Photographic account of life at the Amgen Tour of California
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Aboard the team bus before stage start, George Hincapie and Simon Zahner listen to Mike Sayers lay out the day’s course and plans. Zahner would later get caught in the early-stage crash.(Image credit: Wil Matthews)
Mike Sayers describes a transfer schedule to Ian Sherburne. The DS takes on many more responsibilities other than just guiding racers. Here, Sayers is trying to find a solution for moving the large team bus to a more efficient departure time.(Image credit: Wil Matthews)
Marcus Burghardt listens in while Mike Sayers describes the finishing circuits, which could suit his abilities.(Image credit: Wil Matthews)
Easton makes excellent products, but no carbon bar would have survived the crash early in the stage.(Image credit: Wil Matthews)
Keeping track of rider preferences for wheels and cassettes is a job for the white board.(Image credit: Wil Matthews)
Steve Morabito, BMC’s highest-placed rider at Tour of California, displays the tan lines worn by most full-time pro cyclists.(Image credit: Wil Matthews)
Chad Beyer, left, Alexander Kristoff, center, and Jackson Stewart consume bandwidth post-stage.(Image credit: Wil Matthews)
Managing media relations for a team competing simultaneously in two top-level stage races on two different continents means long hours. Sean Weide brings the same pro attitude to that work as the rest of the team does theirs, even if the schedule means little sleep.(Image credit: Wil Matthews)
Andy Stone and the daily post-stage ritual of bike washing. Due to a two-hour transfer from Bakersfield to Palmdale, mechanics weren’t able to get started on the bikes until dinner time.(Image credit: Wil Matthews)
Ian Sherburne finishes the post-crash repairs on Simon Zahner’s bike.(Image credit: Wil Matthews)
Jim Ochowicz and Mike Sayers converse before the start of the stage. The night before, Ochowicz released a statement calling Floyd Landis’ allegations "disappointing" and "absolutely unfounded."(Image credit: Wil Matthews)
The BMC bikes are a favorite with the fans.(Image credit: Wil Matthews)
Mechanic Andy Stone has been wrenching for teams for 10 years. Here he applies the finishing touches to a bike getting new bar tape, which can often be changed out every few days during a stage race.(Image credit: Wil Matthews)
The Giro d'Italia plays live during team breakfast. At the Amgen Tour of California BMC is fielding a full squad headed into the sixth stage, but in Italy the team is down to five riders.(Image credit: Wil Matthews)
Riders' clothing is washed in mesh bags to help keep each athletes' clothing organised(Image credit: Wil Matthews)
Race radios are fully charged before each stage(Image credit: Wil Matthews)
Mechanic Rich Sangalli has been with Team BMC since its inception four seasons ago. After the Tour of California ends, he will head to the Giro to supplement staff there in the final week of competition.(Image credit: Wil Matthews)
All Team BMC helmets look alike - except the one belonging to the current US road champion George Hincapie.(Image credit: Wil Matthews)
Team BMC DS Jacques Michaud take a quiet moment in the morning aboard the team bus to write postcards to family in France.(Image credit: Wil Matthews)
BMC Racing Team president Jim Ochowicz has helped the organization grow into a reputable UCI Pro Continental team. This was a busy morning for him following the Floyd Landis declarations the previous night.(Image credit: Wil Matthews)
Director Sportif Mike Sayers runs through the day’s plans with the team shortly before sign-in. Known as a tough and competitive rider, Sayers adopts a similar approach as DS.(Image credit: Wil Matthews)
George Hincapie’s stars'n'bars bike is unmistakable.(Image credit: Wil Matthews)
Jacques Michaud brings to BMC Racing Team experience gained from completing five Tours de France. He’s meticulous in noting every detail of the stage map and riders' progress.(Image credit: Wil Matthews)
US Pro Continental team BMC Racing Team assembled a strong squad for the 2010 Amgen Tour of California. Swiss Steve Morabito has held his own in the sunshine state and after five stages finds himself as one of ten men poised 31 seconds from Michael Rogers' (HTC-Columbia) overall lead.
Stage five of the race proved to be a day of high drama both on-and-off the bike. On Thursday morning, BMC star George Hincapie woke to news that his former-US Postal Service teammate Floyd Landis had levelled doping allegations against him. Later, Morabito's compariot Simon Zahner was one of a number of riders involved in a pile-up five kilometres into the 195.5km stage from Visalia to Bakersfield.
Cyclingnews photographer Wil Matthews was inside the BMC camp throughout the day, as the outfit put aside the distraction of the Landis allegations to focus on the task at hand.
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