Redlands – Big Bear Lake, CA March 22, 2012 3:00 pm – The Redlands Bicycle Classic will be held over 4 days beginning Thursday March 22nd. These bike races are held primarily through out the streets of Redlands and out to Beaumont. This race began just after the Summer Olympics Games held in Los Angeles in 1984 and has been going strong for 28 years making it the oldest and longest running stage race in the United States. This particular race is where many top cycling racers have cut their teeth including Chris Horner, Cadel Evans and David Zabriskie among other notable racers. Professional cycling teams look for new talent at races such as this in preparation for the long race season ahead. In addition, this year, Loma Linda University will field a team of hopefuls for the U.S. Paralympics team named the PossAbilities who will be racing on the same circuits over the next few days. The Redlands Classic is a very popular spectator event that effects many areas of the downtown Redlands area. To get more information be sure to check the Redlands Classic web link on KBHR933.com. In other cycling news Big Bear was chosen for the second time in three years to host a finishing stage of the Amgen Tour of California. Stage Six of this professional race will begin in Palmdale and finish at Snow Summit covering over 115 miles and climbing over 12,000 feet so titled “The Big Bear Climb”. The Big Bear stage will be held on May18th during the slower tourist shoulder season. In 2010 it was estimated by the race promoters that 12,000 spectators viewed the Big Bear finish. This year the race will have 16 professional teams competing including such notable names as BMC, Rabobank, Garmin- Barracuda, RadioShack-Nissan-Trek, Liquigas-Cannondale and QuickStep. The Big Bear Climb is sponsored in part by Matich Corporation, Big Bear Vacations, San Manuel Indian Bingo Casino and Arrowhead Medical Center.
