Amgen Tour of California 2011
The bicycle race will have a Mt. Baldy finish for stage 7 on Saturday, May 21, 2011. The race starts in Claremont, but the exact location of the finish line has not been announced that I can find. The obvious candidates are Mt. Baldy Village, Manker Flat, or the base of the ski lifts.
The LA Times said that they will climb to 6500', which sounds like the ski area parking lot. Here is more detail from the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Amgen Tour bicycle race to hold stage from Claremont to Mt. Baldy in May
Jannise Johnson and Wes Woods II, Staff Writers
CLAREMONT - One of cycling's well-known races will be rolling up and over Inland Valley foothills in May.
A press conference and celebration was held Thursday afternoon to celebrate the city of Claremont being one of the host cities in the May 2011 Amgen Tour of California.
Claremont will be the start of Stage 7 of the premier California cycling race, said Mayor Linda Elderkin. That stage will start at Claremont Metrolink Depot and head up to Mt. Baldy.
"The climb up that mountain starts right here," Elderkin said to applause from more than 100 people gathered in yellow t-shirts announcing the tour.
"Up switchbacks and thousands of feet of elevation," she said. "Surprisingly, the riders are looking forward to this."
Andrew Behnke, president of the Claremont Chamber of Commerce, told those gathered that the tour will be especially beneficial to city businesses.
Retired professional cyclist and Olympic veteran Tony Cruz attended the press conference, saying he has family in Pomona and is very familiar with the cycling in the San Gabriel Valley and Inland Empire.
"I cut my teeth on those mountains," he said. "To have this race come into Claremont is just like a European cycling stage."
He said Stage 7 will be one of the defining stages in deciding the winner of the eight-day competition.
Andrew Messick, president of the sponsoring AEG Sports, also said Thursday the Claremont stage would be a race highlight.
"We start in Claremont, a new host city, and finish up by the Mt. Baldy ski area. It's very hard, a very steep finish. If we went all the way to the top of the ski area, there are 18 switchbacks in the last 4 1/2 miles," Messick said.
There is also a grade of 10 percent in those last four miles, he added.
Claremont has "a passionate biking community within the community and they were eager and excited to be part of what we consider will be one of the finishing stages of this year's race," he said.
Messick said the race will bring people with entourages, thousands of fans and tour operators to make it a "cycling destination. A place where people go to ride their bikes."
He said officials hoped it would put more of a focus on bicycling riding in the region. The race will be broadcast to 90 countries.
Messick said Mt. Baldy was chosen because it was "one of the most iconic and decisive climbs in Southern California. It has the characteristics you want in a stage that's going to play a pivotal role in who wins ... there's not too many stages like that."
He added that the Baldy route would also incorporate Glendora Mountain Road and the Glendora Ridge Road, alpine roads west of the Mount Baldy Village and north of Glendora, in the stage.
The actual route for the event will be announced in late December or early January, Messick said.
City Manager Jeff Parker said Thursday morning the event is expected to attract anywhere from 15,000 to 50,000 people, he said.
There is a preliminary budget of $100,000 set aside for the event split between the city, Chamber of Commerce and a bid committee, city officials said.
Keith Hunt, president of the Mt. Baldy Chamber of Commerce, said the extra number of people would help out the area.
"It's pretty exciting for us because we're basically known for being a ski area, skiing, snowboarding and tubing," Hunt said. "A lot of people don't realize we are open during the summer and we don't roll up. We are still there for the hikers, mountain bikers and the sightseers."
Hunt said he was also looking forward to seeing Lance Armstrong of Team Radioshack compete in the event.
"It's great for us and great for the area," Hunt said. "If you drive up Mt. Baldy Road any day you'll see guys on the road going up and down. So I think we're going to see a lot more now that we're one of the stages for sure."
Is the sign intended for SGMDF members? Oh.....you're talking about the bicycle riders.obie wrote:The fun will start when the race organizers spot me with a big"DOPERS!" sign on the side of the road.
Considering how Floyd Landis motored up the Col des Saissies, I've been wondering what testerone could do for my hiking times.
This might be just a tad exaggerated. 
Full article fom the Fresno Bee.The race might also get its first true summit finish atop Mount Baldy in Southern California.
"We'll have our first legitimate mountaintop finish and we think it will be the hardest final 10 miles that we've ever done," AEG President Andrew Messick told cyclingnews.com, a leading cycling website.
Tour of California likely to skip Valley
2011 Amgen race's host sites to be revealed today.
America's biggest bike race is expected to bypass the central San Joaquin Valley when host cities for the 2011 Tour of California are unveiled today.
Five cities, including Modesto, have scheduled press conferences this morning to announce their participation in the sixth annual event.
Los Angeles-based sports promotion company AEG, which owns the event, is scheduled to post a list of host cities at 6 a.m. on the race website, www.amgentourofcalifornia.com.
Modesto, Auburn, Solvang, Paso Robles and Claremont have scheduled press conferences for today to offer official comment on their participation in the 2011 race. The Sacramento Bee reported last week that Sacramento again will host either a stage start or finish.
Clovis hosted a stage finish in 2009 but got left out this past spring when race organizers couldn't get clearance to begin a stage in Yosemite National Park. Visalia has hosted stage starts each of the last two editions; one finished in Paso Robles, the other in Bakersfield.
