bicycle.net -- cycling news, product reviews, original essays, podcasts & video :: Tour of California 2009

Written by: Jonathan Tessler

After a long day talking bicycles at InterBike I made my way back to my hotel to get a few minutes of down time. After getting into my Bicycle.net branded clothing I decided to force myself to attend the CycloCross race about 10 minutes away from my hotel.

There had been a rumor all day that Lance Armstrong was going to show up and race. Since I am always at the ready to capture a Lance sighting it seemed an opportunity not to be missed.

In this case the rumor was true. Lance Armstrong in his LiveStrong kit was at the starting line at the Cross Vegas event. As expected the crowd was roaring at the mention of Lance’s name. It was announced that there was 15,000 fans there, and it seemed that every one of them was there to see Lance. You can only imagine what the Tour of California will look like when Lance rolls to the start line for the first time.

Overall the event was a blast to watch. The crowds loved it. And heck, I got to see Lance Armstrong get like what seemed like 17th place or so.

On a side note, as I was pulling out of the parking lot to go back to my hotel some guy walks up to my window asking for a ride back to my hotel. When I say yes, he then informs me that he has 3 friends that need a ride also. Since I only have 4 seats in my Honda Element I tell him that I only have room for 3. He says no worries mate, we can squeeze in. So we push my gear onto the floor and they start to pile in.

Once in the official Bicycle.net transport vehicle I notice that the dude sitting in my passenger seat is Rory Sutherland. He was grateful for the ride and as we started talking I asked him for a little payback. So in the near future we will have an exclusive interview with Rory Sutherland. I love being lucky.

Photo’s by: Jonathan Tessler