The Amgen Tour of California was set to roll through California beginning Sunday with Lance Armstrong, new sponsors and a high-definition television contract.
The tour moved its race dates from February to May this year, and secured top American riders including Armstrong and Levi Leipheimer, a three-time Tour of California winner, for the eight-stage event. The race was moved to May out of concerns for riders’ conditioning and the weather: Several stages of the race last year were run in heavy rains.
“We were happy to be in February for our first four years, but that was limiting because we weren’t getting the best athletes at the peak of fitness,” said Andrew Messick, president of AEG Sports. “There was a lot of the state that you don’t want to ride your bike in February. This gave us an opportunity to get into the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains.”
L.A.-area tour stops include Stage 6 (Big Bear Lake to Palmdale), Stage 7 (a time trial in downtown Los Angeles) and Stage 8 (a circuit race in Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village and Agoura Hills).
The tour falls the same week as the Giro d’Italia, a three-week race that started last week. Armstrong participated in the Italian race last year. However, that competition has suffered financially and could not support the appearance fee that took Armstrong to Italy last year.
MBT Footwear became the official sponsor for the finish-line festival at the end of each stage of the Tour of California. Nissan signed a two-year deal to become the official vehicle. It will provide more than 40 cars as support vehicles.
Also, French race organizer Amaury Sport Organisation, which owns and operates the Tour de France, will take over the television production for the tour and the production team that documents the Tour de France will film the race in high-definition.
“The entire crew of French directors, cameramen and drivers will film our race,” Messick said. “They will help showcase what a beautiful state California is.”
Football Fanatics
For those who can’t score a ticket to July’s World Cup Finals game in South Africa, there will be an opportunity to see soccer players in action on that same weekend – at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
Two of Mexico’s top soccer franchises, Cruz Azul and Club America, will play an exhibition match at the Rose Bowl on July 10, the day before the World Cup championship game.
Both teams feature players who will compete for the Mexican national team in the World Cup. If the team is eliminated in the early rounds, national players could make an appearance at the Rose Bowl game.
“While Mexican players would obviously like to be playing in the World Cup finals, they are excited about the opportunity to play in front of 95,000 fans,” said John Lewis, director of sales and marketing for event organizer Santa Barbara Soccer Entertainment. “They’ve all heard of the Rose Bowl because it hosted the World Cup finals in 1994.”
Lewis expects a packed house of mostly Spanish-speaking soccer fans. He said that they are targeting companies that want to reach out to the Hispanic fan base for sponsorship opportunities.
Santa Barbara Soccer Entertainment organizes matches for American audiences. The company has been organizing games for 20 years, but this will be its first at the Rose Bowl.
Box Score
Mickey Mouse will be suiting up for the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Disney Consumer Products, a division of Burbank-based Walt Disney Co. will place 36 life-size statues of Mickey throughout Southern California before the 2010 All-Star Game at Angels Stadium in Anaheim. The statues stand 7 feet tall and weigh 989 pounds. Each one has a different team logo. Disney will produce a line of licensed collectibles with each Major League team logo. … Downtown L.A.-based Herbalife Ltd. became a partner with Mexican soccer team Pumas Club Universidad Nacional AC and Brazilian club Santos FC, soccer legend Pele’s former team. The deal makes Herbalife the official nutrition adviser to the clubs. … Swimmers Dana Vollmer and Christine Magnuson signed endorsement deals with L.A.-based Speedo, a division of Warnaco Swimwear Inc. The deals run through the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Staff reporter David Nusbaum can be reached at [email protected] or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 236.
