Leipheimer on different start to season in 2010
Levi Leipheimer isn’t used to racing in Europe so early in the season, at least not since the inception of the Tour of California in 2006.
Leipheimer is spending February in Europe for the first time in years.
Since then, Leipheimer has been Mr. February, winning three consecutive Tours of California to open each season with a major victory.
With the California tour now set in May, Leipheimer is adjusting this racing and training schedule accordingly.
Leipheimer is making his 2010 season debut this week at the Volta ao Algarve in Portugal. VeloNews caught up with Leipheimer before the start of Friday’s third stage.
VeloNews: This is quite a different start for you compared to the past few years?
Levi Leipheimer: Yes, it is. I am not in the same shape I normally am at this part of the year, but that’s the plan. I am suffering a little more than I normally am in February, but I am still pretty good.
VN: Will it help you later in the season not having peak so early?
LL: It is easier. I have enjoyed training really hard in the winter for the Tour of California. It was very intense training. I just had it dialed and I really enjoyed it. I am not complaining that it was hard, I actually kind of miss it.
VN: What was your reaction when the race organizers moved the event from February to May?
LL: I can totally understand, especially with the weather we’ve had the last couple of years. That’s not the California that everyone knows. It makes sense. I think it’s a good spot. It goes up against the Giro; I think it’s a good place on the calendar.
VN: How has your schedule changed to make the adjustment?
LL: I’ll do Algarve, Paris-Nice, using these races to build the form and build the base, then at some point I will go back to the States and I will train really hard for the Tour of California and do what I’ve been doing these past three years.
VN: Now that you’ve won three straight, how much pressure is there to four-peat?
LL: There’s more and more pressure each time. You build a longer streak and the expectations are higher and higher. Eventually someone is going to come along, right? I think Dave (Zabriskie) is the number-one favorite this year. He’s focused on it and he’s shown that he’s improved. He’s come out and said he wants to win. I’d say he’s the big favorite. At this point, it’s his race to lose.
VN: When will you return to Europe?
LL: Maybe the Tour de Swiss makes more sense, but we haven’t decided yet. After the Tour of California, I will need a rest. Especially considering that the Tour is another six weeks away, you got to make sure you build up again for July.
VN: How are things coming together with the new project at RadioShack?
Leipheimer chats with cycling great Sean Kelly ahead of Friday's stage.
LL: I wouldn’t call it a new project. It’s a team that’s always been here. We certainly have the big American sponsor again in RadioShack, so it feels more like the days of U.S. Postal and Discovery Channel. RadioShack has been superb so far, they’ve really been behind the team. As riders, we’re in contact with them. They’re big cycling fans, and as riders, we can feel their support. That’s really nice.
VN: The team will be very strong in the Tour, what are your personal goals?
LL: We don’t have the favorite on our team, that’s Alberto, so we’re going to have to devise a different strategy than what we’re used to. It’s going to be fun and exciting. I think people will get their money’s worth.
VN: RadioShack will have three favorites for the podium, how will the team manage that?
LL: We don’t have the biggest favorite, so we have to play all of our cards. There might be moments when we have to sacrifice one or the other, but the ideal situation is that we keep all those cards in play as long as possible and somewhere, somehow, we look for the opportunity to win.
VN: How much do you think Contador will miss of the support the team gave him during four grand tour victories?
LL: I cannot speak for Alberto, but I am proud of the support that we gave him in those races. I was with him in all four of those grand tour wins. That’s something I am proud of. In that Vuelta victory, I was a key part of that and I made some sacrifices, and I know that’s part of the sport. I share the victory that he had there. I know that we supported him the best as possible.
VN: What kind of things did he do to thank you?
LL: For example, I have a jersey signed by him from all four grand tours. That’s a nice piece of memorabilia. There are some other personal things that I’d rather not say.
VN: How difficult was it for you to crash out last year?
LL: It’s tough, it’s really tough. I’ve had to do it before. It’s not easy to be in the race, and the next day you’re watching it on TV. You don’t think about that happening beforehand, so when it does, it’s a shock.
