Active Expert: Bruce Hildenbrand

Giro d'Italia Starts Saturday

Bruce Hildenbrand — Thu, 08 May 2008 07:45:34 GMT

The season's first grand tour, the Giro d'Italia, kicks off on Saturday and though it looks to be a decidedly Italian affair, the last minute inclusion of Team Astana has turned the race inside out. Well, sort of. While Astana's roster includes, arguably, the three best grand tour riders, Alberto Contador, Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Kloden, only Kloden appears to be in shape to contest a major stage race.

OK. Can Levi and Alberto come off the couch and ride circles around yours truly? Do you even need to ask? But, dropping Bruce like a bad smell is different than keeping it all together in a three week race. One look at the race map should strike fear into anyone with a heartbeat and knowledge of the route.

The Passo Manghen on Stage 14 is pretty darn hard and the finish of that stage on the Alpe di Pampeago is humongous. The next day is brutal with the Passo Giau at 6mi of 10% and then the finish on the Marmolada(Passo Fedia) which is probably the hardest climb in the Dolomites, the last 3km averaging 15% or so. But, wait, there's more. The next day is an individual time trial which finishes at the Plan de Corones with sections up to 25% in the last 4 miles. Ouch!

Hey, but the hardest stage on paper may be Stage 20 five days later which includes the Passo Gavia and its ramps up to 16% and then the fearsome Passo del Mortirolo which is probably the second or third hardest pass in any grand tour. The 8-mile climb averages 11% and it is just a never ending climb of pain and suffering. Anyone who is hoping to do well in the race and has questionable fitness is going to have nowhere to hide.

With Astana's snub from the Tour I am hoping that the boys in blue lay down some serious smack and show why they deserve to be in France come July. Given their current lack of race conditioning it might be a tall order, but don't count out Alberto and Levi.

Bruce

ps - rumour has it that there will be a stage start or finish in the central valley town of Visalia in the 2009 (insert you favorite sponsor here) Tour of California. That may mean a mountain stage up into Sequoia National Park where 6-7000' climbs exist. Hmmm.

2009 Tour of California Musings

Bruce Hildenbrand — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 07:20:58 GMT

Speculation about the route for the 2009 Tour of California (ToC) has been happening even while the 2008 race was underway. Of course, nothing has been publicly announced, expect to hear something official in July or August, but this is a blog so that means that I can make some guesses and then deny everything when I am proven totally wrong.

Hey, the best thing is that there appears to be several cities strongly interested in hosting the prologue. What was once the sole domain of San Francisco moved 30 miles south last year to Palo Alto/Stanford and was a smashing success. However, rumour has it that Sacramento is keen on hosting the race-beginning event and with the Governator critical for pulling a lot of strings along the entire race route, Sac-Town may have the inside track.

As far as the overall race route, Levi's hometown may be saying bye-bye to its stage finish. In fact, after three editions of the ToC, the Sausalito to Santa Rosa stage is the only route to be included in every edition of the race. But, that may be a footnote in ToC history as the rumour mill forecasts that Santa Rosa will be axed in favor of adding a race day (or possibly two) down in the San Diego area.

Palomar Mountain in northern San Diego county is a favorite testpiece for southern Californian cyclists and may be on the program in 2009. The 11-mile 4000-foot climb would be a welcome addition for riders like Levi Leipheimer especially if it became the first mountain-top finish in ToC history.

The title sponsor for the 2009 ToC is still a mystery. Amgen's three-year deal ended in 2008 and though race organizers indicated that Amgen was satisfied with their sponsorship no official word has been given on who will be the title sponsor next year. More rumours and a few facts when they become available.

Bruce

The Spirit of the Rule

Bruce Hildenbrand — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:19:05 GMT

On Stage 6 of the Tour of California Mark Cavendish crashed in the final few laps, fought back to regain the group and went on to win the race. Unfortunately, the race officials relegated Cavendish for drafting team cars to regain the bunch. As I pointed out then it is very common for riders involved in a crash or mechanical to draft the team cars to get back to the peloton. This isn't the case of a rider who was tired getting a tow to the line; it was the case of a rider who suffered an unfortunate circumstance and was just trying to make it right. Race officials in Europe clearly understand this and allow drafting team cars to regain the field after a mechanical or a crash.

