That’s where the 2009 Amgen Tour of California cycling race begins. It will mark Armstrong’s first US appearance since ending his retirement.
Amgen officials released specific route details Thursday.
Bob Burns is with the Sacramento Sports Commission. He says the event begins with a “prologue”. That’s when more than 100 cyclists will be racing through the streets of Downtown Sacramento for two-and-a-half hours.
“In cycling it’s pretty common. It’s the first day of the race, it’s a sprint, it tends to be in a downtown area. We think in terms of seeing cyclists this will be better than what we’ve seen in the last two years because that was exciting too but they’d come into town and then it would be over.”
Sacramento Police estimate a crowd of between 75,000 and 100,000 for the prologue.
The nine-day race starts on February 14th in Sacramento and the next day’s stage begins in Davis. It covers more than 800 miles - winding through Modesto, Merced and 12 other California cities.