A Melting Pot of Cycling News

If you have not yet viewed any website remotely pertinent to cycling, you have not yet seen the release of the 2012 Amgen Tour of California route. Check out more here: Cycling News

The 13 Host Cities for the 2012 Amgen Tour of California include:

• Stage 1: Sunday, May 13 – Santa Rosa 
• Stage 2: Monday, May 14 – San Francisco to Santa Cruz County
• Stage 3: Tuesday, May 15 – San Jose to Livermore
• Stage 4: Wednesday, May 16 – Sonora (new for 2012) to Clovis
• Stage 5: Thursday, May 17 – Bakersfield (Individual Time Trial)
• Stage 6: Friday, May 18 – Palmdale to Big Bear Lake
• Stage 7: Saturday, May 19 – Ontario (new for 2012) to Mt. Baldy
• Stage 8: Sunday, May 20 – Los Angeles/L.A. LIVE

Tour of California route in short form above. Prologue in Santa Rosa (Levi Leiphiemer's hometown) to start the race off. Good choice considering the 2011 Stage 1 fallout in Lake Tahoe due to this:

The bigger question may be - Will we see Levi racing despite his new team (Omega Pharma-Lotto) not having a presence in the 2011 version? My guess is OP-L will be an automatic shoe-in for the 2012 race. Should be interesting though to see last years winner Chris Horner now battling it out against Levi since the two are now riding for different teams. Somehow, I don't think the Schleck's will be riding for Horner if they show for the race on the still yet to be determined "Leopard-Trek-Nissan-ShackStrong" team. Either way, in my opinion they will be ruining a very classy, simple kit design from the previous Leopard Trek team for something a little more BOLD, to fit all those sponsors:

But you have to be careful how those rainbow stripes are used so as to not upset the UCI officials, even in those CAT 4 races as this rider did sporting the TwinSix "Dopers Suck" kit. If there really is a CAT 4 World Champion of Cyclocross, sign me up. I probably still won't win it since I tend to lose 10-15 seconds after every run-up on course anyways.

It's been weeks now since the "Occupy Wall Street" movement began, with everything form of Occupy __insert adjective__ following close behind. Strangely enough, two weeks ago I had the brilliant idea of an "Occupy Bike Lanes" t-shirt design which no one has seemed to think of yet. At least one person though, has decided to take their protest to the street:

If someone wants to jump on this design (cough, cough... Handlebar Mustache) before I do, all I ask is you send me a t-shirt of appreciation. I'd ride that bike lane pictured above, as it's probably about as safe as the painted version in NYC.

In local news, District Attorney Mark Hurlbert's effort to amend an extension for a third term on Tuesday's ballot was foiled by the general public in an 11,554 to 6,101 vote. Seems to me, there were far less Mercedes drivers and Lakers fans dropping the ballot, than people fed up with his "quality experience" he has shown us in the past two years. Great job citizens of Eagle, Lake, Summit, and Clear Creek counties. "This was not just about me." said Hurlbert, regarding the extension being beneficial for DA's to come. With 6 of the 22 judicial districts in CO who have already voted to extend terms, I'd say this decision was exactly about you Mr. Hurlbert.

Despite recent snowfall, Colorado CX races have been loving the mix of conditions true to the sport of Cyclocross. This past Sunday proved to be a fantastic day for a little 'cross racing in Boulder for the Boulder Cup's first race at the newly built Valmont Bike Park. I haven't had the opportunity to visit this place yet but I've heard nothing but rave reviews from all who have. Funded almost entirely from sponsors and public donations, it offers everything from pump tracks, skill building features, XC loops, to a full on CX course complete with a Belgian Run-up which to me looks more like the set of stairs to the Lincoln Memorial. With that being said, Belgian rider Ben Berden showed and proved his experience on those steps taking the top spot on the podium ousting Ryan Trebon and Tim Johnson. Katie Compton decimated the women's pro-field in typical fashion, shown here in Karen Jarchow's picture asking "Where's everyone else?" Some joked, "Europe, with the 'pro' field."

Details for the 2012 Bach Builders team will be coming out soon and I am stoked to be racing for such an awesome team of athletes again. We've already added a few new racers including a CU racer fresh off some good results from Collegiate Nationals down at Angel Fire, NM where the racers had to fight their way through less than ideal conditions after an uncharacteristic Fall snow storm covered the course the day before. Many of our sponsors are already returning for another year which we are very thankful for including Infinit Nutrition, Maxxis Tires, Rudy Project, and Swiftwick Socks.

That's it for today. Enjoy and happy riding. Still 30 degrees here in Eagle so I'll resort to the trainer or dusting off the skis. Keystone opens this weekend!

TMP