Last Sunday morning started just like any other morning when I wake up at the parent unit’s home – with an achy body from the air mattress deflating overnight. That wasn’t going to stop me from taking care of what I was there to do. Photograph and enjoy the stage 1 finish of the 2010 Amgen Tour of California. First, there was the matter of the first ever Sacramento Grand Prix that needed to be addressed.
The morning got off to a chilly start when I arrived downtown at about 10:30 AM. The crowd was already buzzing and the Lifestyle Festival was more or less already set up. I spent some time checking out a few of the booths, photographed some of the bikes, and although I had already chosen a location for photographing the race, I checked out my options.
The Sacramento Grand Prix was also being held that morning so I was able to walk around the course and actually get some photos before the big guns flew into the city.
The men’s race was fun to watch with quite a large field of some stellar regional talent. Yahoo! Cycling, Webcor, Metromint, Adageo Energy, and Cal Giant were all well represented. The start list also included a small handful of riders from Ouch-Bahati, but as far as I’m aware, they didn’t show up. Floyd Landis wasn’t one of those scheduled to race, but I can’t help thinking that their absence was due to the shitstorm that was about to hit midweek.
I furiously tweeted the race and tried to get the best shots possible in preparation for the afternoon.
I believe each team took a turn pulling at the front. In the end, Justin Williams of Trek-LIVESTRONG took the win. I’m cool with that. Justin seems like a good kid and I was happy to see him race well after witnessing the difficult time he had at the Merco Road Race.
Justin Williams of Trek-LIVESTRONG (center)
The women’s race didn’t boast of as large of a field, but there was some extraordinary talent racing. Tibco, Team Type 1, Peanut Butter & Co/TWENTY 12, Vanderkitten, Vera Bradley Foundation, and even HTC-Columbia were represented.
Women's field flying down 9th St. with the capitol building in the background
In the end, 17 year old Coryn Rivera of Peanut Butter & Co/TWENTY 12 (and a Bike Pure rider!) won the women’s event. A huge score for such a young rider.
Women's podium
Once the Sacramento Grand Prix wrapped up, it was time to take one last break before planting my butt on my corner and wait.
Up next: Tour of California Week, Part III: Let the Race Begin!
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