Amgen Tour of California 2011: Early Takeaways

Another addition of America's premiere stage race is upon as, as the 6th running of the Amgen Tour of California commences in several day's time. As ever, the line up for the event is solid, but with more climbing on the docket many of the world's top sprinters chose not to ride the event this year. Instead, the race will feature a line up of more climbing oriented specialists, as teams look to win the event in the high mountians that will be featured throughout the race.

The mainstream cycling media has already covered some of the more obvious story lines regarding the GC battle, but what else should the average fan be looking for during the race? Here are some items to keep in mind while viewing the beggest race in America . . .

We already know that Levi Leipheimer and Chris Horner will be protagonists in the race, but are we also watching the last stand of each rider as team leaders? With a host of youngsters nipping at their heels, 2011 could be th efinal chance for both Americans to lead their squad at their home tour. Both riders though seem to improve with age though, so seeing them mentioned among the favorites next year wouldn't be a huge surprise.

The Garmin team seems to have the strongest squad, at least on paper. Vande Velde and Zabriskie will be motivated, but so will Dan Martin, Andrew Talansky, Tom Danielson and Ryder Hesjedal. When the race hits the most decisive moments, expect to see Garmin at the front of the group taking control.

The 2011 AToC should be the official "welcome to cycling's elite" party for Tejay Van Garderen. The 22 year old will lead HTC for his home race, and looks to be in position for a top 5 finish on the GC. He should be a Tour de France competitor in about 3 years, but for now he'll settle for shooting for the win at California.

If in shape, Lars Boom could surprise as a possible GC darkhorse. He'll need to be on huge form though to stay in contact for the alpine stages.

As usual, the American-based teams look outgunned. Hopefully someone can make a big impression by taking a stage win at some point. Perhaps Paul Mach in a breakaway?

Despite a drop of in sprinter quality, there are still some big names coming to contest the flatter stages of the AToC. Goss, Hushovd, Haedo and Freire will be the most marked fast men, while others to watch include Liquigas' Daniel Oss, United Healthcare's Robert Forster, Team Tyle 1's Ino Ilesic, Jamis' Alejandro Borrajo and Kelly Benefit's Alex Candelario.

Will the weather hold in the mountains? The Sierra Nevada mountains often see snow in May, and a significant storm could ruin the first foray into the mountains for the AToC. Fingers crossed . . .