"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - TOC, headshots from solvang.............

i caught mark cavendish slipping into a cafe for a pre-race cuppa joe............

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v5/p327584044-5.jpg

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v5/p27721768-5.jpg

he was nice but clearly didn't want to be bugged so i congratulated him on his wins and his prologue performance, shook his hand and left.

ed rader

i ran across bissell's ben jacques-maynes (or so i thot) and asked him: "how's your bother doing?"

"i am his brother!"

so this is andy, ben's twin brother. who was taken away by ambulance after crashing on the way to santa cruz.....alive and well :).

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v4/p161055013-5.jpg

his buddy who was taking the picture said: "give him a kiss!".

the blonde replied, "only first place winners get a kiss."

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v4/p169964309-5.jpg

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v4/p169964309-5.jpg

I love that 2nd pic of mark the expression on his face is awesome.:thumb:

Chad

carlos sastre fulfills a photo request for a fan....

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v6/p258247152-5.jpg

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v5/p1021969520-5.jpg

ed rader

Stuart O'Grady sizes up a gap in the crowd and contemplates a sprint to the team bus. O'Grady doesn't seek out adulation like, say, a tyler hamilton, but when cornered he's a pretty friendly guy..........

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p92423939-5.jpg

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v6/p872201517-5.jpg

Levi's wife Odessa and one of their pooches. we stayed at motel 6 because it's dog friendly and we had our dog with us. that evening we saw odessa handing her dogs to someone in the backseat of her car in the motel 6 parking lot. she was getting the dogs from another lady who i guessed may have been dog sitting for them at motel 6.

was that levi in the back seat of the forerunner? i figured if it was he didn't want to be bothered............

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v5/p201647098-5.jpg

Please note O'Grady's ipod.

Robert Gesink before taking a test spin on his TT bike........

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p115607982-4.jpg

Jonathan Vaughters choosing his words....

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v5/p290852763-5.jpg

JJ Haedo leads out Stuart O'Grady through the crowd..........

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v5/p377183623-5.jpg

"Hope Rides Again"..............

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v4/p415928372-5.jpg

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v4/p415928372-5.jpg

ha ha...........

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v5/p182619056-5.jpg

Frank Schleck.....but who is that behind him?..........

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v5/p513534993-5.jpg

say it ain't Bobby J :D........

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v6/p300046575-5.jpg

your very good, Ed.

thanks!

i caught mark cavendish slipping into a cafe for a pre-race cuppa joe............

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v5/p27721768-4.jpg

he was nice but clearly didn't want to be bugged so i congratulated him on his wins and his prologue performance, shook his hand and left.

ed rader

I dunno. He kinda looks like he wants a kiss...

you wanna piss off Jens Voigt just hand him a jersey to sign that isn't backed with a book or something :D.........

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v4/p458382350-4.jpg

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v6/p679958040-5.jpg

what a face

Jens is awesome! Great commentary to go along with great shots, too!

Jens is awesome! Great commentary to go along with great shots, too!

thanx man. the prologue is old news so i thought i'd cover it from a different angle. but i do have some race shots that i'll post later :D.

ed rader

when we saw him last year on sierra road he was antler man. this year i guess he's longhorn man too and a bit more controversial because of the more lethal rack he's sporting.

through the cheers, jeers and criticism he just stood straddled over his bike impassive, hoping to catch a glimpse of his hero du jour, Lance Armstrong.

longhorn man is nicest guy in the world and that's probably a good thing for at least one finger-wagging pencil neck that went by.........

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v5/p180935182-5.jpg

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v4/p353264036-5.jpg

if you are a pro racer on your bike never, ever look at a fan with a camera and smile....well, they're not all like that, and it was good to see this young man smile because the last time i saw him he was DFL on the sierra road climb and covered in road grit kicked up by the wheels he could no longer hold onto...

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v5/p623900496-5.jpg

sierra road.........

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v4/p160754010-5.jpg

Fast Freddy Rodriguez is on my good guy list. i always see him smiling, shaking hands and signing autographs.

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v5/p615311315-5.jpg

no one works the ropeline harder for rock racing than Tyler Hamilton....

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v5/p842648362-5.jpg

great photos!

Tom Zirbel having a John Elway moment.....

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v4/p977537681-5.jpg

appropriately complected.............

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v4/p778779732-4.jpg

Christian Vandevelde...........

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v6/p573948647-4.jpg

Jason McCartney..........

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v5/p807397539-4.jpg

if you are a pro racer on your bike never, ever look at a fan with a camera and smile....well, they're not all like that, and it was good to see this young man smile because the last time i saw him he was DFL on the sierra road climb and he covered in road grit kicked up by the wheels he could no longer hold onto...

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v5/p623900496-5.jpg

sierra road.........

http://erader.zenfolio.com/img/v4/p160754010-4.jpg

That is Phil Southerland one of the founders of Team Type 1

He was one of two Type 1 diabetics in the race. Really nice guy.