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For
Immediate Release
Contact: Jody Meacham, 408 / 288-2934, jody@sjsa.org
SAN JOSE (Nov. 2, 2005) – Racers
and fans of the inaugural Amgen Tour of California
professional cycling race – a nationally televised
event modeled on the Tour de France – will spend
two days of the eight-day competition in and around
San Jose this winter.
Race presenter AEG announced the
Feb. 19-26, 2006 race earlier today at a San Francisco
news conference.
Organizers predict more than one million spectators
will line 700 miles of California roadway in the race
from San Francisco to Redondo Beach. Amgen, the world’s
leading biotechnology company based in Thousand Oaks,
is the title sponsor, and ESPN2 is the official broadcast
partner, with a one-hour race broadcast each day.
San
Jose will be the finish of the race’s third
leg on Tuesday, Feb. 21, which begins in Martinez.
On Wednesday, Feb. 22, San Jose will be the site of
the fourth-leg time trial, making San Jose the only
city to host finishes of two stages. Race teams will
move to Monterey for the Feb. 23 start of the tour’s
longest leg to San Luis Obispo.
“The Amgen Tour of California will build on
San Jose’s growing reputation as a great city
for staging outstanding sporting events,” said
San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales.
Six world-class teams, including
the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team (United States),
Gerolsteiner (Germany),
Davitamon-Lotto (Belgium), Phonak Hearing Systems
(Switzerland), Saunier Duval Prodir (Spain), Credit
Agricole (France)
and the T-Mobile Team (Switzerland) have been confirmed
to race in the Amgen Tour of California.
“We are proud to present the Amgen Tour of California,” said
Timothy J. Leiweke, CEO and president of AEG. “The
event will celebrate not only the athleticism and grace
of cycling, but also the beauty of the state of California,
which will be on display for everyone to see – both
on television and in person along the route. The Amgen
Tour of California will soon take its place among the
sport’s best, most respected races.”
In addition to the core race, the
Amgen Tour of California will extend the cycling experience
to the communities
it touches with a unique weeklong "rolling festival." Seven
finish-line cities, including San Jose, will offer
health and wellness festival-style expos including
health screenings, information and entertainment.
The
Amgen Tour of California and the recently announced
Rock ’n’ Roll Half Marathon, scheduled
for Oct. 8, 2006, bring the current total of major
annual sports events in downtown to six. They also
include the Taylor Woodrow Grand Prix of San José,
Dew Action Sports Tour, State Farm Pacific-10 Conference
Women’s Basketball Tournament and the USA Wrestling
California Divisional Championships.
The San Jose Sports
Authority is the sports marketing agency for the City
of San José. Since its creation
in 1991, the Sports Authority has brought more 150
events to the city including six NCAA Championships,
the NHL and MLS All Star Games and the U.S. Figure
Skating Championships. Visit us on the Web at www.sjsa.org.
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