Keeping watch over tomorrow

Index to all entries

Tour of California - 2.1 USA, February 19-26, 2006

I wish the time trial were a little more hilly then I would be very confident; but there's a big part of it that's flat and straight and windy, so we'll see. My legs are feeling good after today, and the guys in the team did an absolutely perfect job out there - we started off conservatively, and it ended up that only two of them had to ride the whole day. Everybody on the team is riding well right now, and their legs are feeling about as good as mine are. Fabian [Wegmann] was sick the first couple of days but he's pulling out of it now, and he's getting back to where he wants to be.

Discovery came to the front and they tried to push the pace a little today but it didn't really work - then we were at the last climb and immediately the field split down to a small group with only three of us at the top. It was just Floyd [Landis], myself and Bernhard Kohl from T-Mobile - we gave it a good go, but the group came back to us as once we got to the bottom where the roads were flat and straight, and it was easy for the field to come back to us with about five kilometres to go.

In terms of competition, I think Dave Zabriskie is still doing pretty well - he stayed with us on the climb for a long time, which I think is a sign he's riding well. I don't know if I'd say he's the favourite for tomorrow's time trial, but I think he's the most dangerous rider in the field. Overall, I think it's going to be among Dave, myself, Floyd, Bobby and George - the first five guys from the prologue will most likely be fighting it out for the win on general classification.

Some of you might be wondering about the Specialized angel popping up in pictures on Cyclingnews - she's been everywhere, including this Specialized function we had this evening, watching over us at the start, finish and the top of each climb. It's a promotional thing for their shoes, which she wears, but it also brings a lot of character to the race - kind of like the devil at the Tour de France, except she smells better!

After a great 2005, Levi Leipheimer is back in 2006 with his German Gerolsteiner team, and looking for even more success. A sixth place finish in the 2005 Tour de France, along with a big win in the Tour of Germany saw Leipheimer establish himself as one of the European pro peloton's main men and possibly America's number one male stage racer. With a supporting cast that includes wife Odessa and three Chihuahuas, Levi will be out to conquer more stage races in 2006, so follow Levi's progress to the Tour and beyond on Cyclingnews. Australia UK USA