16 teams for Tour of California
by lyne on Apr 6, 2010 3:08 PM EDT
in N. American Racing
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Finally. What many have been waiting for. Today, AEG owner and operator of the upcoming 2010 Amgen Tour of California announced the invited teams to the eight-day event on its fifth-year. The 16-team field breakdown is 7 ProTour teams, 2 Pro Continental team and 7 Continental teams:
Bissell (USA), BMC Racing Team (USA), Cervélo TestTeam (SUI), Fly V Australia (AUS), Garmin-Transitions (USA), Jelly Belly Presented by Kenda (USA), Kelly Benefit Strategies (USA), Liquigas-Doimo (ITA), Quick Step (BEL), Rabobank (NED), Spidertech Powered by Planet Energy (CAN), Team HTC-Columbia (USA), Team RadioShack (USA), Team Saxo Bank (DEN), Team Type 1 (USA), UnitedHealthcare Presented by Maxxis (USA)
US teams not invited this year include Jamis/Sutter Home (ex Colavita/Sutter Home) and Bahati Foundation with the winner of the 1st ToC Floyd Landis.
From the press release:
The teams will be led by prominent UCI ProTour and Pro Continental teams, such as the three-time defending champion Levi Leipheimer and seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong’s team RadioShack; 2009’s No. 1-ranked Team HTC-Columbia, featuring sprint sensation Mark Cavendish; powerhouse Team Saxo Bank, featuring Tour of Flanders winner Fabian Cancellara and Tour de France runner-up Andy Schleck; Liquigas-Doimo, an exceptionally promising young Italian team; Colorado-based Garmin-Transitions; and BMC Racing Team, featuring current U.S. Pro champion George Hincapie.
These teams, with the riders we expect to compete, represent the one of the strongest fields we have had at the Amgen Tour of California. Our move to May means that we will have Tour de France contenders in prime form racing here in the Golden State,” said Andrew Messick, president of AEG Sports, presenter of the race. “We also are pleased to have a selection of top North American-based Continental teams, who will have a chance to compete with some of the world’s best riders.”
Split between teams who compete on the UCI ProTour and those who race predominately in the United States, the field of 128 athletes will be one of the most diverse, accomplished groups of cyclists ever assembled for a stage race in the United States.
“In a few short years the Amgen Tour of California has become America’s Grand Tour, one of our country’s premier sporting events, and a showcase for the demanding and dramatic California landscape,” said Bob Stapleton, owner of Team HTC-Columbia. “Team HTC-Columbia will contend for both the General Classification and stage wins with top riders Michael Rogers, Mark Cavendish and an exceptional supporting cast of athletes.”
The Continental teams will be represented by return competitors Bissell, BMC Racing Team, Cervélo TestTeam, Fly V Australia, Jelly Belly Presented by Kenda, Kelly Benefit Strategies, Team Type 1, UnitedHealthcare Presented by Maxxis, and new competitor, Canada’s Spidertech Powered by Planet Energy.
“The entire Fly V Australia team is looking forward to going head-to-head with the best teams and riders in the world in the 2010 Amgen Tour of California,” said Chris White, team director of Fly V Australia. “This is the biggest race of the year for our team and a great test for our riders.”
Photo copyright Christopher See.
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the two of you want to co-ordinate your posts there?
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
i'm sure she'll forgive you...
… you two are, after all, the epitome of the mutual admiration society
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
No Astana, eh?
Not surprised
"Do you think we are a bunch a girls?...Go and ride some cobbles and you’ll definately know that we don’t discuss perfume and shaving cream." - Dom
just guaranteeing that a certain someone doesn't show up is all...
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
well... that's a novel way to put it
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
Uh...
How about AEG asked them to be in the race? You don’t think they didn’t want a LA vs. AC match-up to trump the Giro? Believe it.
by Chief Commissaire on Apr 6, 2010 8:29 PM EDT up reply actions
Just for me. Rider I know from the teams
Bissel: Jacques-Mayne *2
Fly 4 Australia: Ben Day, Sulzberger
Jelly Belly: van Ulden
Kelly Belly: -—
Spidertech: Lacombe
Team Type 1: Rabou
Unitedheathcare: Clark, Crane, Sutherland, de Maar
Lyne has already told me that she will be riding in the Bissell car on the stage to Santa Cruz
She is expecting some fireworks from Jacques-Maynes no doubt. It will be me and the Gar-chick driving that day (grin)
thanks
that’d be awesome. i’m way lazy at keeping up with smaller american teams..
