For those whose only experience with stage races may be watching of the Tour de France, there are some differences. First off the TdF is a 21-stage race with two rest days and the stages are mixed terrain, along with a few time trials. The ATOC however is an 8-stage race with no rest days. It too covers a variety of hills, mountains and flatlands, a bit of everything, plus a time trial. For the first time the ATOC is heading north through the state. One technical difference between the three European Classics and the ATOC is that the riders do not have radios to communicate with the support team in vehicles that follow. All communications between the riders and their team is "old school" via verbal communications. For example during Stage Three Jens Voigt from RadioShack-Leopard-Trek was seen loading up with several water bottles from a support vehicle and then sprinting back to his team dropping off bottles like a flight attendant with a beverage cart.
Crowd support around the course was impressive given the mountain wilderness between the two cities. The finish line, located in a retail center in Santa Clarita, was a beehive of activity from the Amgen's VIP areas to the small tent village of vendors and cycling providers. The real advantage of the tent village was the large screens from the Eurosport feed prior to the NBC Sports coverage. It’s always a pleasure to hear the brilliant commentary of Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin. Sherwin's historical insights about the northern Los Angeles County area were very insightful, as many residents had never heard the name of the mountain range separating the two cities--the Sierra Pelona's.
Turning back to the race, the last 20+
miles were a long downhill race into Santa Clarita. A few short breakaways were
quickly reeled back by the peloton and you could just predict a mass sprint to the
line. As the group made the final turn into a straight 800M sprint, that's
exactly what happened. Peter Sagan, the “big green machine,” from Cannondale
Pro Cycling, came from the pack without a lead out and sprinted on the outside
past Australian Michael Matthews from Team Orica-Green Edge just nipping him at
the line. Americas best hope, Tyler
Farrar from Team Garmin-Sharp finished just behind. If Sagan's name sounds
familiar to ATOC watchers it should be as the big Slovakian sprinter has
won eight ATOC stages since 2010, including five in last year's edition.
Unfortunately his chances of wearing the yellow jersey in Santa Rosa are nil as
he is almost 20 minutes back of the leader, Janier Acevedo, following Stage Two's
brutal finish.
Tyler Farrar did breakthrough in Stage Four.
It was Farrar's first stage victory, also the first stage win by an American
rider during the 2013 Amgen Tour of
California. “It’s been awhile,
so it feels good to get the monkey off my back,” said Farrar, whose last win
came in August 2012 at the USA Pro Challenge in Colorado Springs. “It was a
great finish. This was a beautiful setting for a race finish, and I’m happy I
won.”
Visit our website for an Amgen Tour of California video presentation. www.stickybottlteteam.net
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