2009 Tour of California: Stage 3 | Bicycling in California

2009 Tour of California: Stage 3

After catapulting up Sierra Road from San Jose proper, the Tour of California peloton may have to battle winds bring back a break for a sprint finish in Modesto.

Author:	RaphaContinental
Date:	20 Jan 2009 4:53:40 PM
Activity:	Bicycling ActivitySearchBicycling
State:	California (CA)
Distance:	103.19 mi (Change units)
Elevation:	Total Gain: 12916 ft Total Loss: 12900 ft Net Change: 16 ft
Difficulty:	9 / 10
Tags:	2009 Tour of California, Milpitas, California, Rapha Continental
Rating:	Unrated Rate it

Photos courtesy of the Rapha Continental

A tricky day if the weather plays nasty "It will be very cold on top of Sierra Road," says pro rider Ben Jacques-Maynes, who rode there weekly when he lived in San Jose. "The first attack will be the one to go, because no one will want to chase." But the climb, which factored heavily in the race's first years, is now far from the finish. Instead, the day's biggest factor could be harsh crosswinds on the flats to Modesto. "If you get a crosswind and [a rival] is more than 10 wheels back," Jacques-Maynes says, "you may try to smash him." Saxo Bank has used this tactic in the past, but look for Astana to be vigilant for Leipheimer. If the pack blows to pieces, chances are the smaller teams will get shelled.

HOT TIP: Keep an eye on the early action by Calaveras Lake, which sports a steep, tricky descent off of Sierra on Felter Road. Felter then U-turns onto Calaveras for a 14 percent climb that stretches 600 meters. If an early break manages to spring on Sierra Road, the peloton may have to hold off on an organized chase until its managed with technical stretch past Calaveras Reservoir.

Position Format:	Datum:

Tracks

Tour of California: Stage 3

Dist: 100.04 mi	Points: 1288	Calories: none
Time: none	Speed: 0.0 mph	Pace: 0:00 / mi

Distance	Instruction		Distance to next
0.00 mi	Turn Left	Turn left at E Taylor St	Then go 0.87 mi
0.87 mi	Straight	Continue straight onto Mabury Rd	Then go 0.14 mi
1.01 mi		Slight right to stay on Mabury Rd	Then go 2.23 mi
3.24 mi	Turn Left	Turn left at N White Rd	Then go 0.49 mi
3.72 mi		Continue on Piedmont Rd	Then go 0.66 mi
4.39 mi		Slight right to stay on Piedmont Rd	Then go 0.05 mi
4.44 mi	Turn Right	Turn right at Sierra Rd	Then go 0.60 mi
5.04 mi	Turn Left	Turn left to stay on Sierra Rd	Then go 5.06 mi
10.10 mi		Slight left at Felter Rd	Then go 4.20 mi
14.30 mi	Turn Right	Turn right at Calaveras Rd	Then go 14.13 mi
28.44 mi	Turn Right	CA-84 NOTE: Riders cannot follow this route!	Then go 1.58 mi
30.02 mi		Slight left to stay on CA-84/Vallecitos Rd	Then go 3.57 mi
33.59 mi		Slight left to stay on CA-84/Vallecitos Rd Continue to follow CA-84	Then go 1.87 mi
35.46 mi		Slight right at CA-84/Isabel Ave	Then go 0.37 mi
35.83 mi	Turn Right	Turn right at Concannon Blvd	Then go 3.03 mi
38.86 mi		Slight right to stay on Concannon Blvd	Then go 0.03 mi
38.89 mi	Straight	Continue straight onto Wente St	Then go 0.45 mi
39.33 mi	Turn Right	Turn right at J2/S Livermore Ave	Then go 3.81 mi
43.15 mi	Turn Left	Turn left at Cross Rd	Then go 2.22 mi
45.37 mi	Turn Right	Turn right at Patterson Pass Rd	Then go 6.60 mi
51.97 mi	Turn Left	Turn left at Midway Rd	Then go 0.05 mi
52.02 mi	Turn Left	Turn left to stay on Midway Rd	Then go 2.76 mi
54.78 mi	Turn Right	Turn right at W Grant Line Rd	Then go 4.84 mi
59.63 mi		Slight right at W Byron Rd/J4	Then go 1.11 mi
60.74 mi	Turn Right	Turn right at S Lammers Rd	Then go 0.59 mi
61.33 mi		Slight left to stay on S Lammers Rd	Then go 2.07 mi
63.40 mi	Turn Left	Turn left at W Valpico Rd	Then go 1.29 mi
64.69 mi	Turn Right	Turn right at S Corral Hollow Rd/J2	Then go 1.02 mi
65.71 mi	Turn Left	Turn left at W Linne Rd	Then go 5.00 mi
70.71 mi	Turn Left	Turn left at S Bird Rd	Then go 0.12 mi
70.83 mi		Sharp right at S Ahern Rd	Then go 0.19 mi
71.02 mi	Turn Left	Turn left at W Linne Rd	Then go 3.35 mi
74.37 mi	Turn Right	Turn right at J4/Kasson Rd	Then go 2.17 mi
76.54 mi	Turn Left	Turn left at E Durham Ferry Rd	Then go 0.19 mi
76.73 mi	Turn Right	Turn right at J3/Kasson Rd	Then go 1.78 mi
78.51 mi		Continue on S River Rd	Then go 0.97 mi
79.48 mi	Turn Left	Turn left at CA-132	Then go 4.95 mi
84.43 mi	Turn Left	Turn left at N Gates Rd	Then go 2.01 mi
86.44 mi	Turn Right	Turn right at Shoemake Ave	Then go 5.01 mi
91.45 mi	Turn Right	Turn right at N Dakota Ave	Then go 1.50 mi
92.95 mi	Turn Left	Turn left at Kansas Ave	Then go 3.04 mi
95.99 mi	Turn Right	Turn right at N Franklin St	Then go 0.08 mi
96.06 mi	Turn Left	Turn left at Kansas Opas	Then go 0.30 mi
96.36 mi		Slight right at Needham St	Then go 0.61 mi
96.97 mi	Turn Right	Turn right at 16th St	Then go 0.17 mi
97.14 mi	Turn Right	Turn right at I St	Then go 0.36 mi
97.50 mi	Turn Right	Turn right at 11th St	Then go 0.53 mi
98.03 mi	Turn Left	Turn left at Needham St	Then go 0.10 mi
98.13 mi	Turn Right	Turn right at College Ave	Then go 0.51 mi
98.64 mi	Turn Right	Turn right at Coldwell Ave	Then go 0.53 mi
99.17 mi	Turn Right	Turn right at Sycamore Ave	Then go 0.49 mi
99.66 mi	Turn Left	Turn left at CA-108/Needham St	Then go 0.11 mi
99.78 mi	Turn Right	Turn right at 16th St	Then go 0.17 mi
99.95 mi	Turn Right	Turn right at I St

