# Tour of Utah anyone?



## Clipped_in (May 5, 2011)

We are very excited to have the ToU back in town again! Tommy Danielson is back to take a crack at a third consecutive top podium spot. Some of the other fine talent that will be racing this year includes Matt Busche, Chris Horner, Frank Schlek, Brent Bookwalter, Joe Dombrowski, Ben King, et al.

Team Colombia will have their first showing at the ToU. It will be interesting see what they can do with such a climbing-centric race.

Again, as every year there are some great course venues with this year staying largely in the northern part of the state.

Today (stage 1) is rainy with cool temps. It will be a challenging ride up and down Logan Canyon with a loop around the beautiful Bear Lake.

You can catch all of it live on PC, phone, or tablet with Tour Tracker 

Anyone else out there following this race?


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

Hate to break it to you...Tom Danielson just had an out-of-competition positive for Testosterone.

He's off ToU.

These Tour Tracker races piss me off...I end up watching as much commercials as on network TV, and they get randomly thrown up in the middle of everything.


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## Clipped_in (May 5, 2011)

Marc said:


> Hate to break it to you...Tom Danielson just had an out-of-competition positive for Testosterone.
> 
> He's off ToU.
> 
> These Tour Tracker races piss me off...I end up watching as much commercials as on network TV, and they get randomly thrown up in the middle of everything.


Well, if TD is doping then good riddance. If not, that really stinks! It will be interesting to see what the "B" sample shows.

As far as the Tour Tracker, I get what you're saying. However, I don't have the luxury of sitting down and watching the whole race, per se. But, I think Tour Tracker is nice for people who just want to be able to stay connected to what's going on while doing something else--aside from all the promo/adds.


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

Clipped_in said:


> Well, if TD is doping then good riddance.
> 
> As far as the Tour Tracker, I get what you're saying. However, I don't have the luxury of sitting down and watching the whole race, per se. But, I think Tour Tracker is nice for people who just want to be able to stay connected to what's going on while doing something else--aside from all the promo/adds.


Got posted on VeloSnooze this morning:

Tom Danielson fails doping test - VeloNews.com


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## Clipped_in (May 5, 2011)

Yeah, got that--thanks for the heads up.


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

I love Tour Tracker races....so far I've been able to hold picture for at most 5 minutes before their feed cuts out.


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## AJL (Jul 9, 2009)

So... 43 y/o Horner's going to win?!


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

AJL said:


> So... 43 y/o Horner's going to win?!


You got me. I fired up Tour Tacker again and after 30 seconds of live video...I'm now into 15 minutes straight of advertisements and spam.


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

great atmosphere with the crowds on the climb


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## Clipped_in (May 5, 2011)

You guys are a dreary bunch... :cryin: As they say in Wyoming, " 'Bout as much fun as a barbed wire enema!"


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

Clipped_in said:


> You guys are a dreary bunch... :cryin: As they say in Wyoming, " 'Bout as much fun as a barbed wire enema!"


will you lube it up if I note that the full time coverage is impressive? even if essentially no one in Utah seem to care about the race?


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## El Scorcho (Dec 14, 2005)

I've just watched 1.5 hrs of Tour Tracker with no adds. I don't know what I did to get the upgraded service but the picture has been awesome. 
The commentators blow, Americans should never call races. 

On another note; What's up with no stages south of SL County?? Those So Utah stages were awesome the last few years.


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## Clipped_in (May 5, 2011)

El Scorcho said:


> What's up with no stages south of SL County?? Those So Utah stages were awesome the last few years.


I dunno, and you're right. I guess they're just trying to mix it up? Would be interesting to know the decision making behind venue selection. So many great places to ride in Utah. Maybe they're just trying to keep it closer to the population base?


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## Jwiffle (Mar 18, 2005)

How 'bout Phinney riding to third in his first race in over a year?!!

I'm glad it looks like he'll make a full comeback


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## Clipped_in (May 5, 2011)

Jwiffle said:


> How 'bout Phinney riding to third in his first race in over a year?!!
> 
> I'm glad it looks like he'll make a full comeback


That was a great way to say, "I'm Back!!!!" No questions asked...



Clipped_in said:


> Maybe they're just trying to keep it closer to the population base?