"I understand that at the moment I'm racing to be in my best form for the Tour de France and the world championships. If I wanted to get shit small wins, I'd race shit small races."
- mark cavendish
Don't forget Daniel Holloway ( He signed with Bissell this year.).
California is the perfect place for his “air guitar schtick”. I really hope he’s riding.
Bicycling is the nearest approximation I know to the flight of birds. Louis J. Helle, Jr.
maybe...but he might be over in Europe on the National Team
and I don’t know if he can handle this distance/speed but it would be cool
Tommeke!, Tommeke!, Tommeke!, Tommeke!
by Vlaanderen90 on Apr 7, 2010 12:13 AM EDT up reply actions
Thank God Cav is not at the Giro
so I can enjoy the sprint stages, Cance FTW!(well he likely won’t but it is soooo Cance domination week!)
Proud member of Thuggetz nation.
What? Petacchi mopping up while the Guardia di Finanzia
are busy going through his, ahem, tax returns?
"I was just trying to keep warm" - Ian Stannard on finishing third in KBK
Why watch if the best guy’s not there? I’ll be even less likely to tune in for the flat stages now.
I'm feverished, or the way you want to spell it
by plinytheelder on Apr 7, 2010 12:06 PM EDT up reply actions
So I assume you won't watch the mountain stages
because the best climber isn’t there, or the TT stages because the TT WC isn’t there.
Proud member of Thuggetz nation.
I’ll watch the mountain ones because they’re more interesting, but let’s face it – whoever wins the mountain stages probably wouldn’t have won them had Contador been there. Same goes for whatever any sprinter might win.
I'm feverished, or the way you want to spell it
by plinytheelder on Apr 7, 2010 12:21 PM EDT up reply actions
But they aren't there because they can't race 140 days a year
the race will be decided between those that are and will still be as exciting, even more maybe because it is unpredictable who will.
Proud member of Thuggetz nation.
Yeah, true enough, my logic’s been better ;)
I'm feverished, or the way you want to spell it
by plinytheelder on Apr 7, 2010 2:21 PM EDT up reply actions
as fans, we're bummed...
…that there’s no prologue this year. :( It’s been such a great way to spend all day around the riders these last several years.
Still, we’re very excited! It’s just around the corner! Wahoo! :)
agreed
Prologues rock and they are so totally fan friendly.
"It's a lovely thing, feeling that momentum. If you're lucky, it's also about grace." Tim Winton
I wonder if Cervelo will bring Thor along for a Pre-Tour points race against Cav...
I also take it that Liquigas will have Kreuziger and Nibali in sunny Calfornia while Basso is busy winning the Giro.
Winner of the 2010 Pavé d'Or: "My Cousin Vino"
I think nibali will be leading Leaky at Cali...I havent heard anything about Kreuziger
Tommeke!, Tommeke!, Tommeke!, Tommeke!
I think he is confirmed.
I wonder what level of team support he’ll get. He could podium if he has a decent team.
Kreuziger
ToC’s not on his calendar. He’s focusing on Tours de Romandie and Suisse with perhaps a bit of additional altitude training sandwiched in between. I suppose that anything’s possible, but I’d be rather surprised to find him on the starting list.
Basso? Winning the Giro? You reckon?
I mean, I might be wrong but…
"I was just trying to keep warm" - Ian Stannard on finishing third in KBK
I don't see it(I have his teammate as the winner)
but this years edition suites him, a lack of acceleration may not kill him with the steepness of the climbs plus the other favorite’s outside of Evans are actually worse TTists.
Proud member of Thuggetz nation.
I banked on Basso ftw.
"It's a lovely thing, feeling that momentum. If you're lucky, it's also about grace." Tim Winton
So the conti teams will be pretty strong...
Who I think will be there for the teams for the contis, not complete teams though
Jelly Belly- Reijnen, Freidman, Routley, Colby, Huff, etc.
Kelly Ben.- Zwizanski, Bowman, Candelario, Shirley, Mumford, Macgregor, Bajadali (didn’t he just crash somewhere?)
