Dear Big Bear Lake Chamber of Commerce,
We’ve just visited your little alpine town to cover the big Tour of California Bike race, and found it quite pleasant. However, the overall impression is that the town feels a bit sleepy and a little rustic. The people are a tad too friendly and day-to-day life seems to move somewhat slowly. We think you might be able to go a bit bigger. Therefore, we’re cordially offering you our top four suggestions for taking Big Bear Lake into the big-time.









Relatively speaking, though, this was a pretty darn exciting time trial. The overall leader’s jersey dramatically swapped places at the end of the race, with Kiwi George Bennett taking just enough time from Rafal Majka to claim the lead going into Saturday’s final stage. Although they had to be feeling the effects of driving the pace during the last two stages, it was clear the Rally boys brought their “A” game again today. New Tour of California hero Evan Huffman rode a tremendous race, finishing up in a very solid 19th place - the best-placed rider from a non-World Tour team. Matteo Dal-Cin, Danny Pate and Most Aggressive Rider, Rob Britton, all placed in the top 50 on the day. All in all, a very respectable performance from the small team that has been animating the race over the past two stages. If the Rally riders’ legs are fatigued, they’re certainly doing a good job hiding it.
Tomorrow’s stage is a wide-open run through the Angeles National Forest, from Mountain High all the way down to the beautiful city of Pasadena. On paper, it looks to be a two-pronged battle between the GC contenders and the teams of the big sprinters. But, we look forward to seeing if the Rally Cycling team has a few more surprises in store to finish out what has been a monster of a week. A prehistoric, mysterious lake monster week. You’re welcome, Big Bear.











