Tour de Georgia weblog

Suwanee accident

Spectator hit
Originally uploaded by Frank Steele.

I was on the scene yesterday when one of the race motorcycles hit two spectators crossing the road.

The caravan had come through, but a photo motorcycle hadn't left. The crowd started to cross the road (in fact I had just crossed the same road) when I heard the unmistakable sound of plastic sliding on asphalt.

I turned around and the motorcycle was on its side, and two women were lying on the center line of the road. Since they were already on site, emergency personnel responded within seconds, and all four were reported treated and released. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported the driver broke his wrist and the others were scraped and need stitches. Here are my photos from the scene.

Dominguez takes Tour de Georgia Stage 1

Photo by Ken Conley

Toyota-United's Ivan Dominguez took a smart victory in the first stage of the 2008 Tour de Georgia Monday.

While Rock Racing (with Freddie Rodriguez), High Road (with Greg Henderson), and Gerolsteiner (with Robert Förster) jockeyed for position at the front of the field, Dominguez found a good wheel, and just flat outsprinted the field.

Jelly Belly's Nicholas Sanderson was 2nd and Förster 3rd, with essentially all riders finishing in the same time.

Stage 1 Top 10:
1) Ivan Dominguez (Cuba), Toyota-United, 2:30:18
2) Nicholas Sanderson (Australia), Jelly Belly, same time, U25
3) Robert Förster (Germany), Gerolsteiner, s.t.
4) Richard England (Australia), Bissell Pro Cycling, s.t.
5) Sergey Kudentsov (Russia), Marco Polo, s.t.
6) Danilo Wyss (Switzerland), BMC, s.t., U25
7) Bradley Mcgee (Australia), CSC, s.t.
8) Greg Henderson (New Zealand), Team High Road, s.t.
9) Aaron Kemps (Australia), Astana, s.t.
10) Karl Menzies (Australia), Health Net-Maxxis, s.t.
U25 - qualifies for young rider leader's jersey.

Looks more like the Tour Down Under standings, with 5 Aussies in the top 10 and Greg Henderson from New Zealand. The best placed US rider was BMC's Taylor Tolleson, 13th, with Chris Horner 18th. It appears neither Freddie Rodriguez nor JJ Haedo were their team's featured sprinters today: Sevilla in 14th was the best placed Rock Racing rider (Rodriguez in 54th), and McGee led CSC in 7th with Haedo back in 75th.

Tyler Farrar finished last, but in the same time as the leaders after puncturing in the day's last 2k. Scott Zwizanski of Bissell, the broom wagon sponsors, is positioned just in front of them in 119th, last overall.

Overall Top 10:
1) Ivan Dominguez, Toyota-United, 2:30:08
2) Nicholas Sanderson, Jelly Belly, at :04, U25
3) Greg Henderson, Team High Road, at :05
4) Tyler Farrar (USA), Slipstream-Chipotle, at :05, U25
5) Robert Forster, Gerolsteiner, at :06
6) Ivan Stevic (Serbia), Toyota-United, at :06
7) Christian Meier (Canada), Symmetrics, at :07, U25
8) Garrett Peltonen (USA), Bissell Pro Cycling, at :09
9) Richard England, Bissell Pro Cycling, at :10
10) Sergey Kudentsov, Marco Polo, at :10

Also:

spare cycles | Dominguez takes Stage 1 | photo gallery

VeloNews | Dominguez bike details

Dominguez rides a Fuji TT frame in road stages, which is heavier but stiffer and more aero than their road frame, mated to a road fork.

Stage 1 underway

The 2008 edition of the Tour de Georgia is underway, with riders currently pedaling toward the highest point on the day's route, the causeway bridge between Tybee Island and the mainland. No King of the Mountain points are awarded for this 60' vertical climb.

Our first sprint of the day was actually on the first trip through the start-finish, won by High Road's Greg Henderson, who takes 3 seconds and 5 sprint points at the line, and uses it to build a small cushion on the field.

He's quickly reabsorbed, as are a number of other testing breakaways, until, at the 45-mile mark, a group of 4 strong US riders is joined by a 5th, and they ride together: Garrett Peltonen (Bissell), Scott Nydam (BMC), Frank Pipp (Health Net), Christian Meier (Symmetrics), and Bernard Van Ulden (Jelly Belly). Several of the big Euro squads will have reason to chase, but this is a quality group.

Gerolsteiner and High Road have spent some time driving the gap down over the last few miles, and the gap sits at about 45 seconds with about 20 miles to ride.

The gap is being allowed to dangle a minute or so in front of the field, where they discourage another rider from breaking away, but can still be reeled in the 14 miles yet to race. Slipstream-Chipotle takes its turn on the front.

At 9 miles to ride, the breakaway is starting to splinter, and the final catch comes with just under 6 miles to ride. Now the field is jockeying for position for a field sprint.

Gerolsteiner, Astana, High Road, and Rock Racing all spent some time on the front in the closing kilometers. But in the end it was a rider whose team was pretty quiet today, Ivan Dominguez of Toyota-United, who outclassed the field. Dominguez is another of those riders who takes the wheel of another sprinter, then can catapult off for the win.

Stage 1 preview

The Tour de Georgia kicks off on Tybee Island, just outside of Savannah, with a nearly out-and-back course that's fairly short and very flat. Unless an ill wind blows in, this stage looks like a field sprint, and the best 3 sprinters in the field are Juan José Haedo of Team CSC, Freddie Rodriguez of Rock Racing, and Ivan Dominguez of Toyota-United.

