As America’s most successful cycling race, the Amgen Tour of California is one of the nation’s largest and most recognized annual sporting events. An eight-day event, this prestigious cycling road race features elite professional teams and athletes from around the world. The only American race listed on the international professional cycling calendar (2. HC ranking), the Amgen Tour of California awards important, world-ranking points to the top finishers. The Amgen Tour of California brings the drama and excitement of professional cycling to California for the sixth consecutive year in 2011. WHEN & WHERE: Running eight days, from May 15-22, 2011, the Amgen Tour of California will showcase more than…..

800 miles of scenic California roadways, coastlines and iconic settings.

The 15 official stage start and finish communities that have been selected for the 2011 race include: South Lake Tahoe (new for 2011), North Lake Tahoe-Northstar at Tahoe Resort (new for 2011), North Lake Tahoe-Squaw
Valley USA (new for 2011), Sacramento, Auburn (new for 2011), Modesto, Livermore (new for 2011), San Jose, Seaside, Paso Robles, Solvang, Claremont (new for 2011), Mt. Baldy (new for 2011), Santa Clarita and Thousand Oaks.

TEAMS: Teams and riders participating in the race will include Tour de France top competitors, world champions and Olympic medalists.

2010 RESULTS: 2010 TOP RIDERS 2010 TOP TEAMS
Position Rider Team Position Team
1 Michael Rogers HTC-Columbia 1 Garmin-Transitions
2 David Zabriskie Garmin-Transitions 2 Team RadioShack
3 Levi Leipheimer Team RadioShack 3 HTC-Columbia
4 Christopher Horner Team RadioShack
5 Ryder Hesjedal Garmin-Transitions

ATTENDANCE: Continuing to set records in attendance for a single sporting event in the state of California, as well as any cycling event ever held in the United States, the 2010 Amgen Tour of California drew more than 2 million spectators. Additionally, fans and enthusiasts from around the world tuned in to the action via nightly television broadcasts and the race’s award-winning website.

ECONOMIC
IMPACT: Each year, the Amgen Tour of California and related activities have had an estimated economic impact of more than $100 million on the participating host cities throughout the course of the race.

FESTIVAL: The Amgen Tour of California will once again feature a free Lifestyle Festival in each finish city with family friendly activities, demonstrations and cycling displays.

SPONSOR: Returning as the title sponsor for the sixth consecutive year, Amgen will continue to leverage the race to raise awareness and support for people affected by cancer through its Breakaway from Cancer® initiative. Founded in 2005 by Amgen as a complementary component to the company’s title sponsorship of the Amgen Tour of California, Breakaway from Cancer® is designed to help empower people affected by cancer. Breakaway from Cancer supports the services of four nonprofit organizations: Prevent Cancer Foundation, Cancer Support Community (formerly known as The Wellness Community), Patient Advocate Foundation and National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship.

For more information, please visit www.breakawayfromcancer.com.

A leading global biotechnology company with headquarters in Thousand Oaks, Calif., one of the 2011 race host cities, Amgen’s invaluable support has helped to ensure the continued success of the race and impact beyond the sporting arena.

To find out more about the Amgen Tour, please visit http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/Tour/about.html