Prologue: (Palo Alto-Stanford University) 3.4 kilometers
The 2008 Amgen Tour of California will begin with a short, 3.4 kilometer prologue. Despite being short, this prologue should be filled with action. The riders will take off from famed Hamilton Avenue. An interesting element added to the course is the Stanford Oval. Riders will take a complete 360 degree loop around the oval, providing a tricky part in the course.
The usual suspects are the favorites. Slipstream showed their great time trialing form in the Tour of Qatar. Dave Zabriskie and David Millar will be sure to threaten for the race's first yellow jersey. They will have to battle World Time Trial Champion Fabian Cancellara of Team CSC. Other contenders include Levi Leipheimer and Vladimir Gusev of Astana, last year's surprise Ben Jacques-Mayne of Bissell, High Road's George Hincapie, and Rock Racing's Tyler Hamilton.
Stage 1: (Sausalito-Santa Rosa) 156 kilometers
Three sprints and a one third category climb will makeup the route of the first road stage. The riders will descend into Levi Leipheimer's home town of Santa Rosa, where they will race three laps in a downtown circuit. Each lap is 4.7 kilometers. Fans will be treated to numerous scenic spots to see the race go by, and the riders will use this stage as a chance to stretch out their climbing legs. If a break doesn't succeed, the sprinters' teams will be sure to move to the front of the peloton. Quickstep brings a loaded squad with two-headed monster Tom Boonen and Paolo Bettini. Rabobank will lead out the Spanish bullet, Oscar Freire. High Road's Mark Cavendish will be in a good spot to give the English fans something to cheer about. Stage 2: (Santa Rosa-Sacramento) 187 kilometers
The riders will be greeted early with a category two climb up the Trinity Grade. It has an average gradient of 12%, and is just over three kilometers long. Roughly 35 miles later, the riders will ascend a category four climb, before entering the first sprint of the day in Winters. Two early climbs should help breakaways build early leads, but a lot of flat roads follows, so the peloton should be able to reel it back in. The usual suspects will contend if a breakaway doesn't find it's way through. The course is perfect for Quickstep, Oscar Freire, Mark Cavendish, and possibly BMC's Alexandre Moos. Stage 3: (Modesto-San Jose) 166 kilometers
In Stage 3 the riders will not have many chances to enjoy the scenery. The riders will go up four climbs in a 20 mile period, first up Del Puerto Canyon, ending with the steep Mount Hamilton (category HC). Before heading to the finish, the lads will have to climb one last time, up Sierra Road, a category one climb. A sprinter will probably still have the yellow jersey at this point, but you can bet they will have to pass it on to a climber. The big favorite will be California's own Levi Leipheimer. His teammate Janez Brajkovic can also climb, so if Leipheimer struggles Brajkovic may be given the freedom to go ahead. Rock Racing will probably put forth a three-headed attack with Oscar Sevilla, Santiago Botero, and Victor Hugo Pena. Tom Danielson and Christian Vandevelde will be Slipstream's mountain hope. Stage 4: (Seaside-San Luis Obispo) 218 kilometers
This route takes the riders mainly on Highway 1, a scenic road along the California coast. At 218 kilometers, this is the longest stage (distance wise) of this year's race. The stage includes two intermediate sprints and three KOM points opportunities. After the early climbs the race should settle down and turn back into a sprinter's paradise.
The usual suspects mentioned earlier should have a good chance to take the stage. In addition to those, watch out for Toyota United's Ivan Dominguez, 'Fast Freddy' Rodriguez of Rock Racing, and High Road's Gerald Ciolek.
Stage 5: (Solvang-Solvang) 24 kilometers
If you're a Lance Armstrong or US Postal/Discovery Channel fan, you've probably heard of Solvang. It has hosted numerous camps, and provided great practice ground for Lance's famed Tour Time trials. This should prove decisive for the overall jersey. The riders will be gradually "going up hill", so the time trial is not completely flat, at least for the first half.
The time trialing favorites should battle it out here for the stage win, but Yellow Jersey contenders will be battling for time against one another. Riders that should find themselves near the top of the leader board will be Levi Leipheimer, Tyler Hamilton, Tom Danielson, George Hincapie, and Kim Kirchen. Stage 6: (Santa Barbara-Santa Clarita) 175 kilometers
Breakaways always seem to find a way to spoil a race, and Stage 6 provides a perfect recipe for those breakaway specialists. The stage is complete with four rated climbs, and a gradual up-hill finish, making it hard for the peloton to eat into the gap of the breakaway group. Contenders will most likely sit back, unless they still have something in their legs after the heavy mountain stage and time trial. This stage is very hard to predict, but David Canada of Saunier Duval-Scott excels on these types of stages. He should be of no threat to the overall lead, so most likely the peloton will let him go if he is able to get in the breakaway. Stage 7: (Santa Clarita-Pasadena) 150 kilometers
The final stage of this year's Amgen Tour of California should be an easy one after a hard week of racing. The stage does have a category three climb roughly 37.5 miles into the stage, in addition to two intermediate sprints. The race ends with a six lap circuit, each lap is about seven kilometers. Hopefully the finale of this year's TOC will be as exciting as last year's. Ivan Dominguez excels on circuits, and is an early favorite for this stage. J.J. Haedo, Gerald Ciolek, Oscar Freire, Tom Boonen, and Paolo Bettini will battle it out for the final sprint points. |
