Day 1 Amgen Tour of California

That was awesome and so much fun! The day started with oatmeal, eggs, a team meeting and lining up at the start with some of the best riders in the world. How do you top that as a developing rider? With 5km into the race, a break of 30 riders went and Bontrager Livestrong was represented by jamming Josh Atkins who secured 2nd place in the young riders behind none other than Peter Saigon. Josh is wearing white tomorrow. With the break up the road, the peloton let off a bit and Radio Shack and Garmin worked the front setting the pace and we settled in for the up and down hilly terrain of Santa Rosa, Sonoma County Stage 1 of AMGEN TOUR OF CALIFORNIA!!!! At the top for the first climb at Fort Ross the gap to the break was close to 8 minutes. Without the major team GC contenders in the break I knew this was going to hurt. The sharp left turn into the narrow winding roads of Coleman Valley was a bit pivotal for me as I knew up ahead was the big climb for the day. Sitting at the back and a bit unsure, I settled in for a visit to the pain cave. I found myself with a group in a steady pace and we started moving to the front. At the top I was in the lead group of 30 and the decent upon us. We all came back together though and with 20 km to go Garmin and Rabobank cranked it up and starting driving it. I found myself surfing the front a bit and having a blast. 3 km to go a saw the clipped wheel to my left and swept right just in the nick of time and still had a good position. We went under the bridge and the sprint was on at 300m. I gave it my all and managed to place 9th in the sprint with my teammate Gavin taking 11th. And….I nicked Luis Leon Sanchez at the line…whoaaaa. What a great day. The day was insane, so much fun, great crowds, glimpses of crazy taco costumes and an overall a fantastic experience. A big shout out to our Sponsors Bontrager Livestrong, Trek, SRAM, Honey Stinger, Strava (Check out the first stage on Strava HERE), Giro and Mellow Johnny’s for whom this amazing opportunity would not be possible without their continued support. And as always a big thank you to all those who continue to support me both on and off my bike in this amazing journey! Tomorrow…..Stage 2 ….whoaaaaa.