The Amgen ToC is No More..... :(
 

Well there goes my yearly pro event.
https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/20...-held-in-2020/

Well, that sucks. I'd always go see a stage finish in Pasadena, and it was always a great atmosphere.

Well, looking for a silver lining, maybe this means the Great Scott Road ride will come back.

Not holding my breath tho

eff.

Geeze you lose Sagan and it all goes to crap?

sounds like they could use a (nearly) equal co-sponsor. perhaps an up and coming active lifestyle company...?

what if they dropped it down to five stages? what if they alternated between nocal, central cal, socal every year?
i'd rather see it as a strickly nocal or socal race than not at all. hopefully they save it and/or it returns in 2021 in whatever format.
wonder if three, one-day "classics" in the span of 7-10 days have been considered. just bad news. can the tour of utah be far behind?

I'm so annoyed about this, because we'd taken the twins to the Sacramento stage the last 2 years and had them ride the Strider race and check out all the stalls. I was hoping to take them to a mountain stage once they were a little older, be it Tahoe or Diablo.

It sounds like AEG can't make it pencil out for 2020. Possible factors;

1) The race just wasn't working. It happens, lots of races don't break even, and CA is an expensive place to run a race, even with that big Amgen money; Vaughters is interviewed on Cyclingnews and reckons because the state govt don't pony up for it, the ToC probably costs the organizers as much as the Tour de France.

2) Rejigging the season to fit the Olympics in means that anyone who was likely to show up to race California, was probably not a big name. Sagan has already committed to the Giro.

3) AB467 which mandates that any sporting event using public land (ie, the roads) has to have equal pay for women. ToC already has equal prize money for winners, stage wins etc, but the womens race has fewer stages. The prize money probably wouldn't actually be a big difference, but the logistics and expenses of running the women's race for an extra 4 days would be a nightmare. Don't get me wrong, there absolutely should be equal billing between men and women. But if the law was a factor in AEG's decision, then this is a backward step toward that goal.

It's a shame.

Well, son of a .....!

My friend is a retired CHP Captain. He worked the ToC for several years. As he described it, the amount of resources that went into clearing the roads to make it safe for the riders and spectators, was amazing. The cost, to the tour organizers, must have been mind boggling. In a related note, he reported that personnel from the TdF would regularly travel to California to learn from our CHP.

I always made it a point to ride my bike to one of the stages to watch the racers. It made me feel so Continental. :love:

Here are some pictures from this year’s ToC. It was Stage One of the women’s race and Stage Five of the men’s race.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...682be3110.jpeg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ca4d01f6f.jpeg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b53bb849a.jpeg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1f03ab7e6.jpeg

Let’s bring the tour of Georgia back :thumb:

Or de Tour de Trump. :innocent:

you want the cyclists to roll through beauty pageant dressing rooms?!
hairdryer/curler in the spokes! #teamrevlon. i guess lance could always announce it.
didn't he win it one year??

Thats a great idea. He has the personal cash to fund it (without taxpayers doing so). And it will be done under budget and ahead of schedule

^riiiiggghhhhttt...ask the various and multiple municipalities that his campaign owes money to.
not that he was any more/less financially viable in the 80's with the tdt but i digress...

there are plenty of things afoot...but in the end it all comes down to money. if it's too big of an
undertaking, perhaps they can shrink the race to save it.

I think that his comment was made with tongue firmly planted in cheek...but I may be wrong. :innocent:

^haha you're likely right. i mean what are the odds that all three are true?

I can imagine him claiming that he delivered a bike race ahead of schedule...

Seems really depressing as an announcement. Makes you wonder what's next.

I mean, how does Richmond pull off worlds in 2015 and in 2019 we're losing TOC?

he won on 1/3 rd the budget of his competitor (fact)

I assume a lot of things boil down to money.


Le Tour de Trump had nothing to do with beauty pageants. It was a Tour de France knockoff in the DC area IIRC. I thought it was cool.

One of my most popular YouTube creations:


AToC has been going downhill ever since the last Diablo finish in 2014.

Well, if it's any consolation...we now have the Tour of Saudi Arabia :innocent::D;)

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/l...-arabia-441565

Is that a joke? Are women going to ride?

No - you add equal purse for women's racing and it quietly goes away. As posted a few times about local races (Boulevard, and a small list), along with urinating on the neighbor's yard.