Neutral Start

Dist: 3.15 mi	Points: 48	Calories: none
Time: none	Speed: 0.0 mph	Pace: 0:00 / mi

Points of Interest

Official Start

Location: 37.354893°, -121.887646°
The race goes live here.

Approaching Sierra's Summit

Location: 37.409165°, -121.804733°
Unlike previous years, the 2009 Tour of California route heads up Sierra Road (an average 9% grade over 3.6 miles) at the beginning of the stage. This might make for an unpleasant warm-up if a spry group of climbers decides to use Sierra as a spring-board for an early break. © Rapha

Top of Sierra

Location: 37.408755°, -121.799755°
Sierra may not play a deciding role in this stage, but it's still one of the best roadside stretches of the entire Tour for spectators. If you're watching the race from San Jose, you can ride up Sierra, catch the race at the summit and then opt to loop back down to San Jose or follow the race route a bit further north to Calaveras Reservoir.

Diablo Views

Location: 37.432511°, -121.804175°
On the backside of the Sierra summit (on Felter Road), the snow-capped peaks of the Diablo Range are intermittently visible. © Steve Rosefield

The Calaveras Turnoff

Location: 37.442734°, -121.836834°
Felter Road bombs around the corner to this sharp right turn onto Calaveras Road. From here, the road (often narrow) winds down a twisting descent around many blind corners. There's not much traffic on the road, but use caution all the same (especially if you've never ridden it before).

Calaveras Reservoir

Location: 37.494814°, -121.831083°
The descent of Calaveras Road follows a ridgeline contour right alongside the sparkling waters of Calaveras Reservoir. © Steve Rosefield

KOM's Past

Location: 37.502713°, -121.832671°
In previous Tours of California, Calaveras Road has had its own KOM point (when the stage travels north-to-south). © Steve Rosefield

Tesla Road

Location: 37.665138°, -121.729374°
The peloton will have a chance to get organized before the climb up to Patterson Pass.

Base of Patterson Pass

Location: 37.665070°, -121.679592°
© Rapha

Climbing Patterson

Location: 37.686673°, -121.645947°
The day's second KOM spot is a bit more mellow than Sierra, biting at an approximate 6% grade for 1.8 miles. © Rapha

Patterson Pass

Location: 37.686402°, -121.628780°
A bit isolated from the start and finish towns, Patterson Pass may not be an ideal spectator spot for stage 3. © Rapha

Central Valley Overlook

Location: 37.686537°, -121.629639°
The top of Patterson Pass affords expansive views of the Central Valley, (where the 2009 Tour will spend its next two days). © Rapha

Byron Road

Location: 37.754701°, -121.485958°
There's plenty of open sky on the latter half of this route.

Lammers Paceline

Location: 37.736003°, -121.476774°
Wide-open, flat, and straight: it's the theme of the Tour of California for much of stage 3 (and almost all of stage 5).