Today is the day that San Francisco takes over from Napa County as the Amgen Tour of California begins its second stage, leaving the wine country behind and launching from Sausalito, heading over the Golden Gate Bridge to slicing quickly through San Francisco. The professional cyclists won’t have time for many of San Francisco’s wonderful sightseeing attractions, as they will be briefly skirting town between the Presidio and the coast, and by Golden Gate Park, for less than thirty minutes before continuing on its southward trajectory over the nine stage tour.
The Tour includes about nine miles of the San Francisco area once it comes into town off of the Golden Gate Bridge. Most notable during the ride for the cyclists will likely be the hill climb that will be the most challenging section in the San Francisco route, taking them up past the Palace of the Legion of Honor, then down between the Pacific ocean and the Golden Gate Park, continuing past the San Francisco Zoo on down the coastal road of the great Highway, ending in Santa Cruz around one o’clock.
Tuesday the race takes on its third stage which will begin in San Jose. And while there are sixteen cities which factor into this year’s Tour of California, San Francisco can’t be too disappointed with its brief exposure, given that both Big Sur and Los Angeles were totally eliminated from the this year’s race calendar.
