Tour of California organizers set to unveil stage details
| Monday, Feb 08 2010 10:41 PM
Last Updated Monday, Feb 08 2010 10:42 PM
Exactly how riders in the 2010 Amgen Tour of California wind their way to the finish of Stage 5 in Bakersfield on May 20 will be revealed by tour organizers Thursday.
AEG, presenter of the fifth annual cycling race, will release individual stage details by videos two stages at a time beginning today. The videos (which can be seen at AmgenTourofCalifornia.com) have been created in collaboration between the start and finish cities of each stage, highlighting features of the route for the eight-day event.
Stage 5 will begin in Visalia and finish in Bakersfield. No details of the course have emerged, but local organizers have said from the outset they want to run the route through the foothills of the Greenhorn Mountains and finish with a loop stage including the China Grade Loop climb up the bluffs, Panorama Drive bordering Bakersfield College and a descent on Alfred Harrell Highway.
Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, 38, will compete in the Tour of California with his new RadioShack team, which also includes Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Kloden.
The Tour of California will cover more than 750 miles of terrain, starting in Nevada City on May 16 and finishing with a circuit race in Thousand Oaks on May 23.
Volunteers are needed for a variety of duties during the event, including hospitality, volunteer course marshals, security, and media operations, among others. The majority of volunteers are needed to serve as volunteer course marshals, providing support for the 75 professional course marshals that travel with the tour and support the local law enforcement authorities in each city. Course marshal volunteers have an opportunity to be on the race route, close to the cyclists, with responsibility for monitoring pedestrian traffic, barricades and road closures.
Prospective volunteers can only sign up by going to AmgenTourofCalifornia.com/Tour/ volunteer where they can designate which route they which to work.
The Bakersfield Sports Foundation officials said they will need 300 volunteers for the Kern County portion of the race and will be in contact with volunteers.
