Modesto expected to be part of Amgen Tour

It’s almost official that Modesto will be part of next year’s Amgen Tour of California, the annual road race featuring some of the world’s best bicyclists.

The city will have a news conference Wednesday morning at Gallo Center for the Arts to “reveal breaking news” about the tour, which is in May. The news conference will start at 10:15 a.m., and the public is invited.

Modesto’s part in the tour has been an open secret for weeks.

The City Council in mid-September approved a letter of intent between Modesto and AEG – the global sports and entertainment company that owns the tour – and authorized City Manager Jim Holgersson to enter into an agreement with AEG for the tour’s return.

The tour takes place over several days as riders traverse several hundred miles across California. Modesto was a stage along the tour from 2008 to 2011. Modesto is slated to be a start city in 2017, which means the cyclists will start a stage here but will not spend the night.

City officials say being part of the tour promotes Modesto and brings thousands of people downtown for a family-friendly event.

The council in mid-September also voted to set aside $125,000 from the general fund to cover the costs of being a stage city, but city officials expect to raise money from the community to offset those costs, just as they say Modesto did from 2008 to 2011.

But Modesto was roundly criticized when the council approved spending as much as $75,000 from the general fund in February to put up the cyclists and their teams one night during last May’s tour. The cyclists did not race in Modesto but slept here between stages. The city expected to raise money to offset the $75,000 but lost $29,061.

This story was originally published November 1, 2016 at 11:26 AM with the headline "Modesto expected to be part of Amgen Tour."