In June, the City of Big Bear Lake was approached as a potential host city for the 2010 Amgen Tour of California which in this, its fourth year, included 17 of the world’s top professional cycling teams (including Lance Armstrong among them) and, as the largest biking event in North America, is now on par with the Tour de France. As of noon today, it is official: Big Bear has been selected as a host city on the 750-mile, eight-day event, which begins in Nevada City and ends in Agoura Hills in May 2010. In today’s announcement, which included Big Bear Lake Mayor Rick Herrick and San Bernardino County Supervisor Neil Derry, professional cyclists will make their way to Big Bear on Friday, May 21 on day six of the event. Cyclists will start stage six of the intense competition in Pasadena and will ride about 100 miles before climbing into the San Bernardino mountains, testing these professional bike riders’ strength and endurance as this stage will be the largest hill climb of the event. This year’s Amgen Tour of California was seen by more than two million fans along the race route, and was ultimately won by, now, three-time defending champion Levi Leipheimer. The Amgen Tour of California’s run through the Big Bear Valley, on a course that has yet to be determined, should provide a substantial economic boost to the community and will further our status as a high-altitude training destination.
