2011 Amgen Tour of California kicks off on May 15: Cycling News
One of America’s most prestigious Cycling events, the Amgen sponsored Tour of California will kick-off from May 15, 2011. Some of the dominating teams and riders taking part in the eight-day spread 800-miles cycling race event.
Overall 15 cities are nominated to host the 2011 Amgen tour of California for the official inauguration and conclusion of the stages while several other cities shall also be witnessing the thrill-filled entertainment on the track with
elite professional cycling sport on the way.
The sixth edition of the Amgen Tour of California shall be bringing a wide variety of pro-cycling action and testing the rider’s skills to the extreme. Coming from the exhausting first mountain stage at the Tahoe Resort up the Donner
Summit, the riders shall be experiencing a lengthy descent towards Sacramento in the second stage.
A field sprint is expected in front of the state Capitol on the 133.2 mile track from the Squaw Valley to the downtown Sacramento on the second day of the event.
The usual terms of the Amgen Tour runs with 18 teams, but due to a recent amendment to the rules by the cycling governing body (UCI), the organisers of a UCI continental tour calendar race are bound to invite the top three teams on
the UCI’s sporting ranking.
All the top three ranks teams currently are from Colombia namely, Gobernacion De Antioquia - Indeportes Antiquia, Movistar, and EPM-UNE.
The Colombian Continental team Movistar was added to the grid without a fanfare in March 2011. However at the eleventh hour, Movistar withdrew its participation from the tournament, as confirmed by the team’s communication officer, Juan
Pablo Molinero.
However, the last minute withdrawal of the team Movistar did not affect the racing event as the president of the AEG, Andrew Messick, confirmed that the event shall continue as was initially planned, with the 18 pro-continental teams.
The preliminary list of Amgen Tour starting grid teams is yet to be announced by the AEG Vice President of Communications, Michael Roth.
However, with due permissions by their national federations, several Colombian riders individually took part in the recent Pan-American Championships. However, the 2011 edition of the Amgen Tour of California would witness Colombia
taking part in a UCI sanctioned race as a team for the very first time.
The cycling action begins on Sunday, May 15 at the South Lake Tahoe.
The Tour is divided into eight stages spread over eight days of ultimate cycling challenge. The stages include:
Stage: South Lake Tahoe to North Lake Tahoe-Northstar at Tahoe Resort, Sunday, May 15
Stage: North Lake Tahoe-Squaw Valley USA to Sacramento, Monday, May 16.
Stage: Auburn to Modesto, Tuesday, May 17.
Stage: Livermore to San Jose, Wednesday, May 18.
Stage: Seaside to Paso Robles, Thursday, May 19.
Stage: Solvang Individual Time Trial, Friday, May 20.
Stage: Claremont to Mt. Baldy, Saturday, May 21.
Stage: Santa Clarita to Thousand Oaks, Sunday, May 22.
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