VN: So overall, how are you feeling coming into the season?
LL: Physically I am OK. Well, I lost one of my dogs a few nights ago. We think an owl took him, so I am kind of distracted. It was Trooper, the little short-haired Chihuahua, he was kind of my dog. Odessa let the dogs out before bed and the owl tried to take one of our other dogs, and we think Trooper tried to step in and the owl took him. He basically just disappeared with no trace. Other than that, I am fine.
Sastre confirms Giro push, still undecided on Tour
Carlos Sastre confirmed he’s eyeing overall victory at the Giro d’Italia as one of his top goals for the 2010 season, but remains uncommitted regarding his plans for the Tour de France.
Sastre hyas some good memories from last year's Giro.
The 2008 Tour champ won two stages in last year’s Giro and that’s only whetted his appetite to make a push for outright victory in the season’s first grand tour, but he still hasn’t decided on the Tour.
“I want to arrive at the Giro in conditions to challenge for it. I really enjoyed last year in Italy and I want to repeat the experience,” Sastre said Saturday. “Right now, I am going to focus on the Giro. We are going to go step by step and there’ll be time to think about it in longer term.”
Sastre traveled from his home in Ávila, Spain, to join his Cervélo TestTeam teammates in southern Portugal for a two-week training camp to click his 2010 campaign into season.
“We are going to be there two week and we’ll take advantage to intensify the training,” he said. “When the weather hasn’t been good in Ávila, I’ve been hitting the gym and doing Pilates. When I cannot ride on the road, I go on the mountain bike. It’s been enough to maintain the muscle tone and burn the little bit of fat from the recent holidays.”
Sastre won’t race until the Volta a Catalunya, which has been moved from May to March. After that, he’s only revealed that he will race Amstel Gold Race and Liège-Bastogne-Liège before the Giro, though more racing could be added to his calendar.
“This year I’ll start a little later than the past few seasons,” he said. “That will allow me to arrive more toned to the first races.”
Neben gives 40+ bikes to homeless kids for Christmas
Amber Neben, professional cyclist and 2008 Olympian, gave more than 40 bicycles to homeless kids in Orange County, California, this week for Christmas.
Neben distributed some of the Christmas spirit to a number of California families with help from Fuji Bicycles, SixSixOne, the Edge Cycle Sports and a volunteer crew of bike builders.
“I have been through a lot of adversity in my life and I have fought through it and succeeded, but the journey has been far from easy,” said Amber. “I think that it is an important message for these kids at this time in their life. Everything might look hopeless, but it is only temporary. They need to keep fighting, to not give up on life or their dreams. I want to do something and share something with them that gives them hope.”
Neben partnered with the Illumination Foundation, an Orange County non-profit organization that work with the homeless. Neben delivered the bikes to the kids and their families on Monday in Anaheim and in Costa Mesa on Wednesday.
Karen Bliss of Fuji said Neben approached the bike company with the idea. “We said, ‘wow, really? You want to buy 40 bikes? You sure you don’t want to give them teddy bears or something?’ But she insisted and persisted.”
“Amber is one of those people who truly believes in paying it forward,” said her husband Jason Neben. “Amber has had to work for every bit of success in her life. In turn, I think she appreciates how powerful it is to believe in yourself and follow your dreams. And, she wants to pass that message along.”
So why, of all gifts, a bike? “There is an Arthur Ashe quote that says ‘Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.’ I am a cyclist who has achieved things in the sport. These achievements put me in the position to be able to make a phone call to Fuji and others who can help,” Neben said. “I also think everyone remembers the bikes they had as kids — it is a gift that will mean something. How cool to be able to share a Christmas gift and to remind everyone involved about the real meaning of Christmas.”
Nominees Announced For 2010 USA Cyclocross Team
Colorado Springs, Colo. (December 17, 2009)—USA Cycling has announced the first round of nominations to the United States National Team for the 2010 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Tabor, Czech Republic, Jan. 30-31.
