Lance Armstrong to Race in 2009 Amgen Tour of California
LOS ANGELES (September 25, 2008) – Lance Armstrong today announced his plan to race in the 2009 Amgen Tour of California with the Astana Cycling Team in a press conference in Las Vegas. Armstrong’s highly anticipated return to competitive professional cycling for the 2009 season, after a three-year hiatus, will begin in January and the Amgen Tour of California will be his first U.S. race of the season."I will be competing in the Amgen Tour of California," confirmed Lance Armstrong. "The level of competition, the challenge of the course and the highly professional atmosphere make it the ideal situation for me to continue my training. I also have chosen the Amgen Tour of California because of the race's record of supporting cancer awareness and research through their Amgen Breakaway from Cancer™ initiative, and their commitment to partner with our Lance Armstrong Foundation. I look forward to racing once again in the United States in what we consider the best race outside of Europe."
Already considered cycling’s most important and successful road race in the United States, the 2009 Amgen Tour of California will be expanded to cover more than 800 miles over nine days. The event’s fourth running is scheduled for February 14-22, 2009, and will showcase some of the world’s top professional cycling teams. Traveling almost the entire length of California on a demanding course, the race will begin in the state’s capital, Sacramento, and end in San Diego County for the first time.
“We are delighted to have Lance Armstrong participating in the 2009 Amgen Tour of California. He will be one of the many world-class cyclists who will be participating in America’s greatest cycling stage race,” said Andrew Messick, president, AEG Sports, owner and operator of the Amgen Tour of California. “We applaud the commitment that Armstrong has made to return to cycling for the purpose of raising awareness for cancer. All of us at AEG, the Amgen Tour of California and Amgen share his commitment to supporting those who are engaged in this important fight through the Breakaway from Cancer™ initiative.”
Building on last year's third annual stage race, which attracted 1.6 million spectators, the 2009 Amgen Tour of California will visit 16 host cities for official stage starts and finishes, with communities along the route getting the chance to see firsthand a lineup of some of the best and most recognizable teams in the world. Host cities for the nine stages include: Sacramento, Davis (new city for 2009), Santa Rosa, Sausalito, Santa Cruz (new city for 2009), San Jose, Modesto, Merced (new city for 2009), Clovis (new city for 2009), Visalia (new city for 2009), Paso Robles (new city for 2009), Solvang, Santa Clarita, Pasadena, Rancho Bernardo (new city for 2009) and Escondido (new city for 2009).
As the title sponsor of the race for the fourth consecutive year, Amgen, a leading global biotechnology company with headquarters in Thousand Oaks, Calif., will continue to leverage the race to raise awareness and support for people affected by cancer through the Breakaway from Cancer™ initiative. Amgen's invaluable support of the Amgen Tour of California has helped to ensure the race’s continued success and impact beyond the sporting arena.
“Lance Armstrong’s feats in professional cycling and his leadership in the fight against cancer have served to benefit the sport of cycling and more importantly cancer patients everywhere,” said George Morrow, Amgen’s executive vice president of Global Commercial Operations. “We welcome Lance to the Amgen Tour of California and look forward to collaborating with him and the Lance Armstrong Foundation through Amgen’s Breakaway from Cancer™ initiative, which we launched in the inaugural year of the Amgen Tour of California to raise awareness of non-profit organizations that benefit people affected by cancer.”
For additional information on the 2009 Amgen Tour of California, please visit www.amgentourofcalifornia.com.
About the Amgen Tour of California
The largest cycling event in America, the 2009 Amgen Tour of California is a Tour de France-style cycling road race, presented by AEG, that challenges the world’s top professional cycling teams to compete along a demanding, recently expanded, more than 800-mile course from Sacramento to Escondido from February 14-22, 2009.About Amgen
Amgen discovers, develops, manufactures and delivers innovative human therapeutics. A biotechnology pioneer since 1980, Amgen was one of the first companies to realize the new science's promise by bringing safe and effective medicines from lab, to manufacturing plant, to patient. Amgen therapeutics have changed the practice of medicine, helping millions of people around the world in the fight against cancer, kidney disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and other serious illnesses. With a broad and deep pipeline of potential new medicines, Amgen remains committed to advancing science to dramatically improve people's lives. To learn more about Amgen's pioneering science and vital medicines, visit www.amgen.com. To learn more about Amgen’s Breakaway from Cancer initiative, visit breakawayfromcancer.com.About AEG
AEG is one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world. AEG, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Anschutz Company, owns or controls a collection of companies including facilities such as STAPLES Center, The Home Depot Center, Sprint Center, The O2, NOKIA Theatre L.A. LIVE and NOKIA Theatre Times Square; sports franchises including the Los Angeles Kings (NHL), two Major League Soccer franchises, a Major League Lacrosse team, two hockey franchises operated in Europe, management of privately held shares of the Los Angeles Lakers, the ING Bay to Breakers foot race and the Amgen Tour of California cycling road race; AEG LIVE, the organization’s live-entertainment division, is a collection of companies dedicated to all aspects of live contemporary music performance, touring and a variety of programming and multi-media production. For more information, visit AEG today at www.aegworldwide.com.# # #
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