Amgen Tour Of California Set For Sunday Start, Heading South To North

The Amgen Tour of California gets under way on Sunday with "more than 100 professional cyclists" beginning the eight-day event in Escondido. The race is "such a big deal that Escondido spent nearly $500,000" to host a stage for the first time since '09 (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 5/9).

For the "first time since its debut in 2006, America's biggest cycling event is expected to climax in the Bay Area." The race this year is "going south to north for the first time." Race Dir Jim Birrell said that the event "doesn't plan to rotate directions annually like the Tour de France, which travels clockwise one year, counterclockwise the next." AEG Exec Dir & Senior VP Kristin Bachochin, whose firm owns the race, said AEG is "considering ways to stretch the route farther south and farther north but declined to address specifics" (MERCURYNEWS.com, 5/10).