After further thought, I believe that is it but being driven in large part by the women's racing. You wouldn't/couldn't do that in a small town. You couldn't accommodate everyone, and you wouldn't have hardly anyone there to watch the circuit race. It can work to have a stage finish in a small town, but not an entire event like a circuit race.

With two days of women's racing this year it makes sense to keep the entire event in the north end of the state.

BTW, weather for the rest of the week looks nice.


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## PBL450 (Apr 12, 2014)

Jwiffle said:


> How 'bout Phinney riding to third in his first race in over a year?!!
> 
> I'm glad it looks like he'll make a full comeback


Awesome! Love to see him in the mix! Hope to see more and more!


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## Local Hero (Jul 8, 2010)

Clipped_in said:


> With two days of women's racing this year it makes sense to keep the entire event in the north end of the state.


The Women's races were good. 

http://tinyurl.com/TOUFinal


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## TricrossRich (Mar 26, 2014)

I've been enjoying the races each day.... the app is pretty good. The courses have allowed for some good action, and it seems that each day the break has a chance to stay away. I really thought they'd make it today, but the peloton kicked up the boost and reeled them back in.


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## Jwiffle (Mar 18, 2005)

Great ride by local boy Dombrowski today!

I take pride that I am ahead of him on one local Strava kom....'course it's a downhill and not and uphill, but I'm gonna keep telling myself I'm faster than a world tour pro.


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## upstateSC-rider (Aug 21, 2004)

Jwiffle said:


> Great ride by local boy Dombrowski today!
> 
> I take pride that I am ahead of him on one local Strava kom....'course it's a downhill and not and uphill, but I'm gonna keep telling myself I'm faster than a world tour pro.


If strava shows it, it counts. 

Great ride by Dombrowski.
Also, who's this Woods guy? He slipped by my radar. 
5th in a stage in the Volta ao Agarve behind Porte, Kwiatowski, and Geraint Thomas? I can see him getting called up to the majors.


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## Jwiffle (Mar 18, 2005)

upstateSC-rider said:


> If strava shows it, it counts.
> 
> Great ride by Dombrowski.
> Also, who's this Woods guy? He slipped by my radar.
> 5th in a stage in the Volta ao Agarve behind Porte, Kwiatowski, and Geraint Thomas? I can see him getting called up to the majors.


Yeah, and Schleck and Horner made him do all the work chasing, and still couldnt pass him at the finish. Woods looks to deserve a call up


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## Clipped_in (May 5, 2011)

Jwiffle said:


> Great ride by local boy Dombrowski today!


Wow, just wow! What a pace going up Little Cottonwood. I ridden all of that road they were on today, and to see an effort like that on the final ascent is just mind boggling.

The final stage is set to be very interesting. If Joe Dombrowski can get his climbing legs back on tomorrow he's in a great position to put this thing to bed. But both Schlek and Horner seem to be holding back to let it all loose tomorrow. Should be a great stage. Empire pass will kick all of them right where it hurts!


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## BacDoc (Aug 1, 2011)

Been a great race so far and looking forward to those boys hitting Empire.

Crowd support looked good, especially those circuits thru town, some of the steep sections had full capacity crowds. Think the race organizers did a great job with those laps thru town as it gives the spectators multiple views of the action. Some of those sections were pretty friggin steep - nothing like watching riders like Dombrowski and Woods get a kick and surge past the field and some crack completely.

Would like to see some of the top pro's compete here, Cadel Evans was amazing going down Big Cottonwood last year.


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## jayteepee (Jun 11, 2011)

Any thoughts on the (sporadic) race coverage on Fox Sports? I'm not sure who the guy is that's paired up with Gogulski, but I'm thinking that he should be calling some sport other than cycling. His delivery in general is just so off-putting to me. It sounds more like something you'd hear when watching football, or NASCAR. I started watching with the sound off after hearing him calling the GC, general contender, and Owen winning with his "bike thrust" at the line. The last one might be splitting hairs, but I've never heard anyone call it that.

Then there's the annoying Fox graphics with sh*t flying around the screen all the time. I know that I should be glad that there's any coverage at all, but it all could be so much better than this.

Man I'm cranky this morning.


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## J.R. (Sep 14, 2009)

You missed the bit about Frank Schleck being an Italian and those "twin echlons" the break was riding in the other day. lol.


