Sixteen international and domestic teams, including No. 1-ranked Team CSC, will tackle the inaugural Amgen Tour of California next month, organizers announced Tuesday.
The 600-mile UCI 2.1 race starts February 19 with a prologue in San Francisco and concludes seven days later in Redondo Beach after passing through eight other "host cities" - Sausalito, Santa Rosa, Martinez, San Jose, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Thousand Oaks.
"We designed the inaugural course with both racers and spectators in mind," said Bob Colarossi, managing director of AEG Cycling, LLC. "It offers the world's best cyclists some of the most challenging terrain that California has to offer."
Racing begins at 11 a.m. Sunday, February 19, with a 3.1km prologue, which takes riders from the Ferry Building at Pier 1 along the Embarcadero and onto Bay Street for the tight, steep climb up Telegraph Hill to the finish at Coit Tower.
Stage 1 heads north on Highway 1, covering roughly 129.1km from Sausalito to Santa Rosa, where the field will complete three laps of a technical finishing circuit downtown.
On Tuesday, Stage 2 covers 152.7km through the East Bay, from Martinez and up Sierra Road - the first Category 1 climb of the tour - before finishing in downtown San Jose.
Wednesday brings the Stage-3 individual time trial, an undulating 27.4km on the outskirts of San Jose along the Chesbro and Calero reservoirs.
Stage 4, the "queen stage" of the tour, begins in Monterey and follows Highway 1 through Big Sur and past Hearst Castle before shifting inland toward the finish in San Luis Obispo. At 210.7km, Thursday's stage is the longest of the race, with consistently hilly and technical terrain.
Friday's 169.5km Stage 5 starts in Mission Plaza in San Luis Obispo and follows the central coast to the sprint city of Guadalupe, where the field will leave the flatlands and head east to the Santa Ynez Mountains via the Solvang area. The riders will then face the four-mile Cat. 1 climb to San Marcos Pass before descending to a beachfront finish in Santa Barbara.
Saturday's Stage 6 is comparatively short at just 144km, but hilly, with four KoM climbs between Santa Barbara and Thousand Oaks. The final miles include three laps of a three-mile circuit in Thousand Oaks before the finish at Amgen's corporate campus.
Sunday's finale, Stage 7, is a 123.1km circuit race in Redondo Beach: 10 laps of a circuit along the Esplanade and through an intermediate sprint line in Riviera Village before returning to the start/finish line on Harbor Street.
Bjarne Riis, whose Team CSC this year is holding a training camp in and around Solvang, California, says the inaugural tour plays to his team's strengths.
"The Amgen Tour of California is an event that attracts our ---- of racing - we like to ride aggressively and show some spectacular cycling," said Riis. "The organizers have put together a really challenging route that suits the riders we will bring.
"Naturally, we have very high ambitions for this race. We have always enjoyed racing in the States, and we look forward to a great week in California in February."
Health Net-Maxxis also is training in the area, and director Jeff Corbett is looking forward to the race.
"With the team and our title sponsor both being based in California, we've been looking forward to the Tour of California ever since early talk of it began last year," said Corbett. "It's an opportunity to develop another top tier international stage race in the U.S."
For more information, including maps of the courses, see
www.amgentourofcalifornia.com.
Amgen Tour of California
February 19-26
Stages
Sunday, Feb. 19 - Prologue, San Francisco, 3.1km
Monday, Feb. 20 - Stage 1, Sausalito-Santa Rosa, 129.1km
Tuesday, Feb. 21 - Stage 2, Martinez-San Jose, 152.7km
Wednesday, Feb. 22 - Stage 3, ITT, San Jose, 27.4km
Thursday, Feb. 23 - Stage 4, Monterey-San Luis Obispo, 210.7km
Friday, Feb. 24 - Stage 5, San Luis Obispo-Santa Barbara, 169.5km
Saturday, Feb. 25 - Stage 6, Santa Barbara-Thousand Oaks, 144km
Sunday, Feb. 26 - Stage 7, Redondo Beach, 123.1km
Teams
Team CSC (Den)
Discovery Channel (USA)
Phonak (Swi)
Gerolsteiner (G)
Davitamon-Lotto (B)
Prodir-Saunier Duval (Sp)
Crédit Agricole (F)
T-Mobile (G)
Health Net-Maxxis (USA)
Navigators (USA)
Colavita-Sutter Home (USA)
United Pro Cycling Team (USA)
TIAA-CREF (USA)
Kodakgallery.com-Sierra Nevada (USA)
Jelly Belly (USA)
KB Home Mexican National Team (Mex)
