SLO County News BlogGolf, Wine, Real Estate, Business & Travel NewsTour of California enters SLO todayThursday, February 23, 2006The inaugural Tour of California, an eight-day cycling event that's quickly gaining some oomph in the grand scheme of things in the two-wheel world, goes throught San Luis Obispo County today and tomorrow.The Tour, which will cover most of the coastline between San Francisco and Los Angeles, can easily be viewed as an event trying to capitalize on the popularity push that Lance Armstrong and his seven Tour de France titles gave to cycling in the United States. Now, to many sports fans out there, the extent of interest in cycling began and ended whenever Armstrong took on his annual assault on Paris. But it's events like the Tour of California that organizers hope to use to not only foster the next generation of Armstrongs, but also to allow the U.S. guys that labored in the shadows of the seven-time Tour de France champ to show their stuff on this side of the Atlantic Ocean. Having seven of the top teams in the world racing in this Tour only adds credibility to an event in its first year of operation. That's what makes this important to the Central Coast: Having a slew of top-flight American riders - like Julich, Levi Leipheimer, Floyd Landis and Armstrong lieutenant George Hincapie - along with big-name international riders, such as Australian greats Stuart O'Grady and world sprint champ Michael Rogers, attracts attention from all over the country and from across the oceans. You take that attention, toss in television exposure (the Tour is getting nightly coverage on ESPN 2) and add the scenery that Central Coast residents love to brag about, and voila! TOURISM DOLLARS! The riders arrive in the area on Thursday afternoon at the end of Stage Four, which will take the riders all the way from Monterey to San Luis Obispo's Mission Plaza along Highway 1 (scenic route, indeed!). After that comes the big one: Friday's Stage Five. The stage begins in San Luis Obispo, heading down Highway 227 along the east end of the area, through Corbett Canyon before popping up on Grand Ave. in Arroyo Grande. They'll cut across to Oceano and rejoin Highway 1, skirting between Nipomo and the dunes area and head through Guadalupe, which will be the starting point for the second sprint stage (a competition within the competition). Then the peloton will leave Highway 1 at Clarke Ave. in Orcutt, cutting through Old Orcutt and heading all the way along Clark to Garey, eventually winding their way onto Foxen Canyon Road. That will take them on to Los Olivos and Highway 154, which they'll take past Santa Ynez and over the San Marcos Pass, a Category 1 (decent, but not a leg-killer) climb; After the climb comes the descent, all the way into Santa Barbara. The teams will cross State Street at the Pass exit and cross the hills onto Shoreline Drive, wrapping things up next to the Santa Barbara Harbor. Read More
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