Lance and Bakersfield one step closer
BY GRETCHEN WENNER, Californian staff writer gwenner@bakersfield.com
The possibility Lance Armstrong could wheel into Bakersfield this spring moved forward Wednesday when the Bakersfield City Council approved a potential deal with bike race organizers.
The deal isn't done; race officials will announce in October which California cities get to host starts and finishes over eight or so days in May.
Bakersfield is lobbying to host a stage finish of the Amgen Tour of California on May 20. City officials estimate the cost at $100,000 to $150,000. Most of that would come from private donations, they say, and no general fund money would be used.
If Bakersfield wins a host spot, local cash registers would get a welcome workout. Bike teams and their support crews need hundreds of hotel rooms and restaurant seats at each stop.
Then there are the fans -- especially when Lance shows up. Armstrong told cycling media in July he'd bring his new American team, sponsored by RadioShack, to the 2010 California race.
The Amgen tour, which launched in 2006, has brought elite cyclists from around the world to a high-profile race cheered by thousands of roadside spectators -- something almost no other U.S. cycling event has been able to sustain. Like the Tour de France, the California version is a multi-day affair that covers hundreds of miles across a variety of terrain.
Previous Amgen tours have rolled out in February. With 2010's expected May 16-23 schedule, California's tour will directly conflict with an established three-week race in Italy and will no doubt lose some previous participants. Race organizers nevertheless predict the event will thrive and keep growing, and May's better weather will allow riders to tackle serious mountain stages in the Sierra Nevada.
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