Amgen Tour of California stage 4 Livermore to San Jose

Stage 4 kicked off in Livermore. I didn’t particularly want to watch the start, but I figured I could wander around downtown for a bit before heading out to Mines Road to catch the peloton on the first climb of the day. I watched the team cars and buses arrive and the mechanics begin setting up the bikes. The riders disappeared immediately into the buses. About an hour before the start I headed out to Mines Road.

I parked at the Mines/Del Valle intersection and rode my bike about half-way up the first climb. I opted not to fight the crowd at the King of the Mountain marker. After watching (and photographing) the breakaway and the peloton, I biked back to the car and drove over to Sierra Road.

I grabbed a convenient parking spot and biked a few miles to the base of the climb up Sierra Road. I have only done this climb once (when I was much younger and in good shape) and remember it as a killer climb. I took my wife’s bike with the triple chain-rings, and hoped I could get up a ways. Again, I wasn’t interested in getting to the finish. I didn’t get very far before I was off the bike and walking. I found a nice spot to park myself, pulled out my iPhone, and watched the video coverage of the race.

Ryder Hesjedal arrived first, trying hopelessly to keep his breakaway alive, but the Radio Shack guys were really eating up the gap between them. Eventually, Chris Horner rode away from everyone to gain a 1 minute 15 second advantage.

Links
—Amgen Tour of California stage 4 photo gallery