For the fourth year in a row, the Amgen Tour of California will again bring the drama and excitement of a professional bicycle stage race to San Jose. The largest cycling event in America, the 2009 Amgen Tour of California is a Tour de France‐style cycling road race presented by AEG that challenges the world’s top professional cyclists, including Lance Armstrong, to compete along a demanding, recently expanded, 800‐mile course from Sacramento to Escondido from February 14‐22, 2009.
During last year’s Amgen Tour of California, the peloton rode from Modesto to San Jose, but in 2009 they’ll reverse direction and pedal from San Jose to Modesto. That means the riders will be hit hard early when—just five miles into Stage 3-they’ll face menacing Sierra Road (1930 feet of elevation), which has been a defining climb in previous years. The racers will then speed through flat sections that twist and turn, including more than 40 switchbacks on Calaveras Road. After tackling the second major climb of the day, Patterson Pass, the stage will conclude with two laps around a downtown circuit in Modesto.
And there’s no better place to experience the spectacle of this international professional cycling road race than at the Tour’s Lifestyle Festival, featuring a health & fitness expo, cancer awareness education, cycling gear, family activities, bike safety, food and entertainment. For 2009, fans will have the opportunity to meet their favorite riders face‐to‐face at an Autograph Alley beginning at 11‐11:30 a.m. A special start ceremony with San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed will help get the action underway as the riders take to the road and head to Modesto.
This is the fourth year in a row that San Jose has served as a host City and, through the Office of Economic Development, is producing the exciting start and Lifestyle Festival.
Official website is http://amgentourofcalifornia.com.