I suppose the only way Stage 7 was going to be remembered along with those that came before was if it rained just as hard as the others. And it did. But that didn't stop the riders from living up to their world-class billing. The 2008 Amgen Tour of California truly hosted the best and most exciting professional cyclists racing today.

The stages and weather conditions these guys pushed themselves through merited the enormous fan appreciation on display at each stop along the way.

I've got a recap of the stage on this Endurance Blog post: Leipheimer Wins 2008 Amgen Tour of California. The real excitement came, however, from wondering if Bissell Pro Cycling's Tom Zirbel could turn his daring solo breakaway into a stage win. Ultimately, it was George Hincapie who won the day and Levi Leipheimer who took the overall race. (Below, being led by his Astana teammates).



But once the race was over, the rain stopped and all eyes were on the podium.



The awards ceremony pretty much summed up the most memorable moments of the tour.

Australian Rory Sutherland of HealthNet Presented by Maxxis proved to be one of the more fun-loving guys in the race. He was second to Hincapie on Sunday.



And while riders like Mario Cipollini, Paolo Bettini and Tom Boonen filled up on a steady diet of awe and admiration, Americans like Leipheimer, Dave Zabriskie and Hincapie (below) truly were the crowd favorites.



Those retro High Road jerseys helped, too.

Due in large part to the solo heroics of Jackson Stewart and Scott Nydam, The Tachyon Most Aggressive Rider jersey was awarded to the entire BMC Racing Team, leading one to believe BMC really stands for Big, Macho Cajones.



And who knew a Canadian riding for an American Continental team could be so suave? Dominique Rollin of Toyota-United, who won the crowd with his Stage 4 win through the tempest along Highway 1, gave some of his roses to the podium girls after being presented with the Herbalife Sprint Leader jersey. His excitement every time he walked up on that stage was infectious.



Similarly, there was Team BMC's Scott Nydam and his ear-to-ear grin as he racked up points before finally winning the California Travel and Tourism King of the Mountains jersey.



Yeah, he looks like he's enjoying himself.

And speaking of that...I've been a mite critical of Levi Leipheimer's emotional output in earlier stages. Well, it quickly became obviously the man was waiting until it was really over.





Attaboy, Levi! Let David Millar have it! Haha! Actually, Levi was the consummate professional throughout the race. Even when asked about his (hopefully brief) exclusion from the Tour de France, Levi was honest but classy. Impossible not to like.

That can also describe Slipstream Chipotle, who proved, with their overall team victory, that they're not just the "clean team" but a group of guys who know how to race together. Directeur Sportif Jonathan Vaughters remarked at the post-race press conference that they aren't just a collection of good cyclists, but a team of racers who genuinely like each other and enjoy racing together.





Some other memories of AToC '08? The beautiful towns of Solvang, Sausalito and Seaside. Highway 1 and the crazy route I took to get there. And the fans--many very dedicated and knowledgeable cyclists, others just interested in the spectacle and awed by what they witnessed. It proved to me that despite a mainstream media addicted to doping stories when it comes to cycling, there's nothing like watching the real thing in person.

Being a cycling fan in America isn't easy. For one, there's no live TV or radio coverage of U.S. events. Therefore, if you're following the race as a spectator, you're in for a day's worth of guesswork. Even with my handy Tour of California Technical Guide--which features route maps and course directions with estimated times of arrival--it's no easy task to nail down when the riders will pass by.

Today, due to a light rain and a late start in Santa Barbara (I was posting yesterday's Stage 5 blog), I decided to skip the start and get a glimpse of the peloton along the route. I loaded up on donuts and headed out, eventually stopping a few miles up route 150, a country road at the base of the first King of the Mountain climb of the day. Then I waited. And waited. And just when I started to wonder if I would have been better off retreating to the media center in Santa Clarita and watching the whole thing online, the breakaway sped past, followed shortly after by the technicolor swarm of the peloton.



And thus did I realize that cycling fans must constantly wage an internal war within: sacrifice experience for information (provided by the internet or TV), or submit to the desire to witness first-hand what can be so beautiful--a rolling peloton gobbling up an entire span of concrete.

I decided I needed to see this again, so I dashed off to Santa Paula (my third Santa of the day!), where I could watch the riders come through the Sprint bonus section.

Australian Rory Sutherland of Health Net Maxxis led the breakaway through the bonus (below in black, next to Alexandre Pichot of Bouygues Telecom).



Then, six minutes later the peloton came through. Fittingly, race leader Levi Leipheimer rode just in front of second-place rider David Millar.



I made it to Towne Center Dr. (which really just seems to be a made-up center of condos and a mall created to appear "authentically" urban. Decent planning for a development, but it makes one pine for places like Solvang or Sausalito) in Santa Clarita just in time to park before the roads were closed down.

Now fortunately for fans near the finish line the race announcers (who, by the way, constantly speak in Ital-ish whenever referring to "Whorlda CHAMP-eeon Paolo Bettini" and Mario Cipollini...seriously, they sound like Steve Carrell's character from The Office) are constantly relaying information to the spectators. The six minute lead was gradually being cut down, but not without a fight from the breakaway (below, starting their first of three laps).



With each successive lap, the peloton grew closer and closer to the breakaway riders...



On the first of the circuits, however, it was announced that Mark Cavendish, Mario Cipollini and Freddie Rodriguez were involved in a bike-bending crash. They all made it back up, however, and were miraculously catching up with the peloton.

On the last lap, the breakaway was caught and it became a mass sprint to the line. In the final bunch, Cavendish rocketed to the front and took the stage:



Cipo would cross the line sporting a raspberry from the earlier incident:



But then things got tricky. The crowd waited. The judges were conferring, we were told. And when the stage winner was finally brought up to the podium...it didn't look like a Brit with High Road. Instead Luciano Pagliarini, a Brazilian with Saunier Duval-Scott took the winner's trophy:



Notice Bettini looking a little grim? It's because he let up at the last second after Cavendish as good as crossed the line. Cavendish was ruled by the judges to have held on to the team car for too long following his crash. Even though his replacement bike was being worked on by the mechanic, the judges decided to dock him 20 seconds (along with Cipollini). This meant the second person to cross the line, Pagliarini, got the stage win. Pagliarini was pretty excited, both for himself and for Brazil. He gets credit for riding hard through the finish, not just to it.

A crazy finish made even crazier with the big "Huh?" moment. (The funny thing is, as I'm watching the local news on KCAL 9, they show the clip of Cavendish crossing the line and then state him as winning the stage. Someone didn't get the memo.)

The only thing that could top that, would be this:



Levi's smile got bigger!!! (Seriously, compare that photo to pics in my Stage 3 post.) Maybe he knows ultimate victory is close at hand. Obviously something is up, judging by this smirk:



I can't wait to see him tomorrow.

But before signing off, I have to end with this story. After the race, an Italian man (I'm assuming, based on his accent and favorite rider choice) with a mustache that wrapped down his cheekbones then up to his sideburns and a little tuft of hair under his lower lip told his wife and young son, "We have to hurry. We have to see Paolo Bettini." His wife asked how he could pick him out from all the other riders.

The man answered his wife, "He has a long, pointy chin. Just like yours." Hahahaha! She heard me laughing and turned to roll her eyes at me. Ah, cycling fans.