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ToC Stage 4 the way it works...

posted by id* at 09:02 AM on February 26, 2008

Stage 4: It was raining cats and dogs today as we reached Seaside. Today’s stage was the earliest start so far, and contrary to last year’s miraculous breaking of the clouds right before the race started, this morning seemed to get the nastiest as soon as all the guys were suited up and hitting the start line. We had been preparing for this forecast all week, but we had no idea it would hit hardest on what would otherwise be one of the most idyllic stages of the Tour—a long stretch of Highway 1 with breathtaking ocean views, tree-filled mountaintops and lush, green hillsides.

Our optics were a big hit this morning. We gave Arc’s to all the motorcycle guys, and they were definitely pleased to be seeing clearer in the wet weather. In talking to Mike Tamayo, we found out that six of the eight Health Net riders were sick and not starting that day. By the end of the day, five of our Gerolsteiner racers had pulled out because of the same nagging stomach flu. When all was said and done, 15 riders had either not started or pulled out early because of sickness. Our poor angel was sopping wet, and Nikane (the angel’s keeper this year) even had to carry her wings at one point because they were so wet and undoubtedly heavy.

Mike Sinyard’s ride with dealers only made it 80 miles under the severe road conditions, but a few die hards lasted the total 120 miles. Regardless, there was still a really large crowd to make it out for the finish; the people in San Luis Obispo know how to do it right! If you got a chance to see Toyota-United’s Dominique Rollin taking his huge solo victory, you’d know it was probably the proudest and most emotional win of the Tour. We had just been thanked minutes before the finish by one of the crew from Toyota-United, saying that the whole team loves our S-Works helmets and optics.

On a seedier note, the hotel we chose for our stay was like the CSI crime scene of the century. We’ll neglect to use the hotel’s real name, but it might sound similar to the Spanish name “Armada.” We had the same issue last year, but apparently we had blocked in out of our memory; well, now it’s there to stay. There are a lot of amazing hotels in San Luis Obispo, mind you, we just weren’t so fortunate to select one.

categories: Race Reports , Photos