Georgia's big annual state ride is BRAG, the Bicycle Ride Across Georgia, which frequently ends in Savannah and passes through Pooler, which will host two of the day's three intermediate “Georgia Power Sprints,” at the 32.8 and 59.5 mile marks.

Stage 1 Course Map

Stage 1 Profile (or look at your desktop surface)

Stage 1 Log

VeloNews | 2008 Tour de Georgia start list

Daily Peloton interviews TdG director Chris Aronhalt

Daily Peloton | The Man Behind the Tours, Part 1

Daily Peloton | The Man Behind the Tours, Part 2

Dave Shields (author of two bike-racing novels, The Race and the new The Tour) is a fixture at the Tour de Georgia, autographing his books and meeting with fans.

He spent most of last Sunday, during Stage 6, with Chris Aronhalt of Medalist Sports and talked to him about the Tour de Georgia, the Tour of California, and the new US professional championships in Greenville, SC, all organized by Aronhalt and Medalist Sports.

Asked about the Tour de Georgia's future, here's Aronhalt:

[W]e have big visions for the tour to keep up the tradition. We want to grow either in number of days, or to continue to grow geographically. We certainly won’t stop or rest on our laurels.

Shields: So, by geographically do you see it extending into more states beyond Georgia?

Aronhalt: Yeah, still patterned a little bit after the Tour de France. I think we had a good experiment, if you will, dipping into Chattanooga, Tennessee this year, and that was a great city for us. We’ll certainly look at other states and other cities such as Jacksonville, Charolette, Greenville, and Birmingham. Obviously the focus will always be on Georgia, but in terms of expanding the markets and spectators and footprint of the race, we’ve got grand plans.

Open thread: Armstrong press conference

So the latest speculation at Eurosport and the BBC is that Lance Armstrong will retire from the sport after this year's Tour. No US farewell tour, no Giro d'Italia, no hour record.

Of course, until 2:30 this afternoon, there's no reason to think their speculation is any better than yours, so use the comments link to go on the record with what you think Armstrong will announce.

It's official: Armstrong to race Tour de France, Tour de Georgia

ThePaceline.com | Armstrong announces initial 2005 race calendar

Lance Armstrong announced today that he will ride the 2005 Tour de France, aiming for an unprecedented 7th consecutive Tour victory.

Armstrong had suggested he might skip this year's Tour to concentrate on the spring classics and perhaps the Giro d'Italia.

Another surprise was that Armstrong will defend his title at the Tour de Georgia, April 19th-25th, although the final stage of that race conflicts with Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

As announced Monday, Armstrong will kick off his season at Paris-Nice March 6th-13th. He'll also race the Tour of Flanders on April 3rd.

"Johan (Bruyneel, the team's sports manager) and I will evaluate my fitness later this spring and possibly add some races to the calendar," said Armstrong.

The release doesn't mention any plans for a run at the world hour record, which Armstrong's team is exploring. Many past champions have gone for the record in late summer or early fall.

Armstrong Tour decision this week?

Eurosport | Armstrong Tour decision imminent

Eurosport says Johan Bruyneel, Lance Armstrong's director at Discovery, told them today that a decision on Armstrong's participation in the 2005 Tour will come before the end of the week.

One interesting tidbit from Eurosport:

He also seems more than likely to return to the United States in April to ride in the Tour of Georgia.

But it's a well-guarded secret as to whether or not the Texan will ride the Tour.

If Armstrong does ride the Tour de Georgia, he's not doing Liege-Bastogne-Liege without a time machine. It's on the same day as the final stage into Alpharetta.

Coming Soon? Tour of California endorsed by state

ProCyclingTour.com | State Endorses Week Long Tour of California

The new event is expected to be part of the Pro Cycling Tour, along with the T-Mobile International in San Francisco, the BMC New York City Championship, and the Wachovia Cycling Series in Philadelphia, and will be run by Threshold Sports LLC and California Pro Cycling.

Former LA mayor (and state Secretary of Education) Richard Riordan will oversee the project for the state and serve on its advisory board.

California Pro Cycling, the company that will organize the event was formed and funded by business executives with a passion for cycling. According to their president, Ken Bishop, the company has been planning the event for nearly two years: “The United States needs a high profile international stage race and California has the terrain, scenic beauty and major media markets that will make this one of the biggest annual sporting events in the world in California’s tradition of hosting world class events like the Olympic Games, World Cup Soccer, Breeder’s Cup and more, ” Bishop said.

It seems this is bad news for the increasingly successful Tour de Georgia, since there's never been room on the US schedule for more than one big-name stage race.

State endorsement and seed financing from California Pro Cycling will help launch the effort to secure interested corporate sponsors and media partners, an effort that will continue until the $5 million required to stage the event is raised. “The interest level from sponsors is quite high”, said Bishop. “We are optimistic about securing funding to launch the event in 2005 or, at the latest, Spring 2006.”

Bobby Julich: Fresh start at 32?

sacbee.com -- Sports -- Old pro rides on

In the dark days after Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular cancer, America's hope in European cycling was Bobby Julich, who made the podium with a third-place finish in the Tour in 1998.

Julich, who raced for Telekom, but wasn't selected for the Tour in 2003, joins CSC, Tyler Hamilton's former squad, where he'll ride for Bjarne Riis. Like Armstrong, Julich is 32. Like Armstrong, he'll be competing in the Tour de Georgia in April.