Five athletes were named to each of the elite women’s, U23 men’s and junior men’s squads based on competitive performances over the course of the last year.
After capturing her sixth consecutive USA Cycling Cylco-cross National title and winning a pair of World Cups this season, Katie Compton (Colorado Springs, Colo./Planet Bike) received an automatic nomination and will lead the elite women’s squad. Compton is currently the top-ranked female cyclo-crosser in the world rankings ahead of Dutchwomen Daphny van den Brand and reigning world champion Marianne Vos. After her silver-medal-performance at the World Championships in 2006 and earning the bronze at last year’s contest, Compton is not only an automatic qualifier to the squad, but will be the favorite heading into Tabor.
Garnering the most points in five out of the six U.S. qualification races, Amy Dombroski (Boulder, Colo./Schalmm p/b Primus) is another automatic qualifier for the elite women’s squad. After finishing third at the recent USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships, fifth in the USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Calendar standings and second in the U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclo-cross, the 22-year-old Dombroski looks to be a strong world championship contender for years to come.
Discretionary nominations to the elite women’s team went to national championship silver medalist Meredith Miller (Fort Collins, Colo./California Giant-Specialized), Laura Van Gilder (Cresco, Pa./C3-Sollay) and Maureen Bruno-Roy (Arlington, Mass./MM Racing p/b Seven Cycles).
In the U23 men’s division, 2007 junior world championship silver-medalist Danny Summerhill (Englewood, Colo./Garmin-Felt) earned the only automatic nomination to the team with his victory at the USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships.
Discretionary selections to the men’s U23 team went to national championship U23 bronze-medalist Luke Keough (Sandwich, Mass./Champion Systems), last year’s junior national champion and 2009 Collegiate DI national champion Zach McDonald (Bainbridge Island, Wash./Stevens Classic Cycle), Jerome Townsend (Princeton, Mass./Bikereg.com-Joe’s Garage) and Dave Hackworthy (Hudson, Wisc./Plan C).
Winning the USA Cycling junior cyclo-cross national championship, Cody Kaiser (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Cal Giant) was the only automatic qualifier in the junior division. Jeff Bahnson (Newark, Del./Thule-Vandessel), Skyler Trujillo (Fort Collins, Colo./Black Sheep), Chris Wallace (Shawnee, Kan./KCCX-Verge) and Matt Spinks (Layton, N.J./Young Medalists-Team Dual Temp) all earned discretionary nominations and will make up the remainder of the junior men’s squad.
The elite men’s nominations will be announced on Jan. 13 following the next two rounds of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup. To view the complete selection procedures for all categories, visit the USA Cycling website, here http://www.usacycling.org/forms/cx/2010-CX-World-Champ-Ath-Nomination.pdf.
Registration Opens For Levi Leipheimer’s King Ridge Gran Fondo
Levi Leipheimer’s King Ridge Gran Fondo cycling event opened for registration today.
Fashioned after Italian Gran Fondo rides, Levi Leipheimer’s King Ridge Gran Fondo is a one-of-a-kind road cycling experience. The 103-mile route through California’s Sonoma County takes place on October 9, 2010.
The Gran Fondo is a ride, not a race, and all of the participants start together (at 8:00 am). For many, the King Ridge Gran Fondo is as close as they can get to riding the queen’s stage of a grand tour like the Tour de France. Making it feel even more like a grand tour stage is the fact that cyclists will be riding alongside Team RadioShack’s Levi Leipheimer himself (as well as other top professionals).
Demand is high for the limited entry spots, and this morning’s large volume of traffic sent the King Ridge Gran Fondo Web site into a tizzy. Levi’s crew has pulled down the original Web site and replaced it with a simple registration page for the time being.
Available entries and prices are as follows:
Gran 103 Miles: $130 (3,000 spaces)
Medio 65 Miles: $110 (2,000 spaces)
Piccolo 30 Miles: $70 (1,000 spaces)
To register for the King Ridge Gran Fondo, go to LevisGranFondo.com, and hurry.
