Stage 8 starts in Beverly Hills to LA Live with six laps of a criterium style circuit of downtown LA. Complicating the finish was a Kings game at 12 noon and a Clipper game at 7:30 pm. We found a parking place just on the race course south of the Staples Center. We walked up to Figueroa St. at the corner with Olympic Blvd. We were just past the finish line. We had brought our new stools and used them. The break came through with the chasing peloton flashing through. Rabobank is leading the chase to protect Gesink’s lead. I have problems avoiding the marshall’s flag on lap two and three.

Robert Gesink claims the leader’s Jersey Peter Sagan gets the ’s Jersey!! Wilco Keiderman gets the Young Rider Jersey!! We move up to the area past the finish line and see Frankie Andreu who is interviewing for bicycling magazine. We are surrounded by the soigneurs of the teams. On the last lap a Garmin rider takes a flyer but is caught before the finish. Peter Sagan wins again for the 5th time. Tom Boonen (Team Omega Pharma-Quickstep) is 2nd . Gerard Ciolek (Team Omega Pharma-Quickstep) is 3rd. Peter Gesink (Team Rabobank) wins the overall at the . Dave Zabriskie (Team Garmin) is 2nd. And Tom Danielson (Team Garmin) is 3rd. Peter Sagan(Team Liquigas) wins the sprinters jersey. Sébastian Salas (Optum Powered by Kelly Benefit Strategies) wins the King of the Mountains. Best Young Rider Jersey goes to (Team Rabobank). Team Radioshack- Nissan wins the team award. Robbie McEwen(Orica-GreenEdge) gets a special award as he retires after a spectacular career with 24 stage wins. We had a great time , met some great cycling fans and saw some special places in the great state of California.

Robbie McEwen gets the Most Courgeous The Jersey winners!! . On Stage 8 Peter Sagan wins for the 5th Rider Jersey as he retires from racing!! time! Tom Boonen 2nd and 3rd!!

Robert Gesink claims the leader’s Jersey Team RadioShack wins the Team Award!! Robbie McEwen holds up the poster to Dave Zabriskie 2nd and Tom Danielson 3rd commemorate his racing career.