Forty six years ago today, the Beatles song "Ticket to Ride" was number one in the United States. As today's Amgen Tour of California begins, one team with a ticket to ride and number one ambitions is the Rabobank Pro Cycling Team.
The multi-national team boasts three-time world champion Oscar Freire of Spain, 2010 under 23 world champion Michael Matthews of Australia and 2008 world cyclo-cross champion Lars Boom of the Netherlands.
Rabobank rolls through the Bay Area on Wednesday for Stage 4 of the Tour. The 81.8 mile Livermore to San Jose route includes the first "beyond category" climb of the Tour, an 8.4% grade climb up to the Mt. Hamilton Observatory. Stage 4 is truly a king of the mountain battle as it concludes with the first true mountain top finish in the Tour's six year history, a 3.5 mile ascent with a 10% average grade and 1,700 feet of climbing.
How does one train for such a grueling event? Stay tuned for an interview with cycling legend and Rabobank public relations agent Hennie Kuiper.
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