Davis Bicycles! column #009

Title: Tour fans will watch the races within the race
Author: Bob Blyth

upper photo caption:
Racers round the corner of Second and F Streets in downtown Davis during the 2008 Amgen Tour of California. The tour offers cycling fans an opportunity to see these world-class athletes up close.

lower photo caption:
The lead riders are followed by their team cars as they pedal east on Russell Boulevard toward Davis in the 2007 Amgen Tour of California. This year, the racers will start Stage 1 in downtown Davis at noon Saturday, Feb. 15, and ride west to Santa Rosa. (Sue Cockrell, Enterprise file photos)

What would it take to wander the sidelines during a 49ers game or sit courtside at Arco Arena? Getting front-row seats is for the very few, unless you are a cycling fan. Other than getting up close and personal with world-famous athletes, what brings 1.6 million people out to see the Tour of California?

Like any sport, there are many intricacies that can escape the casual observer. Cycling is ultimately a team sport that requires planning and strategy long before the gun starts the race. A stage race like the Tour of California takes place over days and contains several races within the race. Each day comes with its own complexities and with each stage comes its own opportunity for a victory. Here's a glimpse of some of the Tour's intriguing sub-plots.

The Tour of California will showcase 17 teams, each bringing a group of riders chosen for a specific purpose. You will have sprinters, climbers, domestiques (for the unending hard work), time trialists and, most prominently, a team leader. Not all teams will compete with the goal of having their team leader stand on the podium as the overall winner. There are a series of jerseys that teams will be vying for.

The Davis-to-Santa Rosa Stage 1 route will include some nice climbs that will count toward the red jersey for the King of the Mountain competition. If you are positioned on the side of the road during one of these mountain stages, you can look forward to seeing the peloton stretch out as the small, light climbing specialists move to the front and glide up the hill, while others, often the sprinters, fall back and struggle to get their bikes over the summit.

You might also see a little gamesmanship going on. Lance Armstrong famously feigned weakness on the climb of the L'Alpe D'Heuz, only to launch into a ferocious attack at the end to build a two-minute lead in the 2005 Tour de France.

The sprinters' teams will be going after the green jersey. There are two intermediate sprints on Stage 1. The first rider to cross the sprint lines will get points that will count toward the green jersey. Some teams will seek this prize as their goal.

The most coveted and best-known jersey is, of course, the yellow race leader's jersey. This is the jersey of the overall leader, and in the Tour of California it has been won twice by Levi Leiphemer and once by Floyd Landis, both of whom will be in this year's race.

The favorites to win overall will be protected by their respective teams. They will spend a lot of time on the inside of the peloton (the main swarm of bikers), only coming to the front if a rival is potentially going to make a move and try to gain some time.

The leader's team will try to control the peloton by moving to the front and setting the pace for the main group of riders. This is often the time for a small group of men, who are lower in the overall classification, to make a break and attempt to win a stage for their team. The team of the leader will often let a break like this go away, focusing instead on maintaining contact with the riders who can challenge for the yellow jersey.

You will also see the blue jersey for most courageous rider, and a white jersey for the best young rider. The most-courageous designation goes to the rider who is deemed to have worked the hardest or been the boldest on the previous stage. This is often a rider who attempted a long breakaway or who continually attacked at the front of the peloton. The best young rider accolade is given to the highest-placed rider under 25 years old.

This year's running of the Tour of California will go for nine days from Sacramento to San Diego, and the course could bring some real surprises. With so many big names like Armstrong, Leipheimer, 2009 Tour de France champion Carlos Sastre and more, it is sure to be exciting from beginning to end. Watch for the stories within the stories as these athletes look for victory on the roads of California.