Bissell- Jacques Maynes bros., Vennell, Mach, Pipp, Latham
TT1- Creed, Kobzarenko, C. Jones, Ilesic, Milne, Frattini
Fly V.- Cantwell, Jumpin Jai Crawford, Day, Zajicek, Lill, Thomson, couple others
United HC- Sutherland, White, Menzies, Johnson, De Maar, Crane, Baldwin, Pinfold, Kilun (Crane or Kilun is probably not going)
Tommeke!, Tommeke!, Tommeke!, Tommeke!
Cervelo will bring...
Thor Hushovd and Heinrich Haussler
…and though Freire will not be in California (bummer) I will get to see Lars Boom race again (nice!)
so, with no freire, who will you be stalking this year?
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
i think she's way past that point....
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
Bob?
"Do you think we are a bunch a girls?...Go and ride some cobbles and you’ll definately know that we don’t discuss perfume and shaving cream." - Dom
Jimbo - it's ALL about the eye contact.
Are you going? I’m still trying to figure out if I can somehow come out for a visit.
I'm ready for this road season to wrap up. Bring on Cross!
This description seems odd to me.
Liquigas-Doimo, an exceptionally promising young Italian team;
maybe they mean the riders they are bringing are young but at first read it looks like the team itself is a new team.
I had a dream about Hincapie last night.
He came over with some grated cheese (good stuff, not the green can) and a huge pot of fettuccine. We were going to make alfredo. Not just the two of us—it was a party. And somehow he had biked over carrying the pasta (the cheese was in a net bag slung over his shoulder).
Yes, he was wearing the Stars n’ Stripes.
I have no idea what it all means, but it was very pleasant.
The advantage of becoming pigeon takes enormous proportions.--Sporza live ticker, Stage 2 Driedaagse de Panne, courtesy of Google Translate.
This is only the second pro cycling dream I've ever had.
In the first, I was very unenthusiastically making out with the Schlecklet.
Last night’s was better.
The advantage of becoming pigeon takes enormous proportions.--Sporza live ticker, Stage 2 Driedaagse de Panne, courtesy of Google Translate.
It's true! I was nibbling on his ear and
wondering if it was polite to leave yet. Nothing against Andy, but I’m just not super attracted to him. So not at all certain why he was in my dreams in the first place.
The advantage of becoming pigeon takes enormous proportions.--Sporza live ticker, Stage 2 Driedaagse de Panne, courtesy of Google Translate.
is it just me
or do the Schlecks look a little too much like long-lost members of the English royal family???
well, considering how many children victoria had and spread amongst europe...
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
You just had to go and buy that fancy
Philippe Starck grater, even after the juicer left crap all over your kitchen .
Hey hey hey
That grater is actually one of the very very few Alessi products that actually work. And anyone dumb enough to buy Juicy Salif to actually squeeze juice deserves to get crap all over their kitchen.
Unfortunately that would require his team to be there
Machado for the Shack maybe.
Proud member of Thuggetz nation.
what, and have him upstage both la and levi?
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
I'll Be First To Put It Out There
The domestic (continental) U.S.-registered teams will not win a stage this year.
by Chief Commissaire on Apr 6, 2010 8:33 PM EDT reply actions
mmm US-registered or all continental teams?
I say that a continental team will win at least one stage,
U.S.-Registered
Mark it down: a stage win for Team SpiderTech or Fly V Australia is certainly in the cards.
by Chief Commissaire on Apr 6, 2010 8:52 PM EDT up reply actions
.....but I still would love to see Ben Jacques Maynes
win the Santa Cruz finish. Seriously, how cool would that be!! Local boy makes good!!
by steph- on Apr 6, 2010 11:49 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Seriously...
…in 32 stages of the Amgen Tour of California over four years there has been exactly ONE stage winner who wasn’t riding for a ProTour team.
Consider that the race has previously been run in February, a time when many teams and their riders are simply in “warm-up” mode. This year’s race comes smack-dab in the middle of the pre-Grand Tour warm-up phase. The ProTour riders are simply going to be flying, particularly with a hard month of racing the European Classics under their belts.
