THE AMGEN TOUR AND HERE THEY COME.Byline: JUDY O'ROURKE Staff Writer SOLVANG -- An international cadre of more than 125 cyclists finished the fifth leg of the Amgen Tour of California The Amgen Tour of California is a professional cycling stage race on the UCI America Tour and USA Cycling Professional Tour that made its debut on February 19, 2006. Sponsored by the biotechnology company Amgen, the eight-day race covers between 650-700 miles (1,045 - 1,126 km). on Friday, setting the stage for their race into Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, today. Hundreds of cycling enthusiasts cheered and clanged cow bells as the riders passed them. "I think this race has the potential of bringing cycling to the U.S. as a spectator sport," said Richard Schlickman, 61, who drove up from Hermosa Beach Hermosa Beach (hûrmō`sə), city (1990 pop. 18,219), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1907. It is a residential suburb and a popular resort noted for its fine, sandy beaches and excellent surf. with three friends to watch the cyclists. The 600-mile race, which began with a prologue in San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden on Feb. 18 and will end in Long Beach on Sunday, is expected to draw 100,000 spectators to Santa Clarita today as riders make their way from Solvang into the area. The chance to see top international professional teams up close has drawn many spectators from afar. A vacationing Salt Lake City couple said Friday that they were lost in the crowd back in 2004 while following the Tour de France Tour de France World's most prestigious and difficult bicycle race. Staged for three weeks each July—usually in some 20 daylong stages—the Tour typically comprises 20 professional teams of nine riders each and covers some 3,600 km (2,235 miles) of flat and . Not so at Amgen. "It's a great opportunity to get up close to the riders because in Europe you can't," said Norm Frye, 50, as he pulled on leg warmers while sitting on his road bike. "It's just really exciting seeing all these world-class racers," said Alison Frye, 42, from atop her $7,000 French-made Time bike. "We don't get many races in the U.S. with Europe's top racers." Frye had no trouble getting champions to pose with her for photos: Italian Paolo Bettini Paolo Bettini (born April 1, 1974) is an Italian road cyclist with the Belgian Quick Step-Innergetic professional cycling team. He is the gold medal winner of the 2004 Athens Olympics road race and of the 2006 and 2007 World Road Race Championship. from the Belgian team Quick Step-Innergetic “Quick Step” redirects here. For the dance, see Quickstep. Quick Step-Innergetic (UCI Team Code: QSI) is a Belgian UCI ProTour team led by team manager Patrick Lefevere. and Dane Michael Rasmussen Michael Rasmussen (born June 1 1974 in Tølløse) is a Danish professional road bicycle racer who rode for the Dutch team Rabobank.[] Specializing in climbing, Rasmussen has shown a propensity for attempting spectacular stage wins in mountain stages in which he breaks away from the Netherlands Rabobank Cycling Team A cycling team is a group of cyclists who join a team or are acquired and train together to compete in bicycle races of any kind - whether they are recreational or professional - and the supporting personnel. . Colorado fifth-grader Evan Lake, 10, rode 12 hours with friends from his youth team to watch the race, missing three days of school. With his dad, Chris, 45, Evan watched fellow Coloradan Bobby Julich from the Danish team CSC warm up on his spinning bike. Julich, who was in fourth place overall Friday, placed third in last year's maiden Amgen Tour. The thrill was no less for locals. Vita Loyal rang a bell and charted racers' times for her son Nate, 30, a trainer and bike fitter on the Sotheby's professional team. "Keeping track of times, knowing what they have to beat, keeps you involved," she said. Nate trains with Max Testa, who also trains Levi Leitheimer, on U.S.A.'s Discovery Channel pro-cycling team. In the end, Leitheimer won Friday's time trials and was the overall leader going into today's stage six. Cyclists are expected to leave Santa Barbara about 11 a.m. today and begin arriving in Santa Clarita about 3 p.m. The top viewing location recommended by Santa Clarita officials is the finish line on McBean Parkway between Magic Mountain Parkway and Valencia Boulevard. There, the city will host a Lifestyle Festival and other events. Another good spot is Valencia Boulevard between McBean and Tourney Road, an uphill portion on the final circuit where riders will most likely strike their best efforts for the day. judy.orourke@dailynews.com (661) 257-5251 CAPTION(S): photo, box, map Photo: (color) U.S. rider Jonathan Garcia of Team BMC (BMC Software, Inc., Houston, TX, www.bmc.com) A leading supplier of software that supports and improves the availability, performance, and recovery of applications in complex computing environments. takes off at the start of the Amgen Tour of California time trial Friday in Solvang. As many as 100,000 spectators are expected to turn out today to watch the world's best cyclists ride into Santa Clarita. David Crane/Staff Photographer Box: IF YOU GO Map: Amgen Tour of California: Stage 6 Source: Amgen Tour of California Warren Huskey/Staff Artist |
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