The most significant cycling race in the United States, the Amgen Tour of California, begins today in northern California just outside of Sacramento in Davis, and continues through large sections of wine country, cutting through Napa Valley and the wineries in today’s first stage. The race will host 17 professional cycling teams and cover seven hundred and fifty miles during the nine day, nine stage event ending in San Diego.
The televised race will showcase large swaths of the state’s beauty and diversity, as well as its many sightseeing attractions and sixteen of the state’s cities as it passes through them or stops for time trials along the route. This is the fourth annual Tour of California and the race has continued to build interest and participation, with more than a million and a half viewers lining the event last year.
Napa County which plays host to today’s race offers both some of the longest straights on the tour as well as one of the “King of the Mountain” climbs which will reward a climber with points for winning on particularly steep stretch of today’s stage when it climbs into the mountains surrounding Napa Valley. The first stage of the event will end in Santa Rosa this afternoon somewhere between 4:00 and 5:00pm.
