2012 Tour Of California To Take Cyclists Through SF, Over Mt. Diablo
SANTA ROSA (CBS / AP) -- Defending champion Chris Horner and three-time winner Levi Leipheimer are expected to be in the field for the 2012 Amgen Tour of California, which will include a 130-mile fourth stage that will make for the race's longest day.
The seventh annual race, scheduled May 13-20, is expected to include about 140 of cycling's top riders.
The roughly 800-mile route, which was announced Wednesday, will begin in Santa Rosa and take riders into the rolling hills of Sonoma County.
Stage two of the event will bring it to San Francisco, with cyclists traveling through the Marina district, the Presidio and along the Great Highway.
For the first time in the event's history, cyclists will climb Mount Diablo during stage three from San Jose to Livermore.
The fourth stage will take riders from Sonora to Clovis during the race's longest day.
The concluding eighth stage begins on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and finishes in downtown Los Angeles.
Participating teams and individual riders will be announced in the weeks just prior to the race.
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