Amgen Tour of California Stage 1 Quotes
Fabian Cancellara (SUI), General Classification Leader
Team CSC
On today’s race:
“For us, it was important to be in the front; especially when we saw what happened last year. We did the sprint for J.J. (Haedo). His win shows how fit he is. Our team is happy to win and still have a rider in the lead; to have this win for our team is beautiful. Our main goal is to win the Amgen Tour of California; it’s really important to come into
On tomorrow’s Stage 2:
“You can lose the Amgen Leader Jersey today and win it back tomorrow.
We look forward to the next couple of days.”
Juan Jose “J.J.” Haedo (ARG),
Team CSC
On today’s race:
“The final 60km (40 miles) of the race were very fast; I barely made it to the finish. That was a really hard part for me. Everyone was really, really fast today, but when you see the last 200 meters, you go as hard as you can and don’t look back. The whole team supported me during the last couple of laps; Fabian (Cancellara) kept me in a good position, but I had to keep him patient because he has a lot of power in his legs and he wants to go, go, go. We have a lot of good sprinters in this race, really a good level of competition. Slipstream really put up a good fight on the
Gerald Ciolek (GER),
High Road
On today’s race:
“I had good position, but it’s hard for the first race. I really felt like I didn’t have punch for the last meters. I hope to get better throughout the race.”
Heinrich Haussler (GER),
Gerolsteiner
On the competition:
“The other teams have four or five strong lead-out riders; I have only one, Peter Wrolich (AUT), who did a perfect job in leading me out today. I was going past on the left and somebody hit me, which slowed me for a crucial moment, but there will be other sprints.”
On his shape coming into the Amgen Tour of
“I’ve come into this race with lots of long rides in my legs, so this is a sharpener for me. I’m a little surprised I was this fast, I hope that my speed continues to improve.”
Jackson Stewart (
BMC
On today’s race:
“I was looking to go with a move, but I didn’t intend a long solo breakaway. I went with three other riders early, but they went back to the group. I went again, thinking somebody would come up. I didn’t want to go alone, but ended up getting a minute’s lead, so I thought I’d just keep it going and try for the KOM (California Travel and Tourism King of the Mountains classification points). I’m glad it worked out well.”
On the fan support in
“It was great to hear my name out on the roads today. I ride these roads a lot, so for our team, this is home. We really felt like the fans were supporting us. We are definitely going to do what we can to keep the KOM Jersey.”
Andrew Messick, President, AEG Sports
On the race overall:
“So far, the race has been fantastic; exceeding expectations. We’ve been doing this for three years now and it keeps getting better. The support from the communities has been wonderful. I think we’re getting to the point where we are one of the most important races on the calendar. February is a good time for us. The weather in
“We want to continue to grow bigger. We want to be one of the races that people plan their calendars around. Part of what makes our race great is that we have a lot of domestic teams participating. It feels good to be able to give these guys a chance.”
On
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Andrew Messick, President, AEG Sports (con’t)
On the Amgen’s Women’s Criterium at today’s race:
The Amgen Women’s Criterium here was a first for the Amgen Tour of California. There are a lot of us who are passionate about cycling, and we think it’s well past time that these women are recognized for their racing and the sacrifices they’ve made for the sport. They train has hard as the men and sacrifice just as much, but they really haven’t gotten the same kind of recognition. Our company believes in cycling, and to be able to help push to get women’s cycling the exposure they deserve is something we believe in. We couldn’t have done today’s Criterium without
Levi Leipheimer (
Astana
On the crowds at today’s finish:
“Compared to last to year, the crowds just get bigger and bigger. Every year, I’m astonished at how many people are here. When I got up on the stage, I could see the booths and stands were going even further down that street than last year. It was amazing; I’m really happy. I see the positive impact that cycling is having on this community. Cycling has really grown around here and I think that is due in large part to the Amgen Tour of California. It feels great to have people cheer me on and to race on the roads that I know every inch of and have trained on for the past twelve years; it’s really special.”
On the crowds at today’s start:
“To me, the crowds seemed as big as last year, if not bigger. Going around the three neutral laps in
On today’s competition:
“With this being the first stage, everyone was fresh and excited. The group split in half on the
Brooke Miller (
TIBCO
On today’s race:
“This was a fantastic venue. It was so exciting and the crowds were great. This was a great field of riders. Competing against a field of more than 100 riders from
Jeff Kolin, City Manager,
On the city’s support for the Amgen Tour of California:
“
On the Amgen Women’s Criterium:
“It was really wonderful for us to host the Women’s Criterium here. We are thrilled that we were able to premiere this new component in our city.”
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