Good fun in Long Beach today. Here are the leaders of the peleton whipping along at 30 m.p.h. or whatever they were doing, with Levi Leipheimer clearly visible in the gold jersey behind his Discovery domestiques in blue-black jerseys at the very front. Note the Tour of California banner flying overhead. (For those keeping score, this was taken from the Golden Shores overpass.)
Leipheimer did win in the end. Would have been a more exciting tour if the gold jersey had changed hands a few times, but I'm not at all disappointed to see him ride home in gold. Seems like an all-around good guy. Also a wicked hot rider, who trains on hills and roads I love too, up near Tom Waits' house in Petaluma.
From over by the Long Beach Pike outdoor mall, a shot of the day's attackers ahead of the peloton. I had no contact with race radio or any other minute-by-minute updates from the course, so I really had no idea who was attacking or what the day's strategies were. These guys stayed a few minutes ahead of the peloton at all spots where I was watching. (Can't even swear to you it was the same crew in the attack group each time. Didn't bring a scorecard to check their jersey numbers.)
Speaking of Levi Leipheimer, here's a picture of the King of California riding right by MrJumbo himself. I'm the one in the stained beige baseball cap; he's the one in the gold jersey. Levi and I are like that.
This is just to emphasize that the baseball cap is really stained, and that Levi and I are really tight. Look at the expression on his face—how exciting it must have been for him to ride by me!
Lead group charging by again, this time on the bluffs overlooking the Port of Long Beach. Having these boys riding through my own town was exciting for me because I know the roads well and didn't have to go far to see them. But for anyone following cycling, from anywhere, having a stage in Long Beach meant great backdrops for the excitement—in this case, the Queen Mary right over their shoulders.
1 comment:
Nice shots, and a beautiful day, especially compared to the sleet, snow, rain trifecta that we've enjoyed back here.
In that first one, speaking of gold and the Golden Shores overpass, note the coupla' guys off the back on camera left, who are releasing a little extra fluid weight onto the road. They're only supposed to do that, I believe, in locations where they know that the public won't see them, so you must have found the super-secret spot to watch from.
But are you sure the name isn't Golden Showers overpass?
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