In a way, this year takes me back to where it all began: Lake Tahoe. Back in 2011, you may remember that Stage 1 around Lake Tahoe was cancelled due to snow. It was a disappointing day for everyone and I've always wondered why the race hasn't returned to Tahoe since then. Sure there is always a risk for bad weather, but there was such a good turnout back in 2011 and the community gave the race a lot of support. I was out at Emerald Bay and there were tons of people out there in the snow ready the cheer the race on. 5 years later, we finally get our chance.
Stage 5 was from Lodi to South Lake Tahoe, a difficult stage with over 13,000 feet of climbing. Unfortunately, I had something to do in the morning, so I didn't get to do much riding out on the course. Instead, I drove straight to Luther Pass and did a few repeats of that climb before the peloton rolled through.
Luther Pass itself isn't all that difficult. It's only about 2.5 miles at 5%. However, the riders had already climbed over 12,000 feet by that point and it was the last major climb before the uphill finish in South Lake Tahoe.
The bottom of Luther Pass
The bottom of Luther Pass
The bottom of Luther Pass
For some reason there was a sprint point at the top of Luther Pass
The sprint at the summit
If you stop by the side of the road on the descent you'll see some great scenery.
That's Bill Walton up ahead
Bill Walton
Bill Walton
This is where I ended up stopping to watch the race, looking downhill.
The viewing spot, looking uphill
The helicopter
I have a few videos, which aren't all that great because I was more focused on watching the race than making a good video. The videos never turn out as exciting as you would hope, anyway. In the first video you'll see the lead riders. The lead rider from Cannondale is probably Toms Skujins, who went on to win the race. A few seconds later a Sky rider comes through, who might be eventual 3rd place finisher Xabier Zandio. After such a long, difficult day it appears that you can already see who is looking strong for the finish.
After that the riders came through in waves. Most of them are in the next video, but there were a few that came through later with the broom wagon. One United Healthcare rider (based on the results, I'm guessing John Murphy) looked especially tired and took the longest, most obvious sticky bottle from where I was standing up until the point where I couldn't see him any more.
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