Fabian Cancellara Is The Big Man On The Stanford Campus

By editor on February 17th, 2008

Today was the start of the Amgen Tour of California with some of the world’s best bicycle riders coming to compete in Palo Alto, California. The morning started with bitter cold, but warmed up nicely by the time the riders took to the starting ramp. The crowds were lined up over 10 deep, in fact, Andrew Messick (President of AEG Sports) was overheard stating that the crowds were “fantastic”.

By the time the riders started at 1:00pm today, you could feel the energy. In my opinion, this first day of the Amgen Tour of California Prologue was pure magic. The attendees represented a cross-section of sports fans, and it was absolutely exciting to see how many families came with their kids. The future cycling stars were here today, and I am sure that one day we will hear a rider say that he remembered the day his parents brought them to the race in Palo Alto, California.

The prologue was a fairly flat 2.1 mile (3.4km) time trial. There was very little wind, in fact maybe even a slight tailwind, that kept the finishing times very close. Levi Leipheimer (USA) of Astana, the 2007 defending champion, came in a solid fourth with a time of 3:57.525. The only surprise was that Leipheimer did so well today. The course is not suited to Leipheimer’s strengths, so his result should make him very happy tonight.

Coming in 3rd was Tyler Farrar of Team Slipstream (USA) in a time of 3:56.463. In his press conference after the Prologue he stated “this result is a pleasant surprise, the course really suited me”. When asked how he felt about his performance today he stated “fantastic way to start the week and season”. There is no question that Team Slipstream came to WIN. Every rider put in a stellar performance and placed in the top 20. Farrar feels that his confidence is good, and his form is great for the field sprints. Don’t be surprised if a Slipstream rider is standing on the podium in Pasadena. These guys are rocking the house.

You can bet that Bradley Wiggins (GBR) of Team High Road is a little disappointed to be standing in 2nd with a time of 3:55.980. He put in a valiant effort today and should be proud of his performance, though surely he expected to be standing on the top step of the podium. The crowds were certainly happy, and they cheered loudly for a rider who is becoming one of the crowd favorites. On a bit of a funny note, Wiggins was unable to make it to the winners’ press conference because he had a little problem “making water” (which I had to be told meant that he was having a problem urinating in a cup for the mandatory drug test).

The big man on the Stanford campus today was Fabian Cancellara of Team CSC (SUI) with a time of 3:51.211. I guess he is not the World TT champion for nothing. His pace was nothing short of spectacular. He smoked the course and left no doubts that he came to play. Cancellara stated in his press conference that he “Wanted to WIN”, and “he had a great training camp in Aguora Hills, California and he had great results”. Even though Cancellara is wearing the winners’ jersey tonight, he stated “that the real race starts tomorrow morning”. As far as Cancellara is concerned, this is a team win, and not an individual win. We should be seeing CSC working hard to keep Fabian in the Golden Jersey for at least a few more days.

One thing that can not be ignored is that all three riders on the podium are on teams that have independent anti doping programs. Dr. Paul Strauss (CEO) of The Agency for Cycling Ethics stated that the professional peleton is moving away from the conversation of anti doping as the new practices are put into place. The teams that are actively promoting clean sport and fair play are proving that they can win and be leaders to the rest of the peleton and the future cyclist to come.

On a side note Michael Ball (owner of Team Rock Racing) promised the podium girls would be hot, and he delivered.

PS: Just to give you a taste of how awesome the day was, check out this image of Cippo the Lion King tearing it up at the Amgen Tour.