Dr. McDreamy, Race Announcers and Rabid Fans
0 Comments Published by Unknown on Monday, February 26, 2007 at 4:35 PM.
With the second edition of the Amgen Tour of California in the books, here is a look back at some of the behind-the-scenes moments that you might not see in Versus' coverage of the race:
Dr. McDreamy's Appearance: Patrick Dempsey, the heartthrob star of "Grey's Anatomy" spent time following the race in support of race sponsor Amgen's complementary initiative, "Breakaway from Cancer." At some stops, he actually drew more of a crowd than 2006 Tour de France winner Floyd Landis, who also made an appearance at some of the stages.
Speaking of Crowd: The fan support for this year's race was phenomenal. From large groups of schoolchildren lining the route everyday to fans crowded eight and 10 deep on the winding road up Telegraph HIll for the prologue in San Francisco, there were people everywhere. It will be interesting to hear what the final crowd count is after last year's race drew 1.3 million people.Calling the Action: If you weren't among the throngs of fans at every finish venue, you missed out on the exciting narrative of the action by race announcers Dave Towle and Jeff Roake. These guys are the best in the business. Not only are they tasked with describing all the action when the racers hit the finishing circuits - often at 30+ mph - but they have to often do their play-by-play off of small TV monitors, which doesn't make it easy to identify riders. It's a shame Versus can't find a way to include them in their televised race coverage.
Long Days, Late Nights: You have to look hard to find them, but some of the hardest working people on the Tour are the team staff working behind the scenes. Mechanics are up late every night prepping the bikes for the next day, soigneurs are up early preparing food and drinks for musette bags and team directors are studying the race route and plotting that day's strategy.
Dominguez Wins Final Stage of Tour of California
0 Comments Published by Unknown on Sunday, February 25, 2007 at 8:12 PM.
Long Beach, Calif. (Feb. 25) - It all came together for Toyota-United sprinter Ivan Dominguez when the Cuban won the sprint finish of Stage 7 on the final stage of the Tour of California Sunday.
A seven-rider breakaway group that included Toyota-United’s Sean Sullivan got away on the first of 10 circuits through the streets of Long Beach and built a nearly three-minute lead at the halfway point of the 77.5-mile race.
But the group was caught five miles from the finish, putting into motion Toyota-United's plan to lead out Dominguez for the sprint. Veteran Euro-pro Henk Vogels executed the lead out to perfection as the peloton stormed toward the finish, allowing Dominguez to come through for his third win of the season.
Levi Leipheimer (Discovery Channel Pro Cycling) won the Tour of California overall, completing the 650-mile race in 24 hours, 57 minutes and 24 seconds.
Labels: Dominguez, Tour of California
