Amgen returns in 2010

May dates will let riders climb Sierra

By Brian VanderBeek
bvanderbeek@modbee.com

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The Amgen Tour of California is coming back in 2010 for another Modesto finish line.

An official announcement will be made during a press conference Thursday morning, but cycling experts have tagged Modesto as the finish line for Stage 4 of the 2010 Amgen Tour of California.

Next year's Tour of California will be contested May 16-23, allowing the riders to test some Sierra Nevada climbs without the fear of running into snow or ice.

The February tour time slot meant that even low-altitude stages were liable to be plagued by cold, wet and windy weather.

Riders, including Lance Armstrong with his new Radio Shack team, will be arriving in Modesto on the afternoon of Wednesday, May 19, at the end of a stage that will start in San Jose. The specific route has yet to be announced, but it is believed to be the same the tour used this past February.

The 2010 tour appears to be skipping Merced and Clovis, which acted as a start-finish combination this year. Instead, sources indicate the stage following the Modesto finish line will start in Visalia and finish in Bakersfield.

Nevada City will be the event's starting point on May 16, with a Stage 1 route that finishes in Sacramento. The following day's ride runs from Davis to Santa Rosa, followed by a San Francisco-to-Santa Cruz run.

The Tour wraps up on May 23 with a run from Woodland Hills to Thousand Oaks, which not coincidentally is home to the corporate headquarters of sponsor Amgen.