Amgen Tour of California - Stage 8

Sunday, I volunteered to be a Course Marshall for the last stage of the Amgen Tour of California. The tour is in it's 4th year. As far as cycle races go, this is the real deal. Top teams from all over the world, including Astana, Saxo Bank, Liquigas along with the top domestic squads are competing. The Tour was kind enough to come to my backyard with the final stage, starting in Rancho Bernardo and ending in Escondido, both in the greater San Diego area.

The tour has been a very exciting race, particularly with the Lance Armstrong comeback. Crowds have been pretty big.

A teammate of mine, Lori and I both volunteered to help out at the race finish city. We got an early jump on the day and drove to the Start to check it out. We stumbled upon a parking lot with a few of the team busses. Team Jelly Belly,















Jelly Belly Team Bikes (love the paint job)

Colvita Sutter Home,
















and















Rock Racing.

We mostly saw the mechanics working on the bikes but we did see some racers, including the current US Road cycling champion,















Tyler Hamilton

During the race, I was charged with guarding the intersection of Gamble and El Norte in Escondido which is about 2 miles from the finish line.






























My responsibilities included keeping the road closed and keeping the spectators off the street while the racers came by. This was a residential neighborhood so the crowds were locals who knew next to nothing about cycling but thought they'd come out to see the show and maybe get a glimpse at Lance. I chatted with them for a couple of hours answering their cycling questions.

After a couple of hours on the side of the road, the racers sped by. I have to say that it was quite a let down for most of the people there as it was over in less than a minute. I did manage to grab a few good photos.















The breakaway (Vincezo Niballi and Frank Schleck). Schleck won the stage.















The leader chase group including Astana boys (Levi and Lance)





























After the blur was over, we packed up and I headed for the expo at the finish to look at some cool bikes including this incredible 11 lb one!















and my new dream bike















Trek Time Trial

The hastly made replica of Lance's stolen Time Trial bike that was also on display. Stunning bike.

















































After cruising the expo we headed home after an exhausting day on our feet. Good times!

Feb 27th edit!















The incomparable, Bob Roll