Today's announcement will be only for the identification of host cities; the route of the May 15-22 race will be announced later. The 2010 race route was unveiled Feb. 10.
Speculation abounds that the 2011 race will begin in the Lake Tahoe area. The Reno Gazette-Journal, citing a local source, reported Wednesday that two stages will be held in the Tahoe area.
The Tahoe Daily Tribune, also citing a local source, reported Tuesday that the first stage will begin in South Lake Tahoe and take 11/2 laps around the lake before finishing at Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort.
The race might also get its first true summit finish atop Mount Baldy in Southern California.
"We'll have our first legitimate mountaintop finish and we think it will be the hardest final 10 miles that we've ever done," AEG President Andrew Messick told cyclingnews.com, a leading cycling website.
Santa Rosa and San Jose, the only cities that have been hosts for each of the first five Tours, submitted bids with certain provisions. Santa Rosa submitted a new route with the finish line outside its downtown area, and San Jose only wants to host a finish.
The Tour estimates its annual economic impact at more than $100 million. Nonetheless, a handful of former host cities, including San Luis Obispo and Santa Cruz, declined to submit bids this year, citing increased cost requirements by AEG.
The 2010 race, won by Australian Michael Rogers, featured the top field in the race's history, including Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer, Andy Schleck and Fabian Cancellara.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Clovis hosted a stage finish in 2008.
They (pro riders) have been subtly pitching the Mt.Baldy climb for a number of years. Lance Armstrong and some of this teammates have been doing that climb, the 39, and Mulholland for years. They love the steepness of the road and the cachet Baldy has among climbers in this part of the world.
They know there will be a huge turnout of cyclists for this stage. Much like the Mt.Palomar stage two years ago - that was the most fun I've ever had at a bike race. There will be 50,00-100,000 people on the course - depending on where they start the stage. The last section from the Village to the Lifts will be packed ten deep solid all the way up. Should be a HUGE party from sun up to sun down. I can't wait. Palomar was packed bottom to top and that was in the winter then with low temps and snow. This will be in May - a big day to be sure.
The climbers will be out and going up and down the switchbacks all morning. For climbers it's a dream come true - the pros hammering one of our all-time favorite places in the world - Mt. Baldy!! Eeehahhh!!!!
Baldy is simply a world-class climb and finally getting it's due.
They know there will be a huge turnout of cyclists for this stage. Much like the Mt.Palomar stage two years ago - that was the most fun I've ever had at a bike race. There will be 50,00-100,000 people on the course - depending on where they start the stage. The last section from the Village to the Lifts will be packed ten deep solid all the way up. Should be a HUGE party from sun up to sun down. I can't wait. Palomar was packed bottom to top and that was in the winter then with low temps and snow. This will be in May - a big day to be sure.
The climbers will be out and going up and down the switchbacks all morning. For climbers it's a dream come true - the pros hammering one of our all-time favorite places in the world - Mt. Baldy!! Eeehahhh!!!!
Baldy is simply a world-class climb and finally getting it's due.
It occurred to me that traffic on Mt. Baldy Road on race day is going to be crazy. Everybody and his dog will try to get up there. So, I called the Buckhorn Lodge and asked about reserving a Friday night room 7 months in advance. Turns out, I was the second caller. The lady took my name and phone number. She said that she would call back in January when their rates for next year are set. If you want a room up there the night before, it would be useful to get your name in now.
Typically they close a road on race day early - around 9am. Then the only way to get in/out is on bike/foot. Palomar had a fair number of RV's on it which had camped out the nite before.
Every resident/business with close access to the road were charging a hefty price for front row views.
Myself, I'd bike up to Manker Flats. Park down at Running Springs (assuming they race up GMR) at the bottom of GMR, cycle up the hill with the crowd cheering you and then, when it's over you can get out of Dodge long before they reopen Mt.Baldy Rd. to vehicles - which should be a slow go with all the cars, RV'S.
The sight of dozens of vehicles snaking their way down from lifts and down GMR or Mt.Baldy Rd. is kinda unsettling too. I'd want to avoid that action to be sure.
You'd have a good, long view of the action at Manker. The best climbers will have blown away most of the peloton by then and the sprint to the lifts should be pretty exciting.
Every resident/business with close access to the road were charging a hefty price for front row views.
Myself, I'd bike up to Manker Flats. Park down at Running Springs (assuming they race up GMR) at the bottom of GMR, cycle up the hill with the crowd cheering you and then, when it's over you can get out of Dodge long before they reopen Mt.Baldy Rd. to vehicles - which should be a slow go with all the cars, RV'S.
The sight of dozens of vehicles snaking their way down from lifts and down GMR or Mt.Baldy Rd. is kinda unsettling too. I'd want to avoid that action to be sure.
You'd have a good, long view of the action at Manker. The best climbers will have blown away most of the peloton by then and the sprint to the lifts should be pretty exciting.
I will be interested to learn if their rates for that particular weekend are, say, tripled.RichardK wrote:I called the Buckhorn Lodge and asked about reserving a Friday night room 7 months in advance. Turns out, I was the second caller. The lady took my name and phone number. She said that she would call back in January when their rates for next year are set. If you want a room up there the night before, it would be useful to get your name in now.