Road Bike Racing - San Francisco Grand Prix

... here is the newbie cycling fan asking dumb questions again :D

Well, I've looked around the web and can't find much info about the SF grand prix. I can't find any sites that provide an entry list or a track altitiude profile or anythin. This race would favor what type of rider? Climber or sprinter more? I read they said there is a good 3 block climb each lap but I dunno really how much difference it makes in the race. I know Lance is in it, what other Postal riders are in it? Is Lance going to be playing domestique for a teamate?

If you don't feel like answering my questions, ( :D ), just...

Discuss the race

Official Site (http://www.sfgrandprix.com/)

I'm sure they're all happy it's only three blocks!

http://littlechainring-com.temp-url.com/31%20Tim%20johnson%20leads%20the%20chase.jpg

That climb is insane! :eek:

Also, check out the awesome pictures at this website:

http://www.kenpapai.com/racing/sf2001/

Wow, great race .. what a finish! Are the Quebecois proud? :D

It would have been great if we quebecois could have seen it- unfortunately, no one in canada thinks cycling is real sport. Canadian sports tv sucks the bag.

I think he was the only canadian in the top ten? Way to go, Dionne!

Fillmore street looks like total hell!

I was really glad to hear that Dionne won. He has been doing great all season. He deserves it. It really bugs me that USPS, a Division I team, sends Armstrong, Hincapie, Ekimov, and Landis, among others, to a race made up of Division II and III teams. Acqua e Sapone, another Division I, sent riders who were more on a level with the rest of the peloton. Armstrong attends because his big backer, Tom Whateverhisnameis, wants him there and because the mayor of SF wants some celebrities in the race. However, it really bothered me when I read in a cycling website that Armstrong was going to go for the win. I hope he had the graciousness not to try too hard for that win. It reminded me of the Seinfeld episode where Kramer excels in a children's karate class. Of course, at the end of the episode all the kids in the class gang up on him in an alley. :)

Rich

Whee! My wife and I were course marshals, so we had an up-close view of the race, but we had to wait until we got home and watched the tape of the local coverage, 4-hours worth, before we found out how the final sprint came out. Great ride by Dionne.

I found little coverage on the toughest race in America and I'm disappointed. Why can't the media help support large events that attract crowds nearing 500,000 people?

I did find some pictures that give a pretty good shot of the race:
http://www.moecain.com/PhotoPages/SFGrandprix/page1.htm

Keep on pedaling.

I saw part of the GPSF on OLN :D till the wife said we were going to the mall. :(
Here (http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2002/sep02/sanfrangp02/?id=results) is a link to the race on cyclingnews.com

I've never been to SF but thought this hill looked like a killer.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2002/sep02/sanfran/SanFran/two/CClivingstonlandis.jpg

That reminds me of a "scenic route" this devilish little man recommended when I was touring Ireland.

Uh yeah, no DIV 1 teams and no cycling stars allowed. Heaven forbid cycle racing actually attract real talent (Div 1,2 or 3) in the USA or be a crowd draw with the likes of Lance, Eki, George and Chann. We would never want USA Div 2 &3 teams to compete with the best in the world on our turf to show the depth of quality riders we are showing here in the states or attract Div 1 european racers. No, the USA Div 2 &3 riders don't need international races like this to springboard them to bigger and better careers. No, that would make racing in the USA competitive, exciting and a crowd draw not to mention the bigger purses $ and sponsorship. Lance working hard for a win in an American one day race? No we want to hear Lance showing up to all the USA calendar events as domestique or for appearance (like the NYC crit). We don't need the world's best cyclist to actually take a USA race seriously. That would only lead to more quality fields in the future. No, USA Cycling doesn't need the SFGP to become an international race on caliber with the best UCI one day races. You are 100% right, they should "let" the poor old "local" teams go for the win. That would be just great for everyone.
http://www.velonews.com/images/dom/3044.3128.f.jpg
Oh and this victory would be just as sweet if he didn't win in a breakaway with Lance, Eki and Guinti, not to mention the great Vogels. Naw, much better if it were all Div 2 &3 teams with no international coverage. He would be just as excited, sure he would.



Originally posted by Stinger9oh
I was really glad to hear that Dionne won. He has been doing great all season. He deserves it. It really bugs me that USPS, a Division I team, sends Armstrong, Hincapie, Ekimov, and Landis, among others, to a race made up of Division II and III teams. Acqua e Sapone, another Division I, sent riders who were more on a level with the rest of the peloton. Armstrong attends because his big backer, Tom Whateverhisnameis, wants him there and because the mayor of SF wants some celebrities in the race. However, it really bothered me when I read in a cycling website that Armstrong was going to go for the win. I hope he had the graciousness not to try too hard for that win. It reminded me of the Seinfeld episode where Kramer excels in a children's karate class. Of course, at the end of the episode all the kids in the class gang up on him in an alley. :)

Rich

I don't know if I'd compare it to Kramer beating kids- it's not like these guys were a bunch of losers or anything. ANd even though armstrong was going for the win, Dionne beat him anyways!

I wish I could have seen it- god forbid any canadian network actually show anything stupid like CYCLING. No one would have convinced me to go to a mall either. BTW, who did the commentary? With Phil and Paul in spain, I hope they didn't get dumbkopf frankie Andreu!

BTW, who did the commentary? With Phil and Paul in spain, I hope they didn't get dumbkopf frankie Andreu!

Bob Roll took a few days off from the Vuelta and flew over to cover the SFGP. He'll be back in Spain tomorrow and doing color for OLN's Vuelta coverage on Weds, after the rest day tomorrow.

Bob cracks me up - right up to the the 5k to go mark, everything he said made it sound like Lance's win was a forgone conclusion: "oh, Lance is just pacing himself", "this is interesting strategy, Armstrong must be planning an attack on the flats to surprise the break, instead of making the expected attack on the climb", "hmm, Lance is letting this attack go a little to far - he's going to have to work hard when (note, not IF) he responds", etc. -- and then *whoosh* there goes Dionne, and Bob changes tone and goes nuts for him instead at the finish.

The only thing that supprized me was how many people droped out of the race. Of the 130 that started, only 49 finished. Last year, only 28 finished of 125 to start. Wimps! ;)

Some of those climbs look brutal- Fillmore especially. Talk about barfing up a lung!

Yeha i used to live in SF, when i was going to school... I rode my MTB up some of those hills... I thought I was gonna die... I actually think I've caught air going down Fillmore Street in a car... what really cracks me up about SF is the whole place has liek 3 Nasty huge hills... but you know it is realy hairy when they actually place a sign at the top of the hill stating you are on a hill... ain't nothing better than being in your car at the top and not seeing ANY of the street below you.

Jeff

For interest in this, and any of the Pro Cycling Tour races...

www.procyclingtour.com

they link to the race websites. Since the season is over, it might be useful for you next year.