How a domestic rider – riding races such as Redlands, Tour of the Gila and Joe Martin – is going to compete against that will certainly be interesting to watch.
by Chief Commissaire on Apr 7, 2010 4:58 AM EDT up reply actions
Missing Above...
…was the word “team” – and the mention of which two riders scored the stage wins.
JJ Haedo (two in 2006) and Ivan Dominguez (in 2007) for the Toyota-United squad. Of course, Haedo is now riding on a ProTour team and Dominguez did (briefly) last year for Fuji-Servetto.
Where’s the “edit” button on this site when you need one?
by Chief Commissaire on Apr 7, 2010 5:04 AM EDT up reply actions
2009, Mancebo, Rock Racing.
2008, Rollin, Toyota.
The advantage of becoming pigeon takes enormous proportions.--Sporza live ticker, Stage 2 Driedaagse de Panne, courtesy of Google Translate.
Well then there should be one stage winner this year from a continental team
if logic is to followed who will either be an ex-PT rider or is looking to make the leap. SO think Rory Sutherland (ex-doper/Rabobank) or one of the Fly V riders
Tommeke!, Tommeke!, Tommeke!, Tommeke!
Didn't they come up with a tactic of a sort last year
let HTC do all the work leading up to the sprint, then every single rider from every single Conti team makes a dash for the front and Cav just gets blocked out by the crowd.
Saxo will win the ToC
Jens Voigt said in an interview a while back that Levi will be challenged more so this year with the later start date. Saxo is on a tear, and they have the muscle and the motivation. I think the ToC is a great high profile place to come and win over a new sponsor by ousting Levi, Lance and team RadioShack. They are going to serve what for.
"It's a lovely thing, feeling that momentum. If you're lucky, it's also about grace." Tim Winton
I haven't decided
but Cance or Jens
"It's a lovely thing, feeling that momentum. If you're lucky, it's also about grace." Tim Winton
I guess that leaves Jens
"It's a lovely thing, feeling that momentum. If you're lucky, it's also about grace." Tim Winton
ooops my bad... Switzerlandman for the win.
"It's a lovely thing, feeling that momentum. If you're lucky, it's also about grace." Tim Winton
You realize I am referring to PdC's Jens correct?
because the great one can only be written with an exclamation mark, it is law.
Proud member of Thuggetz nation.
You were toying with a very tired brain last night.
And I thought I’d just let you decide for me out of the Saxo contingent who I should pick to win.
"It's a lovely thing, feeling that momentum. If you're lucky, it's also about grace." Tim Winton
From Daily peloton, talking about Mick Rogers
This shouldn’t be much of a problem to HTC-Cloumbia anyway. As their team manager Valerio Pova, just interviewed “on the road”, admitted, the Aussie is here to win a stage, but notably in order to fine-tune his form for the upcoming races, and notably for the man’s main target of the season, Le Tour of California.
Mick will be in the top 10
I think the top of the podium is a big ask against this field. If Cancellera is fit, do you think he can pull off a GC coup? Are the climbs too high for him? Was never a big fan of Levi, I always thought he’s a bit slow (diesel engine) to win consistly, but somehow he made this race his own. Lost a bit of fanfare when Vino took his place in the GC on the final stage of the Tour de France a few years ago. Anyone remember?
I though, I’d better let this motorbike come by but when I turned around and looked it was Cancellara - Bernard Eisel after the 2010 De Ronde.
I was hoping for a bit more from Mick Rogers this year
like him being the HTC-Columbia GC man in the Tour or Giro, not just hoping for a top ten in Caledonia.
Caledonia?
They’re racing in Scotland?
The advantage of becoming pigeon takes enormous proportions.--Sporza live ticker, Stage 2 Driedaagse de Panne, courtesy of Google Translate.
Caledonia, California
I was close-ish if your scale is in light years
Ground Control to Major Monty...
The advantage of becoming pigeon takes enormous proportions.--Sporza live ticker, Stage 2 Driedaagse de Panne, courtesy of Google Translate.
BMC Is Bringing...
…Hincapie and fellow Tour de France stage winners Marcus Burghardt and Karsten Kroon. More details on the team’s website.
by Chief Commissaire on Apr 7, 2010 4:51 AM EDT reply actions
Keep the arm twisting up and I might just have to
totally say eff work and come out.
I'm ready for this road season to wrap up. Bring on Cross!
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