News of the Arroyo
Title: | Bike race's Arroyo finish |
Subtitle: | Our View |
Date: | 2008-02-24 |
Summary: | February 24, 2008 - The Arroyo is a grand setting for the finale of the Amgen Tour of California bicycle race. |
Author: | Editorial |
Publication: | Pasadena Star-News |
Content: | IT\'S a great testament to Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley that today\'s Amgen Tour of California bicycle race is finishing near the Rose Bowl. Of course, it\'s a bonus for the up-and-coming bike tour as well. There is no natural site in the whole Golden State better suited to viewing the finish to such a Tour de France-style premiere race than the Arroyo Seco. Both sides of the canyon, along Parkview Avenue on the west and Arroyo Boulevard on the east, will offer incredible views of the circular loop around the bowl that the cyclists will zoom around in the grand finale of a 650-mile marathon that began eight days ago in Palo Alto. You could do a lot worse than taking friends and family over there this afternoon to view the race\'s end. Lead cyclists are expected down in the arroyo sometime after 2p.m. But get there early in order to deal with road closures and traffic around the bowl. The varied stages of the the Tour de C. have seen some incredible California splendor. The race began with sprints near Stanford in Palo Alto. Just like the big European races on which it\'s modeled, the riders don\'t by any means go in a straight line from there. The second stage went from Sausalito to Santa Rosa through the wine country. There was a stretch from there to Sacramento. Another jaunt went over steep terrain in between San Jose and Modesto. Then there was a fabulous Big Sur stage from south of Monterey all the way to San Luis Obisbo. Next was more -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Advertisement -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- time trials in Solvang. Then a quick trip from Santa Barbara to Santa Clarita. But for sheer Pyrenees-like, hell-for-leather bike racing, nothing beats the route the riders will take today up the back side of the San Gabriel Mountains to a 4,900-foot summit behind Mount Wilson and steeply down the Angeles Crest Highway into La Canada Flintridge and then the perfect finish in Pasadena\'s arroyo. That up and down will be just a great test of top athletes. And, as the regular peloton of local top riders can attest, the Rose Bowl loop - where, if it\'s close, a breakaway finish on the flats is possible - is the best place in California to finally stop rolling. Best of luck to all the tour riders today. Thanks to the Amgen folks for heading the route our way. We hope it\'s the first of many statewide tours to end right here, scene of so many other storied moments in American sports. |
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