Check out this video from last year’s event to get an idea of what’s in store for 2010. It was created by Jesse Rosten and Carl Burchfiel.
Levi Leipheimer’s King Ridge GranFondo from Bike Monkey LLC on Vimeo.
Berg, Swanson Take Final Race And Series In Seattle SCX finale
By LeRoi Smith
Kristi Berg (Redline Bicycles) put an exclamation point on her perfect SCX season and Toby Swanson (Benaroya Research Institute) added a finals victory to his slim points lead to take the Elite Men’s title.
Icing On Berg’s Cake
From the start, Berg rode like she needed the win. In fact, she needed only to finish to claim her series victory. But she was not about to let up now, with a trip to Bend in the near future. At the end of the first lap, the gaps had formed already; but they were not unassailable. Berg off the front; Beth Lyndon-Griffith (Hagens-Berman) chasing hard; and Ann Knapp (Kona) a close third. Over the next few laps Knapp reeled in, and passed, Lyndon-Griffith; but Berg extended her lead. The last few laps Knapp did begin to close the gap as she has been doing late the in past couple of races; but she was unable to make up the distance and had to settle for second. Lyndon-Griffith maintained her gap on teammate Elizabeth Marzolf for the final podium spot.
For the series, the top of the podium was never really in doubt, with Berg winning every race. Strong and consistent finishes by Jadine Riley (Team Group Health) locked the second podium spot for her. The battle for third came down to the final race with Ann Knapp edging out Beth Lyndon-Griffith.
Swanson Brings it Home
With Zach McDonald (Stevens/Classic Cycles) off to Europe, the series came down to a winner take all three-way showdown. For all intents and purposes the final race finishing order would determine the series finish order among Steven Fisher (Rad Racing NW – Hagens Berman), Logan Wetzel (Benaroya Research Institute) and Toby Swanson (Benaroya Research Institute). Swanson came into the final race with a slim points lead; but no victories on the year. Perhaps that was weighing on his mind at the start because he was off like a shot from the get-go. Setting a blistering pace, Swanson literally, and figuratively, never looked back as he led wire to wire. Riding like a scalded cat, Swanson built a commanding minute and a half lead by the finish. Meanwhile, the early chase was left to Fisher and Logan Owen (Redline Bicycles) with Swanson’s teammate, Wetzel along for the ride. The chase eventually proved too much for the two and after Swanson’s lead was unassailable, the good teammate was able to take a shot for himself. After leaving his chase companions Wetzel was able to build a lead of almost a minute before the finish to claim second on the day and the series. Fisher outlasted Owen to round out the podium.
Date Announced for Levi Leipheimer’s 2010 King Ridge GranFondo
The second year of this epic ride returns to Sonoma County in October to benefit the return of the Tour of California to Santa Rosa and Forget Me Not Farm.
SANTA ROSA (November 12, 2009) – Initial planning for the second annual Levi Leipheimer’s King Ridge GranFondo has yielded an official event date of Saturday, October 9, 2010.
Registration for this event will open at 9am PST, December 15, 2009 via the event website at www.levisgranfondo.com. This date will continue to take advantage of Sonoma County’s mild fall temperatures, turning vineyards, and piercing blue skies. Event participants can expect the same stunning vistas, demanding topography, excellent rider support, and overall atmosphere of fun that was enjoyed in the 2009 King Ridge GranFondo.
The first annual Levi Leipheimer’s King Ridge GranFondo, presented by Road ID, was a highly successful event offering three route choices over 103 miles of Sonoma County’s most scenic and challenging terrain. Event patron and three-time Tour of California winner Levi Leipheimer, along with 3,500 other cyclists, including professional riders like Scott Nydam, Axel Merckx, and Bob Roll, took off from Leipheimer’s hometown of Santa Rosa, CA on October 3, 2009 for the inaugural running of this event. The GranFondo was a charity benefit for the City of Santa Rosa and Forget Me Not Farm.