Yesterday at the Tour de Georgia, a bunch of riders were taken down when their wheels were swallowed up by large cracks in the concrete roadway. I had this happen to me one at 40+mph while motorpacing in preparation for the National Championships and it is not pleasant. If a crack in the concrete runs the direction of travel and is wider than the width of a wheel the crack can swallow a wheel and a rider can go down. That's exactly what happened and three riders in the Tour of Georgia went down hard. While two got up quickly, one did not. Tim Duggan of Slipstream Sports suffered major head trauma and was taken to a hospital in Atlanta. I have ridden with Tim and he is a great guy. Here's wishing Tim a full and speedy recovery.

The two riders who were able to continue were still about a minute behind the main field. George Hincapie and Levi Leipheimer went to the front of the field and slowed things down to allow everyone to sort themselves out and in a few minutes the two riders were able to regain the peloton. But, wait. At the finish, race officials penalized the two riders for drafting their team cars to regain the pack. Nonsense. Do those officials have no heart? Do they not understand how the game is played on the biggest stage in the world(Europe)? Have they missed the spirit of the competition?

Bike racing is hard enough, even harder if you do it as a pro. Heartless race officials just make it that more difficult for riders to do their jobs. I just don't understand why the officials don't understand the spirit of the rule and apply it as such. The rule was put in place to stop riders who get dropped because they aren't fast enough to keep up. The rule is not there to punish riders who flat or get caught in a crash. Show some heart and don't penalize riders for circumstances outside their control. The riders race their guts out. They need to be shown a bit of compassion that comes with the respect for what they do.

Bruce

Tour de Georgia Rocks the South

Bruce Hildenbrand — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:07:14 GMT

America's second most prestigious stage race starts today as the Tour de Georgia(TdG) sends 15 teams of 8 riders out on the roads of the peach state. As a bit of history, the TdG was first run in 2003 and it quickly became the number one stage race in the US. The organizers, Medalist Sports, had a long history in cycling, it's personnel were responsible for organizing the Tour de Trump and Tour Dupont in the 1990's. Chris Horner, now of Team Astana, was the first winner, Lance Armstrong launched the event into the stratosphere with his victory in 2004.

The Discovery Channel rider Tom Danielson's stock rose sharply in 2005 when he upstaged his Texas teammate and stole the race from Floyd Landis. The tables were turned in 2006 when, after an epic mano y mano battle on the fearsome slopes of Brasstown Bald, Landis bested Danielson. The Landis-Danielson duel on the 20+% ramps of Brasstown Bald was probably the most thrilling bicycle racing action ever seen by a TV audience on US soil. And the fact that top European teams were sending squads to the race made the performances by US riders memorable as well as credible.

However, 2006 also marked the beginning of another stage race organized by Medalist Sports. On the other side of the country, the Tour of California(ToC) began with much fanfare and anticipation. For the European pro teams, the ToC, with its February position on the racing calendar was a better fit. Throw in the fact that the weather in California usually trumps the climate found across the pond and it was clear that the ToC was going to be a hit with the Euros. Realizing that most European teams have tight budgets and don't like to cross too many time zones to race, would the Euros really head west for more than one stage race?

Two years ago I opined that the Tour de Georgia would suffer if the Tour of California became successful and, unfortunately, that appears to be true. This year there are only four European teams in the race, compared to eight for the ToC. That doesn't mean that the racing won't be difficult and entertaining. On the contrary. US domestic racing has increased in both speed and ability over the past few years; clearly the home boys can hold their own against their Euro counterparts. It is just that it would be nice to have a few more of the top pro teams in Georgia so that they can showcase their talents on US soil.

One hugely positive side to this whole situation is that it offers an opportunity for US-based pros to strut their stuff in front of some of the best professional teams and earn some respect for their efforts. Look for the homies to be very aggressive all race long with early breakaways and go-and-blow moves on every stage.

As for race predictions, there is no individual time trial in this year's TdG so Levi won't be able to crush everyone in the race of truth. However, look for the Astana rider and recent ToC winner to lay down some serious hurt on Brasstown Bald on the way to his second major victory in 2008.

Bruce