Touted as “America’s Greatest Cycling Race,” the AMGEN Tour of California will pedal its way through the San Lorenzo Valley next month, as race officials released the official route the cyclists will follow.
The second stage of the eight-stage race, which has in years past included world-famous cyclists such as Lance Armstrong, is scheduled for May 14, a Monday. It will start in San Francisco and, by the end of the day, will cut through Santa Cruz County.
Racers will ride 117.1 miles through San Francisco and south on Highway 1, passing through Bonny Doon and Boulder Creek before heading up Bear Creek Road and down Summit Road into Soquel, ending with a sprint finish at Cabrillo College.
According to Mark Riedy, spokesman for Scotts Valley-based Easton-Bell Sports, several individuals and cycling teams sponsored by the company and its subsidiaries will compete in the race.
“I’d say there’s at least half a dozen teams,” he said.
Among the teams Easton-Bell will sponsor is BMC, based in Santa Rosa. Giro, which is owned by Easton-Bell and known for its cycling gear, is sponsoring the Netherlands-based Rabobank team as well as the Colorado-based Garmin-Barracuda team.
Many of Easton-Bell’s employees are cycling enthusiasts, Riedy said, who are familiar with the route the racers will follow.
“We’re looking forward to seeing the best riders in the world riding on the roads we ride on every day,” Riedy said.
This is the third year Santa Cruz County has been part of the tour. In 2009 and 2010, the ride made its way from Highway 1 to Bonny Doon and back into Santa Cruz for a finish at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.
This year’s route climbs into Bonny Doon before heading back into the San Lorenzo Valley and making its way to Cabrillo by way of more rural routes.
The race could also boost the local economy, according to members of the San Lorenzo Valley Chamber of Commerce.
The racers will pass through downtown Boulder Creek during the leg and will stay at Mount Hermon Conference Center, along with their support crews and entourages.
Intrigued by the chance to create greater awareness of local businesses and attractions during the influx of cyclists and cycling enthusiasts, chamber officials met April 11 at Boulder Creek Pizza & Pub to learn more about the race.
According to Maura Noel, a Bonny Doon resident and the head organizer for the second stage of the race, having the Tour of California pass through is a unique opportunity to raise a community’s profile outside the area.
“You get on the map of ‘I want to go there,’” Noel said. “The race puts us on the map as a cool, outdoors place.”
Noel added that several local schools would close at noon the day of the event.
“We’re hoping to get people to be there with their kids,” she said.
Bryan Chambers, president of the SLV Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber would consider some sort of event to coincide with the race.
“We’re going to ask around and see if people want to do something,” he said. “Our goal is to try and bring more business up and down the valley.”
“For every dollar that (cycling enthusiasts) spend locally, the more it sticks around and gets reused in the community.”