“The success of the 2009 GranFondo exceeded expectations on all sides,” said Carlos Perez, Event Director and President of Bike Monkey. “From the beneficiaries to the participants to Levi himself, it was an unparalleled achievement, especially for a first year event. We’re looking forward to improving on that in 2010.”
With the money raised from this event, the City of Santa Rosa was brought that much closer to being able to host and fully support a stage of the 4th annual Tour of California, now the most prestigious professional cycling race in the United States. This race brings a wide array of benefits to Santa Rosa, including a deepening of cycling culture, vital economic stimulation, and global recognition. Thanks in part to the GranFondo, it was confirmed in late October that Santa Rosa would indeed host the second stage of the 2010 Tour of California.
Forget Me Not Farm, a favorite charity of both Leipheimer and his wife, Odessa Gunn, will also receive a donation from the GranFondo. As a subsidiary of the Sonoma County Humane Society, Forget Me Not Farm not only shelters abused animals on their 17 acre working farm facility, but also involves abused children in the raising and caring for these animals. For many of these children, Forget Me Not Farm is one of the few stable and secure elements in their lives.
The 2010 GranFondo will continue to capitalize on the incredible momentum from the inaugural running of this event, bringing benefit not only to the participating riders, but to also to the surrounding community.
About Levi Leipheimer’s King Ridge GranFondo
Levi Leipheimer’s King Ridge GranFondo is a fully supported bicycle ride with 35, 65, and 103-mile route options through some of the finest cycling country in the USA. The range of riders is recreational to pro, and the pace varies from leisurely to very fast. The ride is owned by VeloStreet and produced by Bike Monkey with Levi Leipheimer as the patron. The ride is organized with the collaboration and support of the City of Santa Rosa as well as communities and fire departments around Sonoma County.
About Bike Monkey
Bike Monkey is a bicycle culture portal that promotes the adventure and passion of cycling through a variety of outlets. Active since 2005, Bike Monkey organizes several races across multiple formats, publishes a high-end quarterly cycling publication to a nation-wide subscriber base, and hosts several personalities via a series of blogs and web articles. To learn more about Bike Monkey, visit www.bikemonkey.net
About VeloStreet
VeloStreet is a 501(c)3 non-profit based in Santa Rosa, CA. VeloStreet’s mission is to promote community-based cycling initiatives that encourage advocacy, athletics, and recreation.
Road-rage victim urges drivers and cyclists to share the road
By Patrick Brady
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The courtroom gallery was filled to capacity Monday as a jury of seven women and five men announced it had convicted former emergency room doctor Christopher Thomas Thompson of assaulting a pair of cyclists last year by abruptly stopping his car in front of them.
For the first time in the trial, which spanned three weeks, cyclists outnumbered Thompson supporters in the gallery. There was a palpable tension in the room greater than any felt during the trial.
Thompson was convicted of six felonies: two counts each of assault with a deadly weapon and battery with serious bodily injury as well as reckless driving causing specified injury and mayhem. He was also convicted of misdemeanor reckless driving.
The six felonies stemmed from the July 4, 2008 incident with cyclists Ron Peterson and Christian Stoehr. The misdemeanor was occasioned by the altercation with cyclists Patrick Watson and Josh Crosby.
When the jury entered the room only one member of the panel hazarded a brief glance at the defendant; the rest looked at the judge, the attorneys or into the gallery.[SinglePic not found]
When the court clerk read the verdict of “guilty” for the first count, reckless driving causing specified injury, Thompson’s head slumped. He then raised it and waited for the verdict in the second count, battery with serious bodily injury. “Guilty,” the clerk said and this time Thompson’s head dropped, chin to chest. He did not lift his head for the rest of the verdicts, all guilty.
When the clerk finished reading off the verdicts, Thompson appeared to cry and wiped his hands under his glasses. Thompson’s attorney Peter Swarth asked that each juror be polled. One by one, each juror responded “yes,” they voted to convict Thompson on all counts.
