For the 5th consecutive year, Amgen’s Tour of California (ATOC)
will be rolling through the hills of Sonoma County, from the Napa
County line to downtown Santa Rosa, giving local cycling
enthusiasts another opportunity to see world-class bike racers up
close.
Once again, the county will be a center for bicycling with the
ATOC as the centerpiece to an already crowded two-wheeled May
calendar.
Amgen decided to move the race up to May, after last year’s
drenching February rains chilled the day and played havoc on the
television cameras that missed the majority of the race due to
lousy reception.
While the deluge may have dampened some of the excitement for
the event, it didn’t drown the desire for Sonoma County to be
recognized as a major destination for the international cycling
community.
“Even though attendance was down last year, there was still a
hard-core group of supporters that made the event a success,” said
Raissa de la Rosa, Santa Rosa’s economic development specialist,
and one of the main organizers of the event.
For the first four years of ATOC’s existence, the race was held
in February as a precursor to the international cycling season, so
as not to compete with other international road races. But with the
move to May, Amgen is gambling that the ATOC has become an
established stop on the racing circuit. This year’s schedule will
offer ATOC an opportunity to further solidify its bona fides, as it
will run up against the Giro d’Italia, which takes place from May
8-21.
ATOC will run over eight days along a course spanning 800 miles,
beginning in Nevada City on May 16 to Thousand Oaks on May 23.
There will be 15 teams, including Santa Rosa-based Team BMC.
Santa Rosa will host the finish of Stage Two, a 110-mile course
that begins in Davis and features 6,000 feet of climbing, including
two of the area’s most daunting climbs, the Oakville and Trinity
road grades between Napa and Santa Rosa.
In its few short years of existence, ATOC has become one of
professional cycling’s most important stage races in the U.S., and
with the inclusion of local racing icon and three-time ATOC winner
Levi Leipheimer, seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong
and fellow American George Hincapie, spectators will be treated to
a tour that is undiminished talent-wise from previous events.
The May race will also test the local volunteer pool, as it
takes place in the same month as the Wine Country Century on May 1,
and Bike to Work Day, which is the Thursday before the race.
“We are so in need of volunteers,” said Sonoma County Bicycle
Coalition events organizer Sandra Lupien. “I haven’t been
recruiting for ATOC yet, but it should be interesting to see how
the volunteer pool handles these three huge events.”
Lupien and her crew of bicycle valet volunteers have a busy
month ahead of them, after spending April 25 offering free valet
bicycle parking at Amgen’s Breakaway from Cancer fundraiser, which
saw 750 cyclists riding various parts of the ATOC course to raise
cancer awareness, as well as $55,000 for cancer prevention,
education and support.
Although she usually starts “serious” recruiting efforts two
weeks before the event, Lupien said that volunteer spots usually
don’t fill up until right before the event.
“The weather should really increase interest,” she said. “My
real hope is that with Bike to Work Day, people who enjoy ATOC will
see the importance of cycling as a form of transportation.”
The monumental task of recruiting hundreds of necessary
volunteers is shared between the SCBC and the city, which needs at
least 200 volunteers for such things as course marshaling, event
logistics, and garbage clean up.
This year, downtown Santa Rosa should be packed, as the race is
expected to enter the downtown area around 3 p.m., just in time for
“happy hour.”
There will be family events, including the ATOC Pre-Finish
Elected Officials Commute Course, which will feature Santa Rosa
City Council members and County Supervisors riding adult-sized
tricycles, attempting to get from “home” to “work” while
encountering typical obstacles, such as long lines at the coffee
shop, and lobbyists. The course will demonstrate, in a lighthearted
way, the benefits of biking to work.
The event is organized by the SCBC and The Imaginists Theatre
Collective and its Youth Ensemble, and takes place from 12:45-1:30
p.m. at the Finish Line Stage, Third Street and Santa Rosa
Avenue.
There will also be a festival and beer garden with vending
booths, music, and other activities from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Third
Street in Santa Rosa between D and E Streets. Other entertainment
will include a Bike Expo, kid’s events, and a post-race happy
hour.
“Every year we try to bring fun events to the ATOC, and the
(Commute Course) is great because it engages elected officials,” De
la Rosa said. “Having the extra months to plan was nice. It was
almost a completely new event.”
The West County Revolution Bike Shop in Sebastopol will have a
special shop ride leaving from the shop and traveling over Sonoma
Mountain to wait for the race to come up Bennett Valley. There will
be a tent and refreshments, and after the peloton passes, the group
will head back to Santa Rosa to join in the celebration. The West
County Revolution Bike Shop is located at 6731 Sebastopol Ave.,
Sebastopol, CA. For more information call 707-829-2192.
For information about the 2010 ATOC, go to www.sr-city.org/toc, www.bikesonoma.org, or www.amgentourofcalifornia.com.
Anyone interested in volunteering can contact Sandra Lupien at
Sa****@bi********.org or
545-0153, or the city’s volunteer coordinator Ed Buonaccorsi at
eb**********@sr****.org or
707-543-3710.
Along with Bike to Work Day on Thursday, May 13, Santa Rosa’s
116th Annual Luther Burbank Rose Parade will take place on
Saturday, May 15, which will be themed “Rose Pedals,” to reflect
the city’s connections to bicycling.
