The second stage of the Amgen Tour of California ended with Ben Swift winning a wild sprinting contest to the finish line in front of the State Capitol building. Swift, from Team Sky Procycling, raised his arms in victory after crossing a rain-soaked finish line on L Street. Weather delays left Amgen racers longing for a contest after race officials cancelled the first stage in Lake Tahoe yesterday. Today's start was moved from Squaw Valley to Nevada City to avoid snowy conditions. Ironically, the event was moved from February to May last year to take advantage of better weather conditions. Thousands of race fans lined the downtown streets to get a close look at the racers. The cyclists

Some of the world’s top bicyclists will be racing into Sacramento Monday to finish the second stage of the sixth annual Amgen Tour of California at the Capitol. Racers will enter Sacramento from the northern city limits on Sorrento Road to Main Avenue, then head to Highway 160, where they will then enter the central city on 12th Street, according to Department of Transportation spokeswoman Linda Tucker. For the race route and road closures, click the interactive map below. View Amgen Tour of California Route in a larger map “You’ve got the opportunity to watch some of the best athletes in the world ply their trade,” said Andrew Messick, president of AEG Sports, which owns the race. “

Oil your chains, pump up your tires and get geared up for Sacramento Bike Month. May is bike month in Sacramento, and there are many bike-related activities and events going on in the region whether you’re an advanced bicyclist or a recreational rider. May is a good month for biking, and it’s the perfect time to campaign for bike awareness, according to Sacramento Area Council of Governments co-chair Sonja Atkins. “I think it’s about getting people out there for their health, for air quality, to save money and for safety,” Atkins said. “There’s so many pieces to this puzzle, and it’s such a great mode of transportation that I see is important in many realms.” The campaign, in its sixth

It was an exciting day in Sacramento as Stage 1 of the Amgen Tour of California (ATOC) rolled through. It kicked-off in Nevada City and returned to the river city with cycling's biggest superstar and seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong (seen above). The Tour de France is the world's premier cycling tour. The ATOC is the Tour de France of North America. Besides Armstrong, the free food and free schwag at the MBT (Shoes) Lifestyle Festival wasn't bad either. I'm not a huge fan of cycling, but I'm drawn to the ATOC since I first went in 2008. Knowing that cycling's biggest star, Armstrong, would be in the race drew me back since I missed it last year. This could also be my las

The first stage of the 2010 Amgen Tour of California ended with a three-lap circuit in downtown Sacramento. These photos were taken at the corner of 18th and P Streets. Three members of the HTC-Columbia team lead the pack around the corners of downtown Sacramento. Team member Mark Cavendish won the first stage after a powerful sprint to the finish line.   Racers sprint into the four-block stretch on 18th Street.   Lance Armstrong, right, maneuvers around a corner among the riders in the first stage of the 2010 Amgen Tour of California.   Riders lean sharply as they pass through one of the turns in the circuit in downtown Sacramento. After the pack of riders passed, specatators

If you're the best sprinter in the world, your competition doesn't matter. Marc Cavendish, who won six stages in the 2009 Tour de France took his winning ways to Sacramento in the first stage of the 2010 Amgen Tour of California. His rivals however, were slowed by a crash during the final few kilometers heading up to the finish. Tom Boonen and some of the other chief green jersey contenders hit the pavement and wound up bruised and battered as they crossed the finish line. Lance Armstrong and heavy favorite three time Amgen winner Levi Leipheimer finished unscathed and received the same race time as all riders in the main peloton. The yellow jersey will be decided on a different day, but

The Amgen Tour of California doesn't begin until Sunday, but Levi Leipheimer already is heavily favored to win. "I think it will be a wonderful race," cycling commentator Phil Liggett said at a news conference Friday. "Levi Leipheimer will still win, but what the hell." Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong echoed that sentiment about the winner of the last three Tours of California. "If I were looking at it like an analyst, I would say that Levi, Dave (Zabriskie) and Michael Rogers are the big three," Armstrong said. "I guarantee you that Levi will kick (Mark) Cavendish's ass on hills." Cavendish would do the same to him on sprints, Leipheimer said under his breath. He note

