Sixteen cities will host the 2010 Tour of California when the fifth edition of the bike race rolls out May 16 to 23.
This is three months later than the previous four Tours of California that were scheduled in February. The new schedule will surely mean drier, warmer weather for the cyclists and spectators, as well as a bone fide mountain stage that ends at Big Bear Lake.
It also means that four of America's top cyclists — defending 3-time champion Levi Leipheimer (top right) and Lance Armstrong (top left), George Hincapie and David Zabriskie — are choosing the California race over the Giro d'Italia, the three-week Grand Tour that also runs in May.
Schedule
Here's the schedule:
Stage 1: Sunday, May 16 – Nevada City to Sacramento
Stage 2: Monday, May 17 – Davis to Santa Rosa
Stage 3: Tuesday, May 18 – San Francisco to Santa Cruz
Stage 4: Wednesday, May 19 – San Jose to Modesto
Stage 5: Thursday, May 20 – Visalia to Bakersfield
Stage 6: Friday, May 21 – Pasadena to Big Bear Lake
Stage 7: Saturday, May 22 – Los Angeles (individual time trial)
Stage 8: Sunday, May 23 – Thousand Oaks/Westlake Village/Agoura Hills
Although the exact route hasn't been mapped yet, organizers say the course will cover about 750 miles of California blacktop.
Highlights
This race has some high-altitude highlights, including cycling in the Sierras and the Sequoia National Forest, as well as the first-ever mountaintop finish at Big Bear Lake, elevation 7,000 feet. The Stage 6 race from Pasadena to Big Bear Lake promises to be memorable.
New cities on this year's roster include Nevada City, Bakersfield, Big Bear Lake, Los Angeles and the three-way hosts of the final stage — Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village and Agoura Hills.
There's no prologue this year, but there will be an individual time trial on the streets of Los Angeles in the vicinity of the Staples Center sports complex, owned by AEG Sports.
See more race details at VeloNews.
8 stages in May
I'm never going to get used to the Tour of California in May.
According to Andrew Messick, president of race owner AEG Sports, the weather was the driving concern in changing the race dates to later in the year.
“This timing will help us to better showcase the beautiful features the state of California has to offer, while allowing us to travel to parts of the state that just weren't feasible in previous years.”
He also told VeloNews that making the race a little longer and a little harder helps to establish it as a lead-up race for the Tour de France in July.
The official announcement for the Tour reports that Armstrong and Leipheimer, both members of the newly formed Team RadioShack, are committed to participating in the race. Other top cyclists who confirmed that they'll race include Hincapie of BMC Racing and Zabriskie of Garmin-Slipstream.
Yosemite National Park was considered as a finish for one stage of the Tour, but officials rejected the idea because the park is prohibited from hosting events that offer a large monetary prize and don't serve the park's purpose.
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