Tour of California Recap

By Eric Tsai

For the past four years, February has meant one thing for American bike racing: the Amgen Tour of California. As a new pro team, the odds of getting an invitation were always slim; however, that wasn’t going to stop the Landrover-Orbea team from participating in arguably the biggest show in US racing. Two staff members (David Godfrey and Eric Tsai) and four riders (Evan Elken, Carson Miller, Josh Bartlett, and Ryan Taylor) descended on Sacramento not to race, but to follow along with the expo to show off the Land Rover LR3 team car, talk about the Orbea race bikes, and do some great riding.

The first few days were memorable not only for the great racing but also for the extreme weather, though the torrential downpours didn’t stop record crowds from spectating (only to be beaten by the record crowds later in the week). Levi Leipheimer showed that he was the strongest man in the race by going on the attack in the early stages and then winning the time trial to secure the yellow leader’s jersey. While Leipheimer was stamping his authority on the race, the Land Rover-Orbea team was busy down in the trenches. The schedule for each day was to wake up early, head to the expo area, set up the Orbea booth, try to squeeze a training ride in, chat with all the spectators wandering through, put in some time at the LIVESTRONG booth, tear down the displays, pack up, drive two or three hours to the next day’s finish, then finally grab some food and try to relax while preparing for the next day. This schedule made for some long days and some weary bodies by the end of the trip. Massive quantities of coffee were definitely on order for the week.

Orbea owners tend to be passionate about their bikes, and part of the purpose of this trip was to begin collecting stories and learning about Orbea riders from all over the country. Every rider had a different story to tell, but two stood out: first, one gentleman showed up in Solvang to watch the time trial. He was born and Madrid and had done some professional racing in Spain years ago. He lives in the US now, but was extremely excited to find out that Orbea was importing bikes to the US because he had ridden an Orbea as a kid in Spain. His fond memories of ripping around the neighborhood on his bike make him want one of the new, even faster road racing machines. Second (while not technically an owner yet, a good story nonetheless), a woman was in the market for a carbon bike (her first) and had her eye on the Diva. She came through the booth and chatted about the bike, then wandered off. However, she came back through a bit later and was extremely excited because she had learned that Orbea sponsors Team Type 1. Her son is a Type 1 diabetic and had recently started riding to help manage his diabetes. She was even more excited to get on an Orbea so she could help support their sponsorship of the team.

The trip wasn’t all business, though. Highlights include a stop at Denner Vineyards in Paso Robles for a quick bit of wine tasting. There the team found some great wine and made a fan-for-life in the owner of the winery. The team managed to squeeze in a photoshoot with John Segesta of ROAD magazine fame and had a great time enjoying the professionalism of their first real studio experience. The riders also managed to avoid most of the inclement weather for the week and put in quite a few short but intense rides, including a trip up the famous Palomar Mountain just outside of San Diego. Other than that, it was just a couple beers here and there and then back to work, work, work. And after such a long week, everybody was tired and ready to get home. Some went to the desert for more sun, some came back to rainy Portland, and some stayed in California. Everyone, though, was excited for the next time the team would be back together and for the season to get underway. Next up: San Dimas stage race.

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