Tour of California

The Amgen Tour of California will be held in May for the first time next year

As teams begin to layout their 2010 racing schedules, several squads are faced with a decision they have not had to make in years prior. Starting next year,the Amgen Tour of California wil be held during the month of May, overlapping with the Italian grand tour, the Giro d’Italia. Tour organizers say that the move from  February to March was influenced by the harsh weather riders had experienced in the past few years, when the race was held in February. This year the AToC will hope for better conditions, benefitting both rider and viewer.

The 2010 route will hit several major cities, including San Francisco, Sacramento, and Los Angeles

This year’s route includes just eight days, with eight stages and no rest days. The race will begin in Nevada City, where Lance Armstrong took his first win of the 2009 season in the Nevada City Classic in June. From there the peloton will ride to Sacramento, the state capital of California. Other notable stages include stage two, which will travel from San Francisco to Santa Cruz along the scenic Pacific Coast Highway. Stage seven will be a time trial through the streets of Los Angeles, where Dave Zabriskie aka Captain America will look to show off his Stars and Stripes jersey. The final stage will likely be one for the sprinters, and will finish in the Agoura Hills. Missing from this year’s route is a trip across the Golden Gate Bridge, and the tour still lacks a climb that can rival the Alps or Pyrenees in Europe.

Although the AToC has grown since its inception in 2006, the race still includes less than ten stages. To some teams, the AToC will provide riders with a race experience that does not include the stress and fatigue of a three week grand tour. Several riders have already comitted to the race, including George Hincapie of BMC, Dave Zabriskie of Garmin-Slipstream, and the Team Radioshack trio of Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer, and Chris Horner. With these five riders alone the race already has a field that will provide with an exciting fight for the podium.

Lance Armstrong on the front for his Astana teammate Levi Leipheimer

Even with this star-studded lineup, the Tour of California will likely not meet the same popularity as it did last year, when the field included Ivan Basso, Andy Shleck, Fabian Cancellara, and several other European stars. Many of the Italian teams will not be sending squads to the race, including Lampre-NGC and Liquigas, as they would choose to race the Giro d’Italia. Some European teams may choose to send a split squad such as Garmin-Slipstream. Dave Zabriskie has already confirmed that he will be at the race, yet other riders such as Bradley Wiggins or Tyler Farrar may seek for victories at the Giro d’Italia. Many European teams will likely race the Giro, simply because it is what they are used to, and it has been a part of their race schedule for many years.

Levi Leipheimer in yellow with the Brothers Shleck on the front

The American based teams will likely race the AToC, while the Europeans will stick with the Giro, and there are simply more European teams. Perhaps the powers will sway, but for now, it seems that the Giro d’Italia will still reign as the race of May.