PALMDALE – City officials held a press conference Tuesday to announce the official Stage 3 route of the 2013 Amgen Tour of California that will take place on Tuesday, May 14, beginning at 11:20 am in Palmdale and concluding in Santa Clarita.
The 110-mile race that will feature some of the top cyclists in the world, including Olympic athletes and Tour of France competitors, will start at Marie Kerr Park and end in the heart of Santa Clarita.
“Marie Kerr Park is a great location to start the race,” said Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford. “It really gives the fans a personal view and the opportunity to get up close to world class athletes.”
After leaving Marie Kerr, the cyclists will head west on Rancho Vista Boulevard. They will take Rancho Vista Boulevard all the way up until they reach Avenue N.
“There will be great viewing locations along the way,” said Ledford, “and we’ll be passing close to four schools — Esperanza, Hillview, Rancho Vista and Gregg Anderson School.”
At Avenue N, the cyclists will make a left and head west all the way up to 70th Street West.
From there, they head north to Avenue I, where, if conditions are good, they will see an amazing display of poppies along the way.
From Avenue I, the racers turn left and head west to Munz Ranch Road and up the hill for the first of four King of the Mountain stages of the race.
Once they finish the hill, they’ll head east on Lake Elizabeth Road until reaching San Francisquito Canyon, where they will embark on the first of three canyon routes.
The riders will pass through Green Valley and continue just over 20 miles until they reach the Old Road down in Santa Clarita.
From The Old Road, the cyclists head north until hooking up with Lake Hughes road.
At that point, the race heads back north on Lake Hughes road for approximately another 25 miles to Elizabeth Lake Road, where the racers will turn southeast all the way to Bouquet Canyon Road.
At Bouquet Canyon, the peddling continues back up into the hills for about 30 miles all the way to the finish line, near Magic Mountain Parkway and Valencia Boulevard in Santa Clarita.
This is the third time Palmdale has been a host city for the Amgen Tour of California, which is broadcasted in 216 countries.
“This is no ordinary cycling event,” Ledford said. “It’s the third largest cycling event in the world, and the largest in North America. In fact, the Amgen Tour of California is listed on the international professional cycling calendar as a ‘2. HC.’ The 2 signifies it is a multi-day race and HC is French for ‘Hors Categorie’ meaning ‘beyond category,’ as it awards important, world-ranking points to the top finishers.”
“You don’t have to be a cycling fan to get into all the fun and excitement that will be coming to Palmdale this May,” Ledford added. “Because of our close proximity to Santa Clarita, race fans can easily see both the start and finish of Stage 3.”
Twelve cities have been named official Host City partners for the 2013 Amgen Tour of California by AEG, presenter of the race, helping to make up the route, which will take riders on a South to North course for the first time in the eight-year race history. The eighth consecutive edition of the Amgen Tour of California will travel approximately 750 miles from May 12-19, 2013.
The 12 Host City partners for the 2013 Amgen Tour of California include:
- Stage 1: Sunday, May 12 – Escondido
- Stage 2: Monday, May 13 – Murrieta to Greater Palm Springs
- Stage 3: Tuesday, May 14 – Palmdale to Santa Clarita
- Stage 4: Wednesday, May 15 – Santa Clarita to Santa Barbara
- Stage 5: Thursday, May 16 – Santa Barbara to Avila Beach
- Stage 6: Friday, May 17 – San Jose (Individual Time Trial)
- Stage 7: Saturday, May 18 – Livermore to Mt. Diablo
- Stage 8: Sunday, May 19 – San Francisco to Santa Rosa
Volunteer opportunities with the City of Palmdale are available.
“It’s a very important position because it is what keeps the route safe for our riders, it keeps people from driving into the route along the way, and you’re also there to keep the safety of the spectators and make sure that this is an enjoyable experience for everyone,” said Volunteer Coordinator Trish Jones. “I will be looking for about 100 volunteers.”
Sponsorship opportunities are also available.
“Sponsorships are an important and unique way to connect businesses to consumers, all in the name of fun,” said Palmdale’s Marketing and Sponsorship Specialist Stella Knight. “These partnerships, ranging from $100 to $20,000, can be leveraged by businesses to connect with consumers all in the name of fun. With the international attention that the Amgen Tour of California attracts, sponsorships will be of great value to any business as well as an investment in our community. In 2011 alone, the race generated 3.5 billion online, print and television impressions locally and worldwide.”
For sponsorship information, contact Knight at sknight@cityofpalmdale.org or 661-267-5599.
For further information on the 2013 Amgen Tour of California, and to view the 2013 Amgen Tour of California map, visit www.AmgenTourofCalifornia.com, the City of Palmdale’s Web site, www.cityofpalmdale.org/atoc, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ATOCPalmdale.
R.W says
Someone needs to prof read this report…