NPS:
The largest cycling event in America, the 2009 Amgen Tour of California is a Tour de France-style cycling road race that challenges the world’s top professional cycling teams to compete along a demanding, recently expanded, 750-mile course from Sacramento to Escondido from February 14-22, 2009. For the first time, the Tour will be passing through the Yosemite National Park area with the course going through the gateway communities of Mariposa and Oakhurst. The Yosemite portion, Stage 4, will occur midday on Wednesday, February 18.
Visitors entering and exiting the park via Highways 41 (from the south) and 140 (from the west) can expect short traffic delays as the race travels through this region. The delays are expected to last no more than 45 minutes and will occur between noon and 2:00 pm. Park visitors should expect these short delays and can utilize the time watching over 100 world-class cyclists biking through the region for the first time. Viewing of the event is encouraged in downtown Mariposa and Oakhurst, as well as pull-outs along the highway. All traffic delays will be conducted by the California Highway Patrol.
Here’s a profile view of the elevation change in during the race:
Comments
4 responses to “Amgen Bicycle Tour of California Coming to Yosemite Area”
So do you think they will require tire chains for those bikes! 🙂
This is so exciting! We plan to be there, out of the way of course! Maybe we can get some great photos as they race by with Half Dome or El Capitan in the background. Lynn, Hotel Charlotte in Groveland
What a great opportunity to oberve some amazing talented cyclists including The United State’s own L.Armstrong! Thank you for sharing!
Did they really race through the park today? After the rain and snow we wondered if it was rerouted along hwy 49, looking at the profile, We are able to see a quick 5 minute clip every evening at 7:25pm PST on TV Monde 5 – the French channel we get on cable. There was only one segment that was snowy and might have been in the park- but no mention, plus a long run downhill on a straight stretch filmed from the air through a snowy rural scene – otherwise it was finally sunshine and lots of foothill views.
Just curious as I cannot access the main Amgen site.