I wouldn’t call myself a cycling enthusiast (I don’t own a killer road bike or follow the sport religiously) but I do enjoy a good bike ride and I’m a fan of high energy sporting events.
Enter the Amgen Tour of California. In its fifth year, the event has become the largest cycling event in America and I decided that I really couldn’t miss the opportunity to witness it first-hand.
Reason #1 I like this event: It didn’t start until 11:30am! I’m used to waking up before the sun to get ready for running events so I have to say that these biker guys have it pretty easy.
I drove up into the hills to Auburn to catch the pack in a mellow environment.
After waiting about 45 minutes, the riders finally appeared. Everyone cheered. And then they were gone. I couldn’t believe how quickly the moment passed. Lots of waiting for a few seconds of excitement.
Leaders
I was also stunned by how many police motorcycles and other vehicles passed by before the riders. Seemed like overkill to me.
Next stop was downtown Sacramento at the State Capitol for the finish.
This was a much more exciting place to view the race – there was a huge crowd and the energy was incredible.
One lap to go!
Not to mention the riders passed by the same spot four times as they circled the Capitol (made the hour-long wait a little less ridiculous).
Luckily I came prepared for the wait.
Mark Cavendish won the Stage and missed out on several crashes that consumed most of the field just 3km from the finish. Pays to be fast.
