- Nation’s first men’s cycling race designated as a UCI Worldtour Event. Women’s and Men’s Premier Stage Races Will Bring the World’s Most Talented and Popular Cycling Stars Back to California. Former Champions Kristin Armstrong, Jens Voigt and Freddie Rodriguez Named Official Race Ambassadors
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Amgen Tour of California organizer AEG announced the 575-mile course for the 2017 UCI WorldTour race, which will take many of the world’s best cyclists on an always picturesque, challenging and highly competitive competition through California’s iconic highways, byways and coastlines this spring. The four-day Amgen Breakaway from Heart Disease™ Women’s Race empowered with SRAM will bring the best in the sport to race in Northern California May 11-14, followed by the men’s seven-day stage race May 14-20. The twelfth annual edition of the men’s race will visit 12 Host Cities from Sacramento to Pasadena.
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The Amgen Tour of California is America’s Greatest Race, and this year more than ever, the world will be watching,
said Kristin Klein, race president and executive vice president of AEG Sports. As the sport of cycling continues to bloom in America, the Amgen Tour of California men’s and women’s events are both part of the UCI WorldTour for the first time, a privilege and designation reserved for the world’s premier races. This means the competition will reach an all-time high, with the best racers and best teams in the world lining up to take part.
Millions of fans are expected to once again line the racecourse in May to cheer on the elite, international fields that will include Olympians, Tour de France contenders and World Champions. Fans will also have opportunities to meet and hear from cycling legends Jens Voigt and Freddie Rodriguez, who will reprise their roles as Race Ambassadors. Kristin Armstrong, the most decorated woman in U.S. cycling history, will join as a first-time Amgen Tour of California Race Ambassador, on the heels of her incredible performance to win her third Olympic gold medal at the Rio Olympic Games last summer.
I’ve applauded and supported the Amgen Tour of California over the past decade, and seen firsthand how much this important race has done to raise the profile of American cycling,
said Armstrong, who in addition to claiming gold medals from three Olympic Games and multiple national championships is also an Amgen Tour of California women’s time trial champion (2011). The Amgen Tour of California showcases the best of cycling, and inspires the next generation of cyclists here. I’m so thrilled to come aboard as part of the race in a capacity where I can help continue to spread excitement about the sport, women’s cycling and this world-class race.
Local organizing committees in each of the Host Cities are recruiting fans (with and without cycling experience) to fill thousands of volunteer positions for various duties along the course. Volunteer registration is open at amgentourofcalifornia.com.
For more than a decade, the Amgen Tour of California has played a vital role to Golden State travel, both in driving visitation and in focusing the eyes of the international cycling community on diverse destinations beyond the gateways,
says Caroline Beteta, president and CEO of Visit California. Since 2006, Visit California has been thrilled to partner with AEG on this one-of-a-kind event, which takes riders, spectators and viewers alike on a whirlwind tour that spans sun-soaked beaches, evergreen mountains, and everything in between, further showcasing the immense scope of all that California has to offer.
