ToCA Stage 2 --SPOILER

[Steve in SLO]

Levi did a masterful job today, and showed a lot of heart...hats off for a great stage.
It felt to me that he was channeling some Lance today. I mean: wicked conditions, attacking on the big climb, shattering all opposition with accels uphill. Sound familiar?
Maybe it was just Phil and Paul talking, but his style today seemed very, very familiar.

[johnnymossville]

He just took off, climbed like heck and blew by everyone. he looks to be in a whole different league right now.

[rockdude]

When he first atacked, no one even tried to go with him. What is up with that? You would expect a few GC guys would try to go with him.

[jhcakilmer]

Levi was strong today, but by the end a decent size group of many powerful riders (LA, Michael Rogers, Tom Danielson, David Z, etc) was only 20 sec behind. So the race is still wide open, isn't it??

It was aggravating with all the picture breakup and loss of video.....How come that doesn't happen as much with European races.....seems like it happens every year at ToC. They have bad weather during the euro races, and picture quality might be reduced, but I don't remember ever the lack of video.

Plus, they need more cameras on the road. no one new about the second group, until the finish, and it was a big group with plenty of contenders. They should have been transitioning btw Levi and that big group.

[johnnymossville]

Levi was strong today, but by the end a decent size group of many powerful riders (LA, Michael Rogers, Tom Danielson, David Z, etc) was only 20 sec behind. So the race is still wide open, isn't it??

It was aggravating with all the picture breakup and loss of video.....How come that doesn't happen as much with European races.....seems like it happens every year at ToC. They have bad weather during the euro races, and picture quality might be reduced, but I don't remember ever the lack of video.

Plus, they need more cameras on the road. no one new about the second group, until the finish, and it was a big group with plenty of contenders. They should have been transitioning btw Levi and that big group.

Completely amateur coverage, from the motorcycle guys not keeping lenses clean, helicopters flying around nowhere near the race, terrible video quality. They've had a lot of time now to get it right and it still looks like crap. I see stuff on youtube from Europe in the 70's that blows it away. Oh well, I guess we should just be happy to be seeing anything at all.

[jeffg]

Levi was strong today, but by the end a decent size group of many powerful riders (LA, Michael Rogers, Tom Danielson, David Z, etc) was only 20 sec behind. So the race is still wide open, isn't it??

It was aggravating with all the picture breakup and loss of video.....How come that doesn't happen as much with European races.....seems like it happens every year at ToC. They have bad weather during the euro races, and picture quality might be reduced, but I don't remember ever the lack of video.

Plus, they need more cameras on the road. no one new about the second group, until the finish, and it was a big group with plenty of contenders. They should have been transitioning btw Levi and that big group.

Yep, Nibali tried to go with him, but could not.

Without a mountain top finish, Levi put in a massive effort to gain 20 seconds. He certainly was the strongest, but it's still open.

As for the TV coverage, they do have motos, helicoptors and a plane. The plane was grounded for a good bit of stage 1, and there was no way a helicoptor could get shots of Tunitas Creek yesterday. I think they do need a few more motos, but the plane (at least in the Tdf) gives very good coverage when it can fly ...

[jhcakilmer]

Yep, Nibali tried to go with him, but could not.

Without a mountain top finish, Levi put in a massive effort to gain 20 seconds. He certainly was the strongest, but it's still open.

As for the TV coverage, they do have motos, helicoptors and a plane. The plane was grounded for a good bit of stage 1, and there was no way a helicoptor could get shots of Tunitas Creek yesterday. I think they do need a few more motos, but the plane (at least in the Tdf) gives very good coverage when it can fly ...

+1....the climb wasn't hard enough. I think if the gradient was more aggressive the gap would have been wider. But Levi was still impressive. I also don't think the TT will suit him.....too flat, and too short.

[rwsaunders]

It was aggravating with all the picture breakup and loss of video.....How come that doesn't happen as much with European races.....seems like it happens every year at ToC. They have bad weather during the euro races, and picture quality might be reduced, but I don't remember ever the lack of video.

It's the aftermath of the satellite wreck last week, as the Ruskies are miffed at Astana for letting Vinokourov go.... :cool:

[rockdude]

When he first atacked, no one even tried to go with him. What is up with that? You would expect a few GC guys would try to go with him.

Here is what Velonews said about the start of Bonny Doon.

“When we hit the bottom of Bonny Doon there were a couple of attacks, and I felt great. I looked around, and I could see people were at their limit,” Leipheimer said. “I had Popovych next to me. I said, ‘Light it up, Popo." And light it up, he did, drilling the pace for a kilometer and setting up Leipheimer for an attack that put the Californian in the leader’s jersey.

[johnnymossville]

Here is what Velonews said about the start of Bonny Doon.

“When we hit the bottom of Bonny Doon there were a couple of attacks, and I felt great. I looked around, and I could see people were at their limit,” Leipheimer said. “I had Popovych next to me. I said, ‘Light it up, Popo." And light it up, he did, drilling the pace for a kilometer and setting up Leipheimer for an attack that put the Californian in the leader’s jersey.

Nice having the strongest team around you. This is Levi's TDF and he's making the most of it. I'm happy for him.