After the verdicts, Deputy District Attorney Mary Stone ask the judge to sentence Thompson “as soon as the court’s calendar will allow.”
As a cautionary move, Swarth had earlier prepared a request to allow Thompson to remain out on bail until sentencing. Judge Scott Millington scanned the motion and asked Stone if she would like to respond to that request.
“Yes, your honor.”
Stone cited Thompson’s flight risk, his lack of ties to the area (he no longer lives or works in Los Angeles and was likely to lose his medical license soon). She then added, “In terms of public safety, there isn’t a cyclist in Los Angeles who would be comfortable if he were out on the streets.”[SinglePic not found]
Judge Millington cited Thompson’s incentive to flee and the serious nature of the crimes he committed and ordered Thompson’s bail revoked and that he be remanded to custody immediately. With that, bailiffs ordered Thompson to stand, placed handcuffs on him and walked him to a holding cell.
The victims and Stone held a brief news conference outside the courthouse.
Asked if he was pleased with the verdict, Christian Stoehr said, “It was tough for me, to be honest, it’s sad for both sides. I’m glad it sends a message to the community that it is dangerous and we have to watch out, but at the end of the day, I lost a lot of my time and my life, and he’s losing a lot of his.”
Peterson was asked if he had lingering trauma from the incident. “More nervous, yes; whenever a car comes by me still — a year and three months later — I flinch, and even when I’m driving and I see brake lights in front of me, I flinch every single time,” he said.
Would this verdict make a difference in car and cyclist relations? Josh Crosby offered his perspective. “Like the sign says, share the road and be respectful of each other. If we do something wrong, you need to take responsibility for it, and I don’t think he took any responsibility for it,” he said.
Thompson will be sentenced Dec. 3. He faces a maximum of ten years in prison, but with no prior criminal record, he in unlikely to receive the maximum.
Tour of California: The (Golden) Road To France
ATOC organizers explain the race’s move from February to May.
By Ben Delaney
The Amgen Tour of California has been a great “early season” race since its inception in 2006. Its organizers want it to be a great race, period.
“We aspire to be an important part of the cycling calendar,” said Andrew Messick, AEG Sports president. “We felt as though being a February race we were, I don’t want to say pre-season, but we weren’t a race that most riders were really targeting.”
To be a bigger race, the Tour of California needed two things, Messick said: a mid-season date and access to more climbing.
“In February, there is a lot of terrain that’s inaccessible due to snow and cold,” Messick said. “Shifting to May will open up the Sierras, mountain top finishes and areas like Lake Tahoe. To showcase the California that we know and love—blue skies, warm weather—we need to be in the spring. We think the racing will be better, and the competition will be better.”
Messick said he is confident that the race will continue to attract many of the world’s top riders, despite its scheduling conflict with the Giro d’Italia. The 2009 Californian tour was a who’s who of professional road cycling.
For 2010, the plan is for the Amgen Tour to serve as a fine-tuning event for riders targeting the Tour de France.
“We are partners with ASO, owners and operators of the Tour de France,” Messick said. “We want to be an important race in the lead-up to the Tour. To that end, we have made the race a little bit longer, a little bit harder. Some of our stages are going to be designed to give people a real indication of where they sit in terms of fitness.”
The big day will be stage 7, from Pasadena up to Big Bear, which could include about 13,000 vertical feet of climbing.
The 2010 Amgen Tour of California will kick off May 16 in Nevada City with at least two of the world’s best cyclists who are also targeting the Tour de France: Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong and Tour podium finisher Levi Leipheimer each announced their intentions to race California via Twitter Thursday morning. Tour veterans George Hincapie and Dave Zabriskie also confirmed their planned participation.
2010 Amgen Tour of California Route Unveiled
The 2010 Amgen Tour of California will venture high up into the Sierra Nevada Mountains, dispense with the traditional prologue, include a time trial in Los Angeles and feature the first mountaintop finish in the race’s four-year history at Big Bear.
