Last July, Levi Leipheimer
pedaled his bicycle across mountain ranges, through several countries
and rode to win 31 seconds of winning cycling's biggest event, the Tour
de France. It now appears Leipheimer might as well have been pedaling in reverse.The Santa Rosa rider, beginning in his 12th pro season, will defend last year's title beginning Sunday in the third Amgen Tour of California.
The eight-day, 666.8-mile race will begin with a 2.1-mile flat prologue individual time trial ending at Stanford University in Palo Alto.
The 2008 Tour of California, scheduled Feb. 17-24, will visit 12 host cities for stage starts and finishes, including Palo Alto-Stanford University (new in 2008), Sausalito, Santa Rosa, Sacramento, Modesto (new in 2008), San Jose, Seaside, San Luis Obispo, Solvang, Santa Barbara, Santa Clarita and Pasadena (new in 2008).
Professional bicycle racing's most prestigious event could be on the verge of implosion. But for the third straight year, the Tour of California will return next February and will feature many of the same riders and teams currently participating in the embattled Tour de France.
Last year, my
friend Bruce Aldrich joined me for the final eight days of the 2006 Tour de
France. He took hundreds of image and a good supply of video during his
maiden voyage to the race.