The Amgen Tour of California is an international, Tour de France-style bicycle road race featuring elite professional cycling teams from around the world competing for the highest prize purse of any cycling race in North America. This event, which is free for spectators, attracts cycling’s top professional riders.

Where & When: Scheduled over eight consecutive days from May 13 – 20, 2012, the Amgen Tour of California is a “rolling festival” showcasing more than 750 miles of California’s scenic beauty. Stage 6 or the “Big Bear Climb” will take place on Friday, May 18, 2012. Getting to the finish line in Big Bear Lake is no easy task. The grueling route consists of 115 miles climbing from Palmdale to the finish at Snow Summit Mountain resort, at 7,000 feet elevation. The finish line at Snow Summit will offer the most accessible place to watch a mountain finish in the entire tour. Other cities to host the Tour’s 1000-person entourage include: Santa Rosa, San Francisco, Santa Cruz County, San Jose, Livermore, Sonora, Clovis, Bakersfield, Ontario, Mt. Baldy and Los Angeles.

Size: The Amgen Tour of California continues to set attendance records and last year was the single largest live sporting event in California history with over 2 million spectators, as well as the largest cycling event in the U.S. Additionally, over 14 million fans and enthusiasts watch the event broadcast on television and over the Internet in 200 countries and 22 languages.

Impact: In it’s 7th year, the Amgen Tour of California promotes tourism on a global level and puts Big Bear Lake on the world stage. As a focal point of cultural festivals and recreational events in cities and towns across the State, last year’s event had an estimated $210 million total economic impact on the participating host cities.

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