The Cycliste Moderne, April 18, 2005

Amstel Recap

The Amstel Gold Race was somewhat of a surprise today, but not because Danilo Di Luca won. Having been on the podium before, he certainly was a worthy winner and a favorite going in. It was not a surprise that the conditions were so bad that there were no television images due to the fact that fog grounded the television helicopters. It was not surprising that T-Mobile did not win, even though they had had a rider in the late breakaway. It was not a surprise that Michael Boogerd finished second again.

No, the surprise was the mess that Rabobank made at the end. With a group of about 30 riders making the last trip up the Cauberg, Rabobank had Boogerd, Erik Dekker, Thomas Dekker and world champion Oscar Freire. Rabobank elected to try to set the race up for their sprinter Freire. The finishing group certainly had some other strong sprinters with former world champion Igor Astarloa and emerging star Alejandro Valverde in the group.

I think Rabobank, however, overestimated its ability to deliver Freire to the line and his ability to climb. Freire is a strong rider. He does not require a set up train like some of his other competitors. He has shown the ability to climb, as he did when he won the World Championships in Lisbon, Portugal in 2001 on a course that had two significant climbs each lap. That said, he is not known as a rider who can win a climbing sprint.

The steepest part of the Cauberg is about 400 meters from the finish, and by that point Freire was lost, both of the Dekkers had dropped off, and Michael Boogerd was left with Davide Rebellin and Di Luca, two strong men who can sprint and who have shown their abilities in this race. Rabobank picked the wrong horse today and ended up in second, the worst possible position for a Dutch rider on a Dutch team.

Sorry the commentary is somewhat lacking. I try not to just rehash what you can read on the cycling sites. The little bit of coverage did capture how steep the Cauberg is. Moreover, the fact that 30 or so riders entered Valkenburg together and then proceeded to get scattered over the last kilometer is a testament to the benign appearance but difficult reality of the Cauberg.

And now for something completely different . . .

I took my family to the home opener of Real Salt Lake, one of two new expansion teams in Major League Soccer. In 1996, a very pregnant Kristin and I attended the home opener of Columbus Crew where they defeated DC United 4-0. We had the good fortune of staying in DC United’s hotel and on the same floor as the team. We met John Harkes in the elevator the morning of the game, got him to autograph our tickets and shortly thereafter named our first-born son Andrew Harkes Wardle after DC United’s captain, John Andrew Harkes, the first American to every score a goal at Wembly.

What was impressive about Real’s home opener was the excellent job the team has done preparing for the season. As a Ute, I love Rice-Eccles Stadium which was almost completely rebuilt for the 2002 Olympics. With the Olympic commemoration park at the stadium and the excellent facilities, it is a great place for perfect spring afternoon. Real has done an excellent job of merchandising with a plethora of Real products available. The crowd was engaged, knowledgeable, and excited throughout. The 1-0 victory for Real over Colorado was well deserved.

What made me even more excited was the fact that my daughter Sophie watched the entire game and was pleasant throughout. It was her older brother Andrew, who started attending MLS games at the age of 6 weeks, who lost it in the first half and dragged Kristin out to the concession stands at half time. That was the only downer of the game. The University of Utah did not open enough concession stands for a soccer game that drew in excess of 25,000 fans. When Real finally build their stadium, they need to make sure that they do it like Columbus and put the concession stands on plazas that are unobstructed and permit you to view the game while getting your bratwurst.

And now for something completely differenter . . .

Pearl Izumi’s Park City outlet has an excellent selection of shoes at the moment and a huge sale. I got a pair of last year’s Vapor road shoes for more than half off. Well worth the stop if you are going to be in Salt Lake/Park City in the next couple of weeks.