Tour of California – into the Sierras

Finally got my first chance to photograph the Amgen Tour of California Wednesday. I had applied for credentials for several years but for whatever reason, I was never able to make it out to one of the stages. This time it was coming into our coverage area so we would definitely be all over it. The Bee had both the start and finish covered so they had me head up to the summit of one of the climbs. I chose Highway 49 just north of Ahwahnee where the fourth King of the Mountains point was set. Snow covered the hills around us after days of storms. It would make a cool shot. After three hours of waiting the riders finally came by going much faster than even I was expecting. These guys are amazing athletes. I was happy to grab one frame of Lance Armstrong and Levi Leipheimer of the Astana team. All that waiting for about 30 seconds of photos. So I headed down the hill to catch them riding into Clovis for a few more shots. Among the other riders I photographed were George Hincapie and Floyd Landis.