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May 2010 Tour of California, Stage 4

In the only five years of its existence, the Tour of California quickly turned from being just a good idea to one of the biggest bicycle races in the world. This year, 128 riders from 23 countries, amongst them 11 current national champions, nine current and former world champions, seven Olympic medalists and twelve Tour-de-France stage winners, took the challenge. Traditionally, one of the stages leads over the mountains of the Coastal Range and through Diablo Canyon. This is only an hour from Manteca and Volker couldn't let this opportunity pass. The roads over the Diablo Mountains Click here if you want to see more pictures of the area. On Wednesday, May 19, 2010, the fourth state of the Tour started at (almost) sea level in San Jose. Soon, the riders started climbing across the Diablo Mountains. The highest point of the day, at 2,900 feet was close to the junction of San Antonio Valley Road and Del Puerto Canyon Road - the perfect place to watch the race.

At the junction of the two roads, there is a little restaurant, fittingly called "The Junction." Its large parking lot was the perfect staging area for everybody, who had to be here. And - as you can see below - everybody was there:

XXXXXXXThe Camera Team... XXXXXXXXXXX...the race team support vans... XXXXXXXXXXXX...and the Highway Patrol.

Above, you can see the motor cycles of the camera team (left) and the support van of the Canadian team Spider Tech. To the right, there is a closer look at the camera bike. Look at the license plate: It really is the official Tour the France TV team, using this race as a dressed rehearsal for the big one in July.

And of course, there were lots of spectators - human and non-human.

In case you wonder about the picture above right: since there were enough people supporting the 40 American riders in the peloton, I thought I'd do something to support the seven Germans in the race.

And there they were: First a small leading group of four riders, and four minutes later the main field. It all happened very fast, but it was still worth it being there to support the riders and also to support a great race that is getting better every year.

This little film strip below might give you an idea, how fast they all passed us: There is about half a second between each of these shots. If you want to learn more about this amazing race, here is a good website. Back to Road Trips Main Page Back to English Main Page Back to Start Page