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## Clipped_in (May 5, 2011)

jayteepee said:


> Any thoughts on the (sporadic) race coverage on Fox Sports? I'm not sure who the guy is that's paired up with Gogulski, but I'm thinking that he should be calling some sport other than cycling. His delivery in general is just so off-putting to me. It sounds more like something you'd hear when watching football, or NASCAR. I started watching with the sound off after hearing him calling the GC, general contender.


Ha!!!!! He's Steve Brown, a local sports commentator who's been around on and off for the past 35 years. He knows nothing about cycling. He's just a pretty nice guy in the waning years of his broadcasting career. He works for the same local news station that is owned by the Larry H. Miller group which owns the ToU event.

It is what it is, but Gogulski in the one that just annoys me. I like the Tour Tracker with Frankie Anreu and Tim Johnson a lot better. At least they both know cycling, and Tim Johnson knows and talks about the local items of interest.


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## dcb (Jul 21, 2008)

Agree with you about Johnson/Andreu doing better than the commentary on tv. I really like the tracker in general and I didn't find the ads to be too frequent or long compared to just about any tv coverage of cycling races I've seen.


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## proclaimer888 (Jul 24, 2010)

Have watched a few of the TU stages.....some great races......some of the roads look a bit rough. (Cotton Wood climb) Utah has a bit of everything........I miss the West!


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## Fireform (Dec 15, 2005)

Lots of very entertaining racing and a breakout performance by Dombrowski, but the amount of advertising was ridiculous. Without a dvr I would have probably given up and missed all the good stuff.


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## Rashadabd (Sep 17, 2011)

I am happy for Dombrowski. It's good to see him back on good form. Hopefully, he can build on this for next year.


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## dcb (Jul 21, 2008)

proclaimer888 said:


> Have watched a few of the TU stages.....some great races......some of the roads look a bit rough. (Cotton Wood climb) Utah has a bit of everything........I miss the West!


The Little Cottonwood Canyon climb is a tough one. It's supposed to be very comparable to the Alp D' Huez, but without the switchbacks and more altitude:

Riding Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah | Competitive Cyclist
Salt Lake Cycling - Salt Lake area rides - Little Cottonwood Canyon

But, the road surface is pretty good for the most part. 

However, the road surface on Guardsman's Pass and Empire Pass (coming up from Midway) are terrible. Both roads are closed in the winter and were only paved in the last 6-7 years or so. I'm not sure why they did such a crap job with the paving, but it's like they didn't even grade it before putting the pavement down. Anway, climbing up both of those roads is tough because of the grade to start with and then ad in the surface and it gets brutal. 

My least favorite climb though is Empire Pass coming up through Deer Valley. I'm not sure why as the surface is smooth and it's supposed to be a Cat 1 climb compared to a few HC climbs around here but it puts the hurt on me in a big way.


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## TricrossRich (Mar 26, 2014)

I was very impressed with the racing in general. I thought it was pretty exciting each day. I also really enjoyed the tour tracker app, once I found that and realized it was free. I gave up on the tv telecast.


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## tednugent (Apr 26, 2010)

sickening crash

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hRM3bFXlyNk


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## ColaJacket (Apr 13, 2015)

tednugent said:


> sickening crash
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hRM3bFXlyNk


The first guy was going way too fast for the turn, and may have had a bad outcome without the SAG vehicle. The other two guys are who I feel sorry for. 

If the UCI is really concerned about safety, maybe they should have stronger rules about vehicles in the middle of the peleton. 

Wasn't there another recent race where a motorcycle clipped a riders wheels and the rider went down?

GH


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## 5DII (Aug 5, 2013)

same crash from a different camera

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rNE4WapG3o&feature=youtu.be


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## Dawookie (May 3, 2010)

ColaJacket said:


> The first guy was going way too fast for the turn, and may have had a bad outcome without the SAG vehicle. The other two guys are who I feel sorry for.
> 
> If the UCI is really concerned about safety, maybe they should have stronger rules about vehicles in the middle of the peleton.
> 
> ...


 Van Avermaet in San Sebastian, was attacking near the end and had a gap and for hit from behind


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## 9W9W (Apr 5, 2012)

that guy was comin' in hott!

figured this would get more play on here. unlikely an equipment failure.. looks like he just overcooked it by coming in on the inside and then caught a bump in the road.


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## aclinjury (Sep 12, 2011)

great racing overall, much better than Amgen tour.


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