AUGUST 2012 cycling utah.com 1 VOLUME 20 NUMBER 6 FREE AUGUST 2012 cycling utah 2012 Utah, IDAHO, TOUR OF & WESTERN EVENT Utah CALENDAR PREVIEW INSIDE! AND COURSE MAPS INSIDE!! DIRT PAVEMENT ADVOCACY RACING OUR 20TH TOURING YEAR! TRIATHLON MOUNTAIN WEST CYCLING MAGAZINE WEST CYCLING MOUNTAIN COMMUTING 2 cycling utah.com AUGUST 2012 SPEAKING OF SPOKES Le Tour and More ing performance to resurrect himself ultimate mountain stage and secured hype became tiresome, and finally By David Ward from a theretofore underwhelming it on the final mountain stage. His foreboding. So in a sense, it was nice performance, His fist pump at the facial expressions while attacking to see it did not play out as many I have just emerged from a Tour end of the final time trial when he are comic and, by themselves, worth expected and, indeed, concluded it P.O. Box 57980 de France fog. Every July, I change demolished all others said it all. an award. would. Murray, UT 84157-0980 my internet home page from velone- Nevertheless, without his overpow- One of the greatest things about And who could not be happy for www.cyclingutah.com ws.com to avoid seeing who won ering team, I don’t think Wiggins the Tour is that, even if the overall 39-year-old Alexandr Vinokourov? that day’s stage, warn all to avoid would have won. winners of the yellow and other jer- He crashed out of last year’s Tour You can reach us by phone: spilling the news and come home Meanwhile, the fan favorite, seys are often determined well before and failed to win, as he had hoped, (801) 268-2652 in the evening just to stay up late Cadel Evans was never a factor. It the final stage, each individual stage, a stage in this year’s Tour. Racing Our Fax number: watching that day’s contest. By the seemed evident right from the pro- though influenced by the tussles for his last race before retiring, it was (801) 263-1010 time I do that over three weeks, I am logue that he was not on his best the overall jerseys, is a separate race exciting to see him win. (And in the sleep-deprived, my head swimming form. I kept hoping he would race and exciting to watch. It is three process, teach a young Rigoberto Dave Iltis, Editor & with sprints, climbs and breakaways, into good form before reaching the weeks of the finest bicycle racing one Uran to never take his eye off a wily Advertising and battling withdrawal. Yes, I am a mountains, but instead he just got can watch, with each stage providing old pro.) [email protected] Tour junkie. shelled off the back. its own intrigue and exciting finish. With the Tour finish a week old, it This Tour’s revelation, sort of, was Watching FDJ directeur sportif Marc * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * David R. Ward, Publisher Madiot encourage, cajole, and cheer is time to reflect on this year’s action. Peter Sagan. While he had already [email protected] First, Team Sky was impressive. made quite a splash, and shown him- Thibeau Pinot as he won stage 8 is Shifting gears, it is confession Despite Vincenzo Nibali’s repeated self impressive at the Amgen Tour, he one my enduring memories from and apology time. My friend, Elliot, Contributors: Ben Simonson, promises and, indeed, attempts, along had not yet really made a name for this Tour. and I had decided to ride to the top Michael Gonzales, Lou Melini, with a few feeble efforts by Cadel himself in the major European races.. Well, there is much more I could of Suncrest, a high ridge separating Andy Singer, Jared Eborn, Evans and Jurgen Van Den Broeck, He certainly wasted no time rectify- go on about. As always, even if some the Salt Lake and Utah valleys. For Charles Pekow, Wayne Cottrell, to attack and break Team Sky’s ing that by winning the first stage, parts of the Tour were less than com- those familiar, there is a long, steep Lukas Brinkerhoff, David Ward, stranglehold on all the favorites, this and following that up with victories pelling, each day’s racing was excit- semi-circular section of this climb, at Cottonsoxphotography.net, Chris team methodically crushed all these on stages 3 and 6. Along the way, he ing. And with all its various facets, least a half mile long, toward the top. See, Cari Junge, Tyler Wren, there was always something to be efforts. crushed the competition for the green As Elliot and I started up the bottom Breanne Nalder, Kathie Beals, sprint jersey. On top of that, he was excited about. As impressive as Team Sky was, of this section, Elliot flatted. Since Mark Deterline, Bill Cutting, enjoyable and