May is Bike Month, and this weekend is the best time to celebrate. Sacramento has earned a stop on the international tour of the Bicycle Film Festival. The festival will be held Friday and Saturday, with the festivities extending into Sunday as part of the Amgen Tour of California. The Friends of Fremont Park, along with pizza and panini bar Hot Italian, will host the event. The film festival starts Friday in Fremont Park with movie shorts. They will begin at 9 p.m., but the event will kick off at 7 at nearby Hot Italian, which also will be the site of the night's after-party. And it will continue "as long as people are there and drinking," Lepore said. "The Bicycle Film Festival is a co

Amgen Tour of California teams were announced Friday morning. The roster includes seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong as well as Levi Leipheimer, winner of the last three consecutive Tour of California races, among others. The Sacramento Press will continue to cover the Amgen Tour of California, which rolls through the city Sunday, May 16. This will include a pre-race press conference May 14 and race day coverage. The following is a press release about the team announcement, via Bob Burns of the Sacramento Sports Commission. The world-class roster of teams and cyclists scheduled to participate in the 2010 Amgen Tour of California has been announced by race presenter AEG.

The Amgen Tour of California returns to Sacramento, bringing even more cycling competition to the Capitol in 2010. This year, Project Sport, the company behind the San Francisco and San Rafael Twilight Criterium races, and the Sacramento Sports Commission have teamed together to add the Sacramento Grand Prix. The inaugural Grand Prix event will run in conjunction with the Tour of California competition, which will feature seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong. The Grand Prix will act as the precursor to the May 16 Tour event, beginning at 11 a.m. the same day. The addition of the Grand Prix is an effort to extend the tour's festivities and bring out more fans. "We're trying t

"For us domestic riders, this is our Tour de France," Chris Jones said of the Amgen Tour of California. "It's the biggest race of our year," added the 31-year-old cyclist from Auburn. Jones and Michael Sayers, a retired professional rider, are Amgen tour veterans. They joined John McCasey, Sacramento Sports Commission director, at a Tuesday press conference at Mason's Restaurant. They introduced the tour's first stage -- from Nevada City to Sacramento -- with Mayor Kevin Johnson and Councilmen Ray Tretheway and Steve Cohn also in attendance. The event kicked off with a video that provided a glimpse of the scenery cyclists will see when they ride from Nevada City to Sacramento on May 16.

Pulling victory from the jaws of impending thundershowers, Sacramento's weather and geography cooperated Saturday afternoon to produce a nearly-flawless "prologue" of the Amgen Tour of California. It was nearly as cold and windy as Sacramento gets, but the rain held off until the last riders were crossing the finish line around 3:30 p.m. Saturday. The clear weather continued into the evening as the out-of-town crowds estimated to be more than 50,000 partied into the night and the Grid's monthly Second Saturday events. Though the race began in earnest Sunday, with 136 racers riding through gusts of wind and significant rain - and Sunday morning was marred by the early-hours theft of Lance

Last night, the Bikeramento founders ride over to Bicyle Chef's new digs on 33rd and N St off Folsom Boulevard.   It's after hours and Ed Cox presents the documentary, Return of the Scorcher, which inspired the term "critical mass." Christopher Davis-Murai, owner of Bicycle Chef, tosses the keys to the Sac Cycle Chic to close up.   There's a free tasting of Two Rivers Cider.  They whip out the screen and the youngest member of the crew, Violet queries, "What's that, papa?" Once upon a time in the 1890's, bicycles are seen as the fastest mode of travel, scorchers.  "What is progress?" asks Ed Cox, the city's alternative transportation coordinator.  It's the Return of the Scorcher. "Is th