The biggest change for the eight-day event remains the move from February to May (16-23), pitting it against the Giro d’Italia. Still, race organizers expect a field of comparable strength to 2009, when world champions and former winners of the Tour de France and Paris-Roubaix lined up alongside America’s best riders.
In 2010, confirmed riders include seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, who had been wrestling with the decision of whether to ride in California or at the Giro next May. He will be joined by RadioShack teammate and three-time winner Levi Leipheimer, national road champion George Hincapie (BMC) and national time trial champion Dave Zabriskie (Garmin-Slipstream).
Those riders, along with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, announced the basic details of the route Thursday morning via Twitter.
Next year, the race will begin in Nevada City and head generally south, visiting Sacramento, Davis, Santa Rosa, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, San Jose, Modesto, Visalia, Bakersfield, Pasadena, Big Bear, Los Angeles and Thousand Oaks.
Notably absent are a prologue, the Solvang time trial and a stage in the San Diego area.
Here are the route details:
Stage 1: Nevada City to Sacramento.
The 78-mile stage will put riders back into Sacramento where the race caravan will have been staying in the days before the race. Expect a sprint finish.
Stage 2: Davis to Santa Rosa.
Somewhat of a repeat stage from 2009, but perhaps a little longer and a little harder. It may or may not have finishing circuits. Organizers are looking to put a hill in Santa Rosa to give someone else a chance to win it. Plus, it’s harder for Santa Rosa to do circuits on a Monday and shut down all of downtown. Trinity Grade may figure into the route.
Stage 3: San Francisco to Santa Cruz.
Another repeat from 2009, this stage will again feature the Bonny Doon climb, where this year Levi Leipheimer attacked his way into the race lead. The stage will start at Pier 30/32, then will follow the Bay to Breakers running course from two days earlier, across the spine of the city and into Golden Gate Park. There will not be a Golden Gate Bridge crossing this time, however.
Stage 4: San Jose to Modesto.
A sprint finish is pretty certain, as there is no way to get to Modesto without traversing 25 miles of dead flat central valley.
Stage 5: Visalia to Bakersfield.
The first and only real Sierra Nevada stage, this day will take riders up into the Sequoia National Forest. It could be somewhat similar to the Merced-Clovis stage from this year. The proposed finish near Bakersfield College consists of a two-mile circuit with a 200-foot climb in middle.
Stage 6: Pasadena to Big Bear.
The queen stage will include 13,000-14,000 feet of climbing up to one of the ski resorts in Big Bear. Race organizers are waiting on clearance from the state because parts of the route include areas affected by the Station Fire. If the Forest Service gives clearance, the race would do 2.5 hours through the burn zone. From the start in Pasadena, riders will climb up to Crystal Lake, summiting there at 8,000 feet, then descending into Wrightwood and climbing back up to Big Bear Lake.
Stage 7: Los Angeles time trial.
Originally, the plan was to start the time trial downtown and go to the beach. The LA Triathlon used a similar route and the city concluded the traffic impact was too great. So, the time trial will take place entirely downtown. It will start at finish at L.A. Live, the entertainment complex that houses the Staples Center.
Stage 8: Thousand Oaks circuit race.
The race will conclude with a circuit race in the Santa Monica Mountains. There will be at least one canyon climb over the top of mountains and a drop down to the Pacific Coast Highway. SoCal roadies can look for the Rock Store climb to be featured.
“For the 2010 Amgen Tour of California we had the unique opportunity to move our race to a part of the year when we are almost guaranteed great weather in California,” AEG Sports president Andrew Messick said in a press release. “This timing will help us to better showcase the beautiful features the state of California has to offer, while allowing us to travel to parts of the state that just weren’t feasible in previous years.”
Returning as the title sponsor for the fifth consecutive year, Amgen will again use the race to promote its Breakaway from Cancer program that supports people affected by cancer. The company’s headquarters are in Thousand Oaks.
Neal Rogers contributed to this report.
