Leipheimer wins USA Pro Cycling Challenge

[JuneBug]

Been waaaay to hot (110 degrees) to get out and do a long ride, but not too bad sitting in the cool AC watching a bike race on TV.

Not a very exciting name for a stage race in Colorado. We've been watching (VERSUS) all week and it wrapped up today: Leipheimer, the Schleck brothers, Yell Cadel Evans (Tour de France yellow jersey), Tom Danielson, Ivan Basso, Tejay Vangarderen, Christian Vande Velde, George Hincapie and many, many other top pros were racing in Colorado over 12,000' passes, showing the peloton what real racing in the US was all about. It was AWESOME to see them rolling through Colorado Springs, Crested Butte, Salida, Gunnison, Avon, Aspen, Vail, Steamboat Springs and all the passes in between, all accompanied by commentary from Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin.

It was also great to see excited crowds, equal (if not the total numbers, but close) in enthusiasm and insanity to any crowd on the top of a pass in the Tour de France. Denver turned out en masse to watch the end of the race -- 6 laps around a four-mile loop at the end of a long, grueling stage; exciting down to the final explosive sprint at the end.

Wonderful to see Levi take the yellow jersey at age 37; he just keeps getting better. Cadel Evans and the Schleck brothers just couldn't get the mojo going and Andy Schleck in particular really wanted a stage win but just could not get it. Many of the passes were 3000' higher than the high mountain finishes on the Tour de France. Heck, most of some of the stages were higher elevation than the high mountain finishes on the Tour de France!

Anyway, a nice cool break from a torrid week here in the low lands. Wish we could have been there. Phil Liggett kept talking about the clean, pure air.