Cycling legend Lance Armstrong will pedal through the Santa Cruz Mountains for a second consecutive year this spring as part of the Amgen Tour of California bicycle race.
The race begins in Nevada City on May 16 and ends in Southern California on May 23.
Race organizers announced the route for Stage 3 — from San Francisco to Santa Cruz on May 18 — during a press conference Wednesday, Feb. 10, at Lighthouse Point in Santa Cruz.
The place of the announcement was appropriate, as the Santa Cruz portion of the race route has changed from last year’s inaugural route, following West Cliff Drive for a finish at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, rather than passing through downtown Santa Cruz.
The climb in Bonny Doon, however, has not changed.
“The Bonny Doon-Pine Flat (Road) climb will be decisive,” said Andrew Messick, president of AEG Sports and director of the race. “It’s the first opportunity for someone to win the race.”
After a relatively flat ride during the first two stages of the race, the climb from Highway 1 up Bonny Doon Road and then down Empire Grade Road past University of California, Santa Cruz, will highlight the third stage of the race for a second year.
Riders will make the turn from Highway 1 southbound onto Bonny Doon Road close to the 100-mile mark for the day — after the riders have been on the road for close to four hours.
In 2009, eventual winner Levi Leipheimer made his move in Bonny Doon, finishing second for the stage and setting the tone for the rest of the eight-stage race.
“We’re really looking forward to a great race in May,” Messick said.
This year’s Santa Cruz stage is 113.3 miles long and includes two significant climbs — the first on Tunitas Creek Road off Highway 1 and the second, of course, in Bonny Doon.
Scotts Valley resident Matt Twisselman, who owns food concessions at the Boardwalk, said the route change to include West Cliff Drive should help avoid congestion in downtown Santa Cruz on a Tuesday, when non-tourism-related businesses are in operation, while providing a natural ending point at the Boardwalk.
Twisselman is chairman of the Santa Cruz Local Organizing Committee, and he lobbied heavily to have the race pass through Santa Cruz in 2009.
At a glance
• The third stage of Amgen’s Tour of California cycle race will pass through the San Lorenzo Valley on May 18.
To learn more, visit www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/Route/stages/stage3.html.
