FogVilleLad

The dates for the Tour of California, May 16-23, conflict with those for the Giro d'Italia, May 8-30.

I don't like seeing our race conflict with a Classic and also am concerned that the international pro teams may not send their best riders to the Tour. Any thoughts?

Innergetic

It's certainly cemented as a (perhaps the) major American race. They already have Armstrong, Levi, a lot of Garmin (Zirbel+Zabriskie, but probably no Farrar), Hincapie, so BMC will be there... This year will certainly show weather it can be a real prep for the Tour or a terrible idea for preperation... Right now I'm just loving the fact that it's October and freezing, but all I'm thinking about is the ATOC and other route announcements. as one season ends the next begins.

diphthong

the toc will end up getting the best domestic riders and a smattering of
good foreign riders that don't want to commit to 2 or 3 weeks of
racing in potentially hazardous conditions. remember, the guy who is
the giro figurehead regularly subjects the riders to long transfers
and crazy/insane finishing circuits on a yearly basis. pretty sure the
riders are aware of this. if the toc can appeal as a sane "race for the riders"
over the course of 2-3 years, they will likely (but slowly) have more pull
over the giro than they currently do. no, the top italians will never be likely to come.

the pro tour teams have rosters of 25 or so riders and will have some to
spare. worst case scenario, we get first dibs on some developing talent that
emerges at the toc first (because they weren't deemed experienced enough
for the giro). even the giro doesn't get all the talent it wants because for
many riders, it's too close to le tour and doesn't meet their objectives.
i think it will be a silver lining; not every rider needs or wants to ride
the giro. shocking, i know.. .

every race on the calendar conflicts with some top rider's
objective(s) for that season. the early season races (qatar, down under) may be too
early, the later ones (worlds, vuelta, lombardia) may be too late, the spring classics
are closely bunched together and the giro, dauphine, switzerland, romandie, tdf are
packed into may/june/july (pick any two to ride but no more than two). not worried
about the toc rosters as long as the organizers run a first class operation. if they start
cutting corners or endangering the riders like the giro regularly does, then all bets are off.

i'll still take february weather in california over may weather in italy. now that it's apples vs.
apples (may vs. may), the california weather is significantly superior-especially in the mountains.

FogVilleLad

ooga, I didn't know any of that. Looks like the TOC could become a serious prep race for some good riders without really conflicting with the Giro. I hope that's so.

CatSkratch

Whoever wins the Giro will have an asterik next to their name......

*won without Lance present

erader

i've attended several stages of the ATOC all four years. IMO, with history as a guide, the ATOC peaked this year and now the decline begins.

ed rader

cyclezealot

Lance has more often than not skipped the Giro.. Wonder what Radio Shack will do. .I'll predict Lance will stay in Sunny Calif. as will most of the Radio Shack team.

carpediemracing 

Lance et co all did a carefully orchestrated Twitter to say they were doing ToC, with celebs like Arnold pitching in the whole fray:
https://www.velonews.com/article/9950...route-unveiled

Since Lance only ever did the Giro once, perhaps because it was his "return to competition and he has nothing to lose" year. However, his "serious" years always skipped the Giro. I'd much rather see a Giro where the * stands for "original results with no necessary corrections for positives after the race".

I timed my early year training trip to CA to try and coincide with ToC. Now it won't matter, and in May I won't be visiting out there. I suppose it's my loss. However, I had a few friends fly out from the New England area to catch up with ToC. Now they probably won't, since the race season will be fully underway.

cdr

Blaireau

The expert has spoken.

Blaireau

That's interesting, if true that's probably why they moved the date.
Why do you say it has peaked, btw? Curious.

erader

look at the field this year. current TDF champ sastre. lance returns. both schlecks, cavendish, boonen, cancellara, wiggins ....

best field ever. best attendance ever.

you think attendance will be bigger next year? will contador ride the ATOC in preparation for the tour?

the attraction next year will be lance and levi. that's old news and lance will be gone in a year or two. stick a silca in this bad boy because its days are numbered.

ed rader

Bacciagalupe

From what I heard, the organizers wanted to move it later in the year to get access to more mountain finishes. It might also be better prep for the Tour de France, as it will be pretty tough but nowhere near as draining as a 3+ week stage race.

No way to know how this will change attendance, but hopefully it will work out well. If not, I'm sure they'll just tweak the schedule again.

diphthong

+1. seems like messick & the organizers have some flexibility whereas the giro is tied into a near
century of tradition. perhaps they'll eventually bump it up to a 2 week race to occasionally include
stages in the lost coast or shasta/lassen areas, the gold country, orange county, east side sierras
and san diego county mountains (there's more than just palomar). so far, a majority of the stages
have focused on the bay area & los angeles county (or a short drive away). then again, they may
shrink it to a 5 day race depending on rider feedback, attendance & fan/sponsor turnout.

erader

attendance will be worse. one reason the ATOC was so popular was because it featured the world's best racers at a time of the year when cycling fans are fresh out of hibernation and starved for action.

the big euro stars aren't coming to california in may to prep for the TDF. your stars will be levi, lance, hincapie (over the hill gang) and sutherland, zirbel and flandis.

the ATOC has had a good run and may still be around in 2-3 years, but i wouldn't count on it.

ed rader

Bacciagalupe

I see someone's an optimist

Better stages, warmer weather. I don't care for Armstrong, but he did apparently bring in some crowds, and would likely do so again at the ToC. I don't think any team has announced its schedule yet, so who knows who will show up? Are the rosters even finalized?

And again, if attendance drops I'm sure they would adjust the schedule.

gkelley

i don't think i've yet to read a post of ed rader's that doesn't bash lance in some way

Mhendricks

I've worked every year the ATOC has taken place and now that it takes place in May, I believe it may be even better for American cycling. Sure some of the big names may not show up, but the best of the american teams will be there. IMO the ATOC will be around for years as it's the premier cycling event in America or should we all look to the Tour of Missouri as saving American racing? Try working it as a volunteer.