Amgen Tour of California Stage 1 Preview
STAGE 1 TOMORROW:
Monday, Feb. 18 – Sausalito to Santa Rosa
Estimated Start Time: 11 a.m.
Estimated Finish Time: 2:30-3:30 p.m.
Stage 1 will bring the cyclists 96.8 miles from Sausalito to Santa Rosa. In previous years, Santa Rosa set the mark for one of the largest and most enthusiastic crowds of the entire race.
Best viewing spots will include: the start in Sausalito near Spinnaker restaurant; the finish on Third Street in Santa Rosa; the sprint lines in Point Reyes and Bodega Bay; the climb up Coleman Valley Road; and Occidental, as the race comes down the hill into town.
The first mass start stage of the 2008 Amgen Tour of California begins on the northern side of the San Francisco Bay in enchanting Sausalito and finishes 100 miles later in Santa Rosa, the town defending race champion Levi Leipheimer now calls home. The riders begin their day with a climb from Mill Valley to Mt. Tamalpais State Park before turning towards Muir Beach. The moderately flat stage sponsored by Herbalife leads the peloton north towards Bodega Bay, up and over the landmark Coleman Valley Road climb, and descends into Occidental before a trek into downtown Santa Rosa for three fast and furious finishing circuits. The past two years, enormous and vociferous Santa Rosa crowds spent President’s Day watching the race thunder into town with their hometown hero in the leader’s jersey. Will history repeat itself yet again?
STAGE MAP
STAGE LOG
STAGE PROFILE
Share/Bookmark: 
Categories: Tour of California
Tags:
Let Levi Ride Campaign
Well, prediction was slightly off for early season. I gues that is why Cancellara is the World Champion.
Cancellara was impressive with his 3′51″ prologue result. Fast and flat, Levi Leipheimer’s fourth place finish may not have seeded him on the first day’s podium, however, the placing was perfect for heading into Stage 2.
Levi needs your support. To help out, follow my link to http://www.poursuivants.com and click on the banner at the top. You will have the chance to join his campaign and sign the online petition to undo the unjust exclusion of Levi and his team from this year’s Tour de France.