Solvang gets ready for Amgen’s Stage 5

 

The yellow two-foot warning signs are up all around the route, the flyers are in every mailbox explaining what streets will be closed, and the tents are being placed to host the various festivals connected with the 2008 Amgen Tour of California – Solvang is as ready as it can be to host a second year of the annual professional bicycle race, one of the largest in the nation.

“The City of Solvang is looking forward to the second Stage Five Individual Time Trial coming through Solvang,” said Solvang Mayor Linda Jackson. “It is an electric feeling the day of the race and we welcome our guests once again.”

 

She added, “The international press that we will receive is priceless and the town is excited to host this event. The support from the merchants is amazing and their special window displays express their enthusiasm.

“If Mother Nature stays on our side — the rain will subside during the time trials as it did last year.”

Road closures begin Feb. 21 in the downtown area. First and Second streets from Oak Street to Mission Drive and Copenhagen Drive from Atterdag Road to Alisal Road will be closed from 8 p.m. Feb. 21 until 7 p.m. on Feb. 22. Parking Lot 2 will be closed from 8 a.m. Feb. 21 to 10 p.m. Feb. 22.

Mission Drive — Highway 246 through Solvang — will be closed from Fifth Street to Alisal Road on Feb. 22 between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. with traffic diverted to Oak Street. This will allow officials time to set up and take down equipment for the race.

 

The race begins at noon and ends at 3 p.m. and will travel a closed 15-mile course starting at Solvang Park, located at Mission Drive and First Street. Professional cyclists will travel left on Alisal Road, then right on Viborg Road, then left again on Alamo Pintado Road to Baseline Avenue. They will proceed left on Refugio Road, then left on Roblar Avenue, and right on Grand Avenue through downtown Los Olivos. At the flagpole they will turn right on Steele Street, which turns into Ballard Canyon Road, then straight onto Chalk Hill Road. The race will finish as the cyclists cross Fredensborg Canyon Road, then turn on Atterdag Road, then left on Copenhagen Drive to the finish line near First Street.

For the first time in Amgen race history, 20 qualified amateur cyclists will be riding the Stage 5 closed course one hour prior to the professional cyclists. This race, a fundraiser titled the “Race of Truth,” will begin at 11:15 a.m. Feb. 22 and has been organized by Max Hanberg and Carol Petersen, co-chairs of the Solvang Local Organizing Committee.

 

An avid cyclist, Petersen said cyclists will come out of the official Time Trial chute on the starting line at Solvang Park, wearing an authorized ATOC bib number, and racing against the actual Stage 5 time trial clock. “They will be on the official route around the Valley and back to the finish line on Copenhagen Drive. It will be the ride of a lifetime!” she added.

Riders will have up to 45 minutes to ride the official 15-mile time trial course. Last year Levi Leipheimer completed a similar course in 29 minutes, 40 seconds.

First, second and third place finishers in the “Race of Truth” will receive special recognition on the official Amgen Awards Stage at the conclusion of the Stage 5 Pro race later on Feb. 22. All “Race of Truth” riders also will receive a certificate of participation.

 

Free shuttle service provided by Santa Ynez Valley Transit will be offered Feb. 22 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. for those attending the Amgen race in Solvang. The regular schedule will not run that day.

The free route will run from Buellton at Pea Soup Andersen’s Inn on Highway 246 and Avenue of Flags, and Albertsons Market, Highway 246 and U.S. Highway 101, to downtown Solvang to Mission Drive and Fourth Street. There will be four shuttles running continuous loops throughout the day. The public, residents and visitors are welcome to use the shuttle.

The 3rd Annual Health Net Lifestyle Festival, which is traveling with the Amgen race, also will be free. Located near the finish line of each daily stage, the festival features race-day activities such as health screenings, cancer awareness education, bicycle stunt shows, live music, food, entertainment, sweepstakes drawings, bicycle safety, family activities, and interactive displays and presentations featuring more than 40 participating companies.

 

The festival also will give the public an opportunity to explore professional cycling while awaiting the peloton. A big-screen television featuring live coverage of the race will keep spectators apprised of the race action. Fans will be able to watch the sprint to the finish and the awards ceremony where jerseys will be presented to the day’s top riders and overall race leader.

The 2008 race began Feb. 17 in Palo Alto and ends Feb. 24 in Pasadena. More than 130 professional riders — members of 17 pro cycling teams — will race in the Solvang Stage 5 Timed Trial, with a single rider leaving the starting gate every 60 seconds. Stage 6 will take place Feb. 23 in Santa Barbara.

For more information on this year’s race and the daily winners for the Amgen Tour of California, visit www.amgentourofcalifornia.com.