Today we witnessed an incredibly impressive effort given by Leopold König (NetApp-Endura), in the final 100 meters of the climb up Mt. Diablo, to win Stage 7 of the Tour of California. Janier Acevedo Calle (Columbia) nudged Cameron Meyer off the GC podium to take 3rd overall after Tejay van Garderen (USA) and Michael Rogers (Australia).
After seven days of racing, we are getting a true picture of whose form is coming in nicely. Key riders use the Tour of California as training for the Tour de France in July, and the ability to respond to small accelerations is a good sign of rider form. Now I wouldn't call König's final effort small, I would call it dominant; he deserved that win today.
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| Leopold König |
Stage 7 winner
Leopold König, (Czech Republic), NetApp-Endura
Stage 7 Podium in San Jose
- Leopold König (NetApp-Endura)
- Janier Acevedo (Jamis-Hagens Berman)
- Tejay van Garderen (BMC)
Tejay van Garderen (USA), BMC Racing Team
Sprint Classification (green)
Peter Sagan (SVK), Cannondale Pro Cycling
KOM Classification (polka dot)
Carter Jones (USA), BISSELL Pro Cycling - his 6th stage!
Best Young Rider (white)
Lawson Craddock (USA), Bontrager Cycling Team
Amgen Breakaway from Cancer Most Courageous Rider
Lieuwe Westra (Vancansoleil- DCM)
Team Classification
BMC Racing Team - took over the lead in the Team Classification.
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| The BMC team bus that can be seen rolling down the highways in California this week. ©Photo by Karen at Pedal Dancer® |
- Tejay van Garderen, BMC, USA,
- Michael Rogers, Saxo Bank-Tinkoff, Australia,
- Janier Acevedo Calle, Jamis, Columbia,
- Mathias Frank, BMC, Switzerland,
- Cameron Meyer, Orica-GreenEdge, Australia,
- Matthew Busche, RadioShack Leopard Trek, USA,
- Francisco Mancebo Perez, 5-Hour Energy, Spain,
- Lawson Craddock, Bontrager, Australia,
- Philip Deignan, United Healthcare, Ireland,
- Chad Haga, Optum, USA,
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| The mountain brought changes to the GC today. |
Stage 7, Presented by Nissan: Saturday, May 18 – Livermore to Summit of Mount Diablo
2013 ATOC Stage 7: route map, profile, and stage information
Stage Length: 91.4 miles
KEY FEATURES: Departing the city of Livermore, the peloton rode out Morgan Territory Road, Patterson Pass Rd, looping back through Livermore for a sprint, then followed a break of 10 riders to the final climb up Mt Diablo, with Acevedo and König leaving the rest behind before König showed an amazing burst of strength pulling away from Acevedo for the finish line.
Photos from the day on Mt. Diablo
Katie Strausser was out on the road of Mt. Diablo today and captured these photos.
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| Riders approach on the road of Mt Diablo. Photo by Katie Strausser for PedalDancer® |
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| De la Cruz and Westra climbing. Photo by Katie Strausser for PedalDancer® |
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| Tejay van Garderen (in yellow jersey) climbs Mt Diablo with the main group of top GC contenders. Photo by Katie Strausser for PedalDancer® |
I was cool and comfy today as I watched the race live on Tour Tracker (in English!): http://tourtracker.amgentourofcalifornia.com/
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| The experience of watching the ATOC race live on Tour Tracker |
Amgen Tour of California took on Mt. Diablo today for the first time ever in the races history. A well-known climb to northern California cyclists, the peak is visible from most of the San Francisco Bay area and is one of The Big 3 climbs in the Bay area. The road to the top of Mt. Diablo is a State Park road with permitting and public use restrictions.
The Big-3
- Mt Diablo
- Mt Hamilton
- Mt Tamalpais
The Mount Diablo Bicycle Challenge is an 11.2 mile timed bike ride, climbing up South Gate Road 3,249 feet to the summit, it is held annually on the first Sunday in October. The next Mt. Diablo Challenge will be Sunday, October 6, 2013, register now.
The year after Nate English set his fastest ascent record, my nephew Kenny Rakestraw, won his age group (19-29) and came in 1st overall for the entire race (47.10.07), at age 21. That same year Kenny won Mt Evans Hillclimb race (SM4) in Colorado, in a time of 2:05:31. Read more about the history and details of Mt. Diablo, on the ATOC official website: Mt. Diablo.
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| Yes! We have a HC (Hors catégorie) climb in California! |
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| Up up and up - the profile of Mt Diablo, California |
Average grade: 5.7 %
Length: 17.1 km
Height start: 178 m
Height top: 1155 m
Elevation: 977 m
Maximum: 19 %
Seems I missed a very scenic press conference on the summit of Mt. Diablo!
This has to be the most picturesque press conference ever. #atoctwitpic.com/crj7siTOMORROWS FINAL STAGE 8
— Team Garmin-Sharp (@Ride_Argyle) May 18, 2013
Stage 8, Presented by Amgen: Sunday, May 19 – San Francisco to Santa Rosa Start 2013 ATOC Stage 8: route map, profile, and stage information
Location: Marina Green, San Francisco
Finish Location: 3rd Street and Santa Rosa Ave.
Start Time: 8:15 a.m.
Estimated Finish: 11:40 a.m.
Stage Length: 86.2 miles
CITY HIGHLIGHT: Route & City information about San Francisco
CITY HIGHLIGHT: Route & City information about Santa Rosa
KEY FEATURES: San Francisco, departing across the bay with a rolling traffic break over the Golden Gate Bridge (at approx. 8:20.a.m.) (the bridge sidewalk will be open to spectators), into Sausalito, up beautiful Highway 1, Point Reyes National Seashore, Occidental and ending with two finishing circuits in Santa Rosa. Done.
111 riders will start the 8th and final stage tomorrow morning in San Francisco.
Tour of California Finale - watch it LIVE!
The Amgen Tour of California wraps up Sunday morning. Live coverage starts at 11 a.m. PDT (California time). Watch it live http://tourtracker.amgentourofcalifornia.com/
Looking back at Pedal Dancer at the race
Pedal Dancer Cruisin' California fan travel series and daily Results from the 2013 Tour of California:
Pedal Dancer Stage 1 results: Amgen Tour of California - Stage 1 Results
Pedal Dancer Stage 1 highlights: California Cruisin' - Stage 1, Tour of California
Pedal Dancer Stage 2 results: Amgen Tour of California - Stage 2 Results
Pedal Dancer Stage 2 highlights: California Cruisin' - Stage 2, Tour of California
Pedal Dancer Stage 3 results: Amgen Tour of California - Stage 3 Results
Pedal Dancer Stage 3 highlights: California Cruisin' - Stage 3, Tour of California
Pedal Dancer Stage 4 results: Amgen Tour of California - Stage 4 Results
Pedal Dancer Stage 4 highlights: California Cruisin' - Stage 4, Tour of California
Pedal Dancer Stage 5 results: Amgen Tour of California - Stage 5 results
Pedal Dancer Stage 5 highlights: California Cruisin' - Stage 5, Tour of California
Pedal Dancer Stage 6 results: Amgen Tour of California - Stage 6 results
Pedal Dancer Stage 7 results: Amgen Tour of California - Stage 7 Results
Pedal Dancer Stage 8 results: