March 2, 2006

Spin City

Landis earns tour victory with San Jose effort

Tour of California leaves cycling fans in a spin

By Karl Laucher
Staff Writer

By the time the Amgen Tour of California staged two glorious finishes in San Jose in mid February, the cycling world found out what recreational bicycle riders hereabout have been celebrating for years: the back roads and byways of San Jose as a spectacular cycling experience.

A pack of riders brave the Sierra Road loop on Feb. 21 as they make their way into San Jose during the Amgen Tour of California. Photo by Doug Thompson

That is why San Jose, which turned out an army of spectators and volunteers, is a strong candidate to repeat as a centerpiece when the Tour of California is staged again in 2007.

A number of route changes have been be projected for next year’s model, but surely race organizers couldn’t be ditzy enough to overlook the crowds estimated at 140,000 for the 95-mile stage from Martinez to downtown San Jose and another 5,000 to 10,000 for the Individual Time Trial (ITT) held the next day in San Jose’s Coyote Valley.

In all, the eight-stage tour, which pitted 120 riders comprising 16 teams, attracted some 1.3 million spectators making it the No. 2 sporting event in the history of California behind the 1984 Olympics.

It was those same Olympics that produced another signature moment for South San Jose when the Olympic Torch was carried down Santa Teresa Avenue en route to the Los Angeles Games several years ago.

In regard to stopping traffic, the Tour of California was a monster event for South San Jose as Santa Teresa Avenue, south of Bernal Road, was closed for most of the day on Feb, 26 as a cycling expo was erected at the finish line of the 17-mile ITT won by Floyd Landis, the eventual overall tour winner.

Floyd Landis won Stage 3 of the Amgen Tour of California. The time trial took place in Almaden and the south valley of San Jose. Landis’ winning time was 35:58:91 for the 17-mile course. Photo by Jeff Frazee

Landis blazed over the rolling Coyote Valley course in 35 minutes, 58 seconds. Landis, 30, a former teammate of Lance Armstrong, a Riverside County resident, led an American sweep of the first four positions over a powerful international field in the overall standings.

Among the spectators taking in the sights at the ITT finish line in Santa Teresa were Margo and Shawn Buckley, who live within a few blocks of the festivities. “We were really glad to have it here,” said Margo. ”It was something we haven’t seen in a while. We ended up watching it on TV (the event was carried each night on ESPN2) and following it in the news.”

Margo added that she didn’t think the event caused much of a problem for local traffic flows. “Monterey Highway and Highway 101 were still open so it shouldn’t have been a problem to anyone.”

Organizers of the Tour of California were on a natural high even before the ITT as expressed at a media breakfast held at the Cinnabar Hills Golf Club just hours before the first rider was launched in front of the IBM facility on Bailey Road.

Peter Lopinto of USA riding for team Kodak gallery.com/Sierra Nevada races through Uvas Road and Oak Glen Road during the individual time trails of the First Annual AMGEN Tour of California in San Jose on Feb. 22. Photo by Dan Miranda at www.danmiranda.com

Gerard Bisceglia, CEO for USA Cycling, the sport’s national governing body, said he is “thrilled” to be here, “not only in San Jose, but all of California—the finest place to race in the U.S. and one of the most challenging in the world.”

Not having any cycling celebrities available, Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), the Tour of California’s organizing entity, trotted out San Jose Sharks hockey player Scott Thornton, a cycling enthusiast and Evergreen resident, to meet the media and to take a test lap on the ITT course (AEG also owns the Sharks). Thornton was timed in 48 minutes, about 12 minutes behind the time posted by Landis, which would equate to something like five miles to the rear if they started together. Thornton, however, announced his goal was only to “stay upright.”

With the Tour of California spending two days in San Jose before heading to a conclusion in Redondo Beach outside Los Angeles, racing fans got to see a quality of cycling competition not seen in n the parts since the 1962 Pan American Games were held at the Hellyer Park Velodrome.

Tour of California race organizers, who have a budget of $35 million for a five-year run, says the event will be bigger and better next year. The question is: which road will they take?