2009 Tour of California: Stage 5 | Bicycling in California

2009 Tour of California: Stage 5

It's a long day across the San Joaquin Valley as the Tour of California peloton will likely chase a long-shot break on this 134-mile hard-man stage to Paso Robles.

Author:	RaphaContinental
Date:	20 Jan 2009 4:57:54 PM
Activity:	Bicycling ActivitySearchBicycling
State:	California (CA)
Distance:	140.92 mi (Change units)
Elevation:	Total Gain: 6127 ft Total Loss: 5297 ft Net Change: 829 ft
Difficulty:	9 / 10
Tags:	2009 Tour of California, Visalia, Rapha Continental, California
Rating:	Unrated Rate it

Photos courtesy of the Rapha Continental

Tricky crosswinds could play a role On the race's longest stage, the first 80 miles are utterly featureless. But that doesn't mean it'll be boring; the pack will have no shelter from crosswinds as it tacks south and west across the San Joaquin Valley. And as the field nears the Temblor Range and a gradual climb to 1,800 feet that steepens toward the finish, a cagey team could drop the hammer to try to catch out a sleeping rival. The finish in Paso Robles is flat and fast.

HOT TIP: "Paso Robles is actually pretty cool," says Garmin's Lucas Euser. There are shops and restaurants to see pre-finish. Speaking of, we expect this to be one of the race's few drag-out field sprints. The climb is gentle and teams like Quick Step (possibly with Tom Boonen) and BMC will be keen to set up their speedsters.

Position Format:	Datum:

Tracks

Tour of California: Stage 5

Dist: 134.54 mi	Points: 563	Calories: none
Time: none	Speed: 0.0 mph	Pace: 0:00 / mi

Distance	Instruction		Distance to next
0.51 mi	Turn Right	Turn right at Avenue 280/W Caldwell Ave	Then go 7.96 mi
8.46 mi	Turn Left	Turn left at 2nd Ave	Then go 1.99 mi
10.45 mi		Continue on Rd 36	Then go 4.02 mi
14.48 mi	Turn Right	Turn right at Avenue 232/Tulare Ave	Then go 2.04 mi
16.51 mi		Continue on Kansas Ave	Then go 6.50 mi
23.01 mi	Turn Left	Turn left at 10 1/2 Ave	Then go 4.87 mi
27.88 mi		Slight left to stay on 10 1/2 Ave	Then go 0.21 mi
28.10 mi		Continue on 10th Ave	Then go 13.56 mi
41.65 mi	Turn Right	Turn right to stay on 10th Ave	Then go 0.75 mi
42.40 mi	Turn Right	Turn right at Utica Ave	Then go 15.13 mi
57.53 mi	Turn Left	Turn left at 25th Ave	Then go 10.41 mi
67.94 mi		Continue on King Rd	Then go 4.60 mi
72.54 mi	Turn Right	Turn right at Twissleman Rd	Then go 6.07 mi
78.61 mi	Turn Left	Turn left at Kecks Rd	Then go 8.41 mi
87.02 mi	Turn Right	Turn right at CA-46	Then go 13.02 mi
100.04 mi	Turn Left	Turn left to stay on CA-46	Then go 1.03 mi
101.07 mi		Slight left at CA-41/CA-46	Then go 4.46 mi
105.52 mi		Slight left to stay on CA-41/CA-46	Then go 1.10 mi
106.62 mi	Turn Left	Turn left at CA-41/Centra Rd/E Centre St Continue to follow CA-41/E Centre S	Then go 2.70 mi
109.32 mi	Turn Left	Turn left at CA-41/Creston Shandon Rd	Then go 10.73 mi
120.04 mi	Turn Right	Turn right at Camp 8 Rd/Camp B Rd	Then go 2.90 mi
122.94 mi	Turn Right	Turn right at CA-229/Creston Rd	Then go 9.11 mi
132.05 mi	Turn Left	Turn left at Niblick Rd	Then go 1.02 mi
133.07 mi		Slight left to stay on Niblick Rd	Then go 0.74 mi
133.82 mi	Turn Right	Turn right at Spring St

Neutral Start

Dist: 6.38 mi	Points: 66	Calories: none
Time: none	Speed: 0.0 mph	Pace: 0:00 / mi

Points of Interest

Official Start

Location: 36.305511°, -119.349353°

Lots of Flat

Location: 36.210901°, -119.499149°
Jogging west and south across the San Joaquin Valley, the Tour of California route blazes through endless farm fields on the first half of stage 5. © Rapha