quite likable. The Tour is a great event. I love Bradley Wiggins was somewhat dis- he climbs faster than me, I went on Tara McKee, Bob Marr, Craig appointing,. Disregarding some of For us Americans, Montana native this race. ahead. Shanklin, Ali Goulet the most unattractive sideburns I T. J. Van Garderen did us proud. He Well, I arrived at the top but have seen, I kept waiting for him to raced away with the white jersey for * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Distribution: Dave, Karma, Elliot never did. Heading back down, stamp his authority on the Tour on the best young (age 23 or under) rider and Marinda Ward, Doug I found him where I had left him, at least one of the tough mountain and eventually replaced Evans as While withdrawal is usually Kartcher, David Montgomery having troubles fixing his flat. I had stages. Those are the champions you BMC’s team leader. It is nice to have immediate, this year’s pain was soft- (To add your business to our stopped on the descending side of the really remember. It never happened. a new American hope. ened by the Olympics which began free distribution list, give us Rather, he was overshadowed by his In truth, the most compelling one week after the end of the Tour. road while Elliot was on the ascend- a call) own teammate, Chris Froome. jersey competition was the polka The road race was the first event of ing side. We chatted for a minute, Administrative Assistant: That being said, he had no match dot mountain jersey. The impetuous the Olympics and, given the domi- and I realized I needed to cross the Lindsay Ross on the two time trials, not even close. and beloved French rider, Thomas nance of Team Sky during the Tour road to help. cycling utah is published Without thinking, I clipped in and It seemed even Wiggins himself rec- Voeckler, took this jersey with an and the nature of the course, Mark eight times a year beginning ognized he needed an overwhelm- impressive tour de force on the pen- Cavendish was quickly tabbed as the began a u-turn across the road. As I did so, I heard screaming, probably in March and continuing man whose race it was to lose. monthly through October. Indeed, the hype became so over- profanities and vile names, rapidly whelming that his victory almost approaching from above. I was turn- Annual Subscription rate: ing directly in front of a rider descend- seemed a foregone conclusion. $15 Unfortunately, it was the type of ing at around 45 mph. Through some stroke of good fortune, a collision (Send in a check to hype that often precedes failure. Bad our P.O. Box) No refunds luck. And in the days before the race, was avoided, and he was gone as fast a strategy seemed to be develop- as he had approached. on Subscriptions. ing among the other teams to try I felt so stupid, and have wished Postage paid in Murray, UT ever since that I could apologize. and shed the sprinters, particularly Editorial and photographic con- Cavendish, during the nine climbs So, I am confessing my sin here. If tributions are welcome. Send of Box Hill. As I considered this, it the unknown rider whom I almost via email to dave@cyclingutah. seemed to me very possible that this killed is perchance reading this, com. Or, send via mail and please strategy might very well work. please know I felt, and still feel, include a stamped, self-addressed And as we all know, it did. incredibly stupid, and am very sorry. envelope to return unused mate- Frankly, I like Cavendish, and I Thankfully, neither one of us suffered rial. Submission of articles and would have liked it if he won. But the anything worse than a terrible scare. accompanying artwork to cycling utah is the author’s warranty that the material is in no way an infringement upon the rights of others and that the mate- rial may be published without additional approval. Permission is required to reprint any of the contents of this publication. cycling utah is printed on 40% post-consumer recycled paper with soy-based ink. cycling utah is free, limit one copy per person. © 2012 cycling utah Pick up a copy of cycling utah at your favorite bike shop! Cover: Jake Stocking leads the Pro Men's field in the Big Cottonwood Hillclimb on July 7, 2012. Race winner Tyler Wren is in red on the left. Photo: Dave Iltis. More photos will be posted on cyclingutah. com See results and story in this issue. AUGUST 2012 cycling utah.com 3 TOUR OF UTAH PREVIEW Tour of Utah Spectator Guide - Get Ready to Watch from August 7-12, 2012 By Bill Cutting ses, pre, during and post-event.