Time trial thought to be deciding factor in Tour of California
— Lance Armstrong has his favorites for the Amgen Tour of California, which begins Sunday with a trip from Nevada City to downtown Sacramento.
Armstrong predicts the race won’t be decided at least until Saturday’s time trial that starts and finishes at LA Live in Los Angeles.
“I think it comes down to the time trial,” Armstrong said. “If I was looking at it as an analyst, I’d say Levi [Leipheimer], Dave [Zabriskie] and Michael Rogers will be the big three … I’m not sure the climbs are selective enough. I think the time trial still decides the overall.”
Leipheimer is the three-time defending champion and the man Armstrong’s new RadioShack team will support again.
Rogers is the main general classification hope for the California-based HTC-Columbia team. And Zabriskie can be considered a hometown favorite now.
The 31-year-old moved from Utah to Westwood after last year’s Tour de France. He rides for the Garmin-Transitions team that is based in Boulder, Colo., and he is the only American to have won stages in all three of the Grand Tours — the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and Spanish Vuelta.
He also is a five-time U.S. time-trial champion and said he is intrigued by this year’s Tour of California time-trial course. It is the first time the point-to-point race against the clock hasn’t been held in picturesque Solvang.
And Zabriskie, who finished second to Leipheimer by 36 seconds at the Tour of California last year, said he feels his form and his team have combined to make him comfortable with challenging Leipheimer.
He also has taken advantage of his hometown status. On Mother’s Day, Zabriskie took his bike out on a ride around the time-trial course that will start at 12th and Figueroa and finish at Chick Hearn Court and will stay on all the main streets — Exposition Boulevard, Pico, Flower, Olive, Main, Grand — with LA Live as the focus.
“I like the course,” Zabriskie said. “And it could be decisive.”
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