TMCnet News
Citizen cyclists invited to take lap before bike raceFeb 06, 2009 (The Sacramento Bee - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- How would you like to ride the same course as the best cyclists from around the world on opening day of the Amgen Tour of California? Well, you can -- just hours before Lance Armstrong and the international field compete Feb. 14 near the Capitol in Sacramento. In an event sponsored by Sutter Health, anyone with a bike can join the community ride on the 2.4-mile course beginning at 11:30 a.m. Cyclists will get to complete a single circuit. The actual prologue to the Tour of California begins at 1:30 p.m. There is no registration and no cost to participate. Just show up at 11 a.m. near the starting line at Capitol Mall and Ninth Street. Some free bicycle valet parking will be available on the west side of the Capitol. The nine-day 2009 Amgen Tour of California will feature 17 of the top professional biking teams. Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong is expected to compete. A crowd of 75,000 is expected on Valentine's Day for the start of the race. For more than two hours, some 150 riders will race the course, each cyclist setting off at one-minute intervals. The cyclist with the fastest prologue time will receive a jersey signifying that he is the Amgen leader entering the first road stage Feb. 15 from Davis to Santa Rosa. The professional cyclists are expected to approach speeds of 30 mph in Sacramento. But the citizen cyclists won't be racing. "We won't break any speed records, but we'll get a feel for what the world's best cyclists will experience a couple of hours later," said Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, who will lead the Sutter Health ride. ------ Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079. To see more of The Sacramento Bee, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.sacbee.com/. Copyright (c) 2009, The Sacramento Bee, Calif. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |