LOS ANGELES, February 13, 2009 — Considered the best collection of talent to compete in a U.S. professional cycling stage race, the world-class roster of teams and cyclists* scheduled to participate in the 2009 Amgen Tour of California has been announced by race presenter AEG. An internationally sanctioned professional cycling road race, the 2009 Amgen Tour of California will host 17 teams and 136 riders from 24 countries for the fourth-annual race from February 14-22.
The race will bring the top cycling talent in the world to compete across more than 750 miles down the state of California from the state's capital, Sacramento, to San Diego County. Attracting an unprecedented field of riders from around the world, cyclists hail from countries as far away as Belgium, Cuba, Finland, France, Germany, New Zealand, South Africa and Sweden.
"As the Amgen Tour of California continues to grow in stature year after year, we continue to see the caliber of the field increase," said Andrew Messick, president, AEG Sports. "The group of cyclists that will comprise the field for the 2009 race will create an unprecedented level of competition that is sure to make 2009 the best year yet. We are looking forward to watching the competition unfold."
The field will include riders from well-known teams such as Astana, Team Columbia-Highroad, Quick Step, Saxo Bank and Garmin-Slipstream, which returns to defend the title as the winner of the overall team competition. Some of the notable riders planned to begin the race in Sacramento on February 14 include:
*Team rosters are subject to change
Tour de France Champions
• Lance Armstrong (USA), Astana
• Carlos Sastre (ESP), Cervélo Test Team
Tour de France Stage Winners
• Lance Armstrong (USA), Astana
• Tom Boonen (BEL), Quick Step
• Fabian Cancellara (SUI), Saxo Bank
• Mark Cavendish (GBR), Team Columbia-Highroad
• Oscar Freire Gomez (ESP), Rabobank
• Tyler Hamilton (USA), Rock Racing
• George Hincapie (USA), Team Columbia-Highroad
• Thor Hushovd (NOR), Cervélo Test Team
• Kim Kirchen (LUX), Team Columbia-Highroad
• Floyd Landis (USA), Ouch Presented by Maxxis
• Levi Leipheimer (USA), Astana
• Stuart O'Grady (AUS), Saxo Bank
• Yaroslav Popovych (UKR), Astana
• Carlos Sastre (ESP), Cervélo Test Team
• Frank Schleck (LUX), Saxo Bank
• David Zabriskie (USA), Garmin-Slipstream
World Champions:
• Lance Armstrong (USA), Astana
• Tom Boonen (BEL), Quick Step
• Janez Brajkovic (SLO), Astana
• Fabian Cancellara (SUI), Saxo Bank
• Mark Cavendish (GBR), Team Columbia-Highroad
• Francisco Chicchi (ITA), Liquigas
• Oscar Freire Gomez (ESP), Rabobank
• Brett Lancaster (AUS), Cervélo Test Team
• Stuart O'Grady (AUS), Saxo Bank
• Yaroslav Popovych (UKR), Astana
• Michael Rogers (AUS), Team Columbia-Highroad
Olympic Medalists:
• Lance Armstrong (USA), Astana
• Fabian Cancellara (SUI), Saxo Bank
• Tyler Hamilton (USA), Rock Racing
• Gustav Larsson (SWE), Saxo Bank
• Levi Leipheimer (USA), Astana
• Stuart O'Grady (AUS), Saxo Bank
• Michael Rogers (AUS), Team Columbia-Highroad
• Hayden Roulston (NZL), Cervélo Test Team
Current National Champions (by country):
• Fabian Cancellara (SUI), Saxo Bank
• Tyler Hamilton (USA), Rock Racing
• Kim Kirchen (LUX), Team Columbia-Highroad
• Michael Rogers (AUS), Team Columbia-Highroad
• Frank Schleck (LUX), Saxo Bank
• Tadej Valjavec (SLO), AG2R-La Mondiale
• David Zabriskie (USA), Garmin-Slipstream
American Race Champions:
• Lance Armstrong (Astana), 2004 Tour de Georgia
• Janez Brajkovic (Astana), 2007 Tour de Georgia
• Tom Danielson (Garmin-Slipstream), 2005 Tour de Georgia
• George Hincapie (Team Columbia-Highroad), 2007 Tour of Missouri
• Chris Horner (Astana), 2003 Tour de Georgia
• Floyd Landis (Ouch Presented by Maxxis), 2006 Amgen Tour of California, 2006 Tour de Georgia
• Levi Leipheimer, (Astana), 2007 and 2008 Amgen Tour of California
• Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Slipstream), 2008 Tour of Missouri
"Welcoming such an impressive group of international and domestic cyclists to the race is something that we are incredibly proud of," added Messick. "The growing reputation of the Amgen Tour of California has resulted in the best, most accomplished, field of cyclists to ever to race on U.S. soil."
The 2009 Amgen Tour of California roster includes the following 17 professional cycling teams. The eight ProTour teams compete regularly on the UCI's ProTour race calendar, including the Grand Tours of Europe: Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España.
Pro Tour Teams
1.) AG2R-La Mondiale (FRA)
Cyril Dessel (FRA)
Hubert Dupont (FRA)
Martin Elmiger (SUI)
John Gadret (FRA)
Stéphane Goubert (FRA)
Rinaldo Nocentini (ITA)
Christophe Riblon (FRA)
Tadej Valjavec (SLO)
2.) Astana (KAZ)
Lance Armstrong (USA)
Janez Brajkovic (SLO)
Christopher Horner (USA)
Levi Leipheimer (USA)
Steve Morabito (SUI)
Yaroslav Popovych (UKR)
Gregory Rast (SUI)
José Luis Rubiera Vigil (ESP)
3.) Garmin-Slipstream (USA)
Steven Cozza (USA)
Thomas Danielson (USA)
Tyler Farrar (USA)
Trent Lowe (USA)
Thomas Peterson (USA)
Svein Tuft (USA)
Christian Vande Velde (USA)
David Zabriskie (CAN)
4.) Liquigas (ITA)
Ivan Basso (ITA)
Kjell Carlström (FIN)
Francesco Chicchi (ITA)
Jacopo Guarnieri (ITA)
Vincenzo Nibali (ITA)
Daniel Oss (ITA)
Brian Vandborg (DEN)
Alessandro Vanotti (ITA)
5.) Quick Step (BEL)
Carlos Barredo (ESP)
Tom Boonen (BEL)
Kevin De Weert (BEL)
Addy Engels (NED)
Kevin Hulsmans (BEL)
Kevin Seeldraeyers (BEL)
Jurgen Van De Walle (BEL)
Marco Velo (ITA)
6.) Rabobank (NED)
Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano (COL)
Stef Clement (NED)
Oscar Freire Gomez (ESP)
Robert Gesink (NED)
Pedro Horrillo Munoz (ESP)
Bauke Mollema (NED)
Grischa Niermann (GER)
Pieter Weening (NED)
7.) Saxo Bank (DEN)
Fabian Cancellara (SUI)
Juan José Haedo (ARG)
Gustav Larsson (SWE)
Jason McCartney (USA)
Stuart O'Grady (AUS)
Andy Schleck (LUX)
Fränk Schleck (LUX)
Jens Voigt (GER)
8.) Team Columbia-Highroad (USA)
Michael Barry (CAN)
Mark Cavendish (GBR)
Adam Hansen (AUS)
George Hincapie (USA)
Kim Kirchen (LUX)
Thomas Lovkvist (SWE)
Mark Renshaw (AUS)
Michael Rogers (AUS)
Pro Continental Teams
9.) BMC Racing Team (USA)
Mathias Frank (SUI)
Thomas Frei (SUI)
Jonathan Garcia (USA)
Jeffry Louder (USA)
Ian McKissick (USA)
Alexandre Moos (SUI)
Scott Nydam (USA)
Markus Zberg (SUI)
10.) Cervélo Test Team (SUI)
Inigo Cuesta Lopez De Castro (ESP)
Thor Hushovd (NOR)
Edward King (USA)
Brett Lancaster (AUS)
Serge Pauwels (BEL)
Dominique Rollin (CAN)
Hayden Roulston (NZL)
Carlos Sastre (ESP)
Continental Teams
11.) Bissell Pro Cycling (USA)
Andy Jacques-Maynes (USA)
Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA)
Omer Kem (USA)
Peter Latham (USA)
Kirk O'Bee (USA)
Frank Pipp (USA)
Jeremy Vennell (USA)
Tom Zirbel (USA)
12.) Colavita/Sutter Home Presented by Cooking Light (USA)
Alejandro Alberto Borrajo (ARG)
Anibal Andres Borrajo (ARG)
Davide Frattini (ITA)
Andy Guptill (USA)
Aaron Olson (USA)
Luis Romero Amaran (CUB)
Lucas Sebastian Haedo (ARG)
Tyler Wren (USA)
13.) Fly V Australia presented by Successful Living Foundation Team (AUS)
Jonathan Cantwell (USA)
Scott Davis (AUS)
Ben Day (AUS)
Robert Gunn (AUS)
Michael Grabinger (USA)
David Kemp (AUS)
Bernard Sulzberger (AUS)
Phil Zajicek (USA)
14.) Jelly Belly Cycling Team (USA)
Charles Bradley Huff (USA)
Jonathan Clarke (AUS)
Matthew Crane (USA)
Phillip Gaimon (USA)
Kiel Reijnen (USA)
Nick Reistad (USA)
Will Routley (CAN)
Bernard Van Ulden (USA)
15.) Ouch Presented by Maxxis (USA)
Cameron Evans (CAN)
Timothy Johnson (USA)
Floyd Landis (USA)
Karl Menzies (AUS)
John Murphy (USA)
Jonathan Patrick McCarty (USA)
Rory Sutherland (AUS)
Bradley White (USA)
16.) Rock Racing (USA)
Chris Baldwin (USA)
Glen Chadwick (NZL)
Enrique Gutierrez (ESP)
Tyler Hamilton (USA)
Francisco Mancebo (ESP)
Victor Hugo Pena (COL)
Freddy Rodriguez (USA)
Oscar Sevilla (ESP)
17.) Team Type 1 (USA)
Moises Aldape Chavez (MEX)
Fabio Calabria (AUS)
Christopher Jones (USA)
Valeriy Kobzarenko (UKR)
Darren Lill (RSA)
Ian Macgregor (USA)
Phil Southerland (USA)
Matthew Wilson (AUS)
Stages for the 2009 Amgen Tour of California include:
• Prologue: Saturday, Feb. 14 — Sacramento
• Stage 1: Sunday, Feb. 15 — Davis to Santa Rosa
• Stage 2: Monday, Feb. 16 — Sausalito to Santa Cruz
• Stage 3: Tuesday, Feb. 17 — San Jose to Modesto
• Stage 4: Wednesday, Feb. 18 — Merced to Clovis
• Stage 5: Thursday, Feb. 19 — Visalia to Paso Robles
• Stage 6: Friday, Feb. 20 — Solvang (individual time trial)
• Stage 7: Saturday, Feb. 21 — Santa Clarita to Pasadena
• Stage 8: Sunday, Feb. 22 — Rancho
About the Amgen Tour of California
The largest cycling event in America, the 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 course. Building on last year's third-annual stage race, which attracted 1.6 million spectators, the 2009 Amgen Tour of California will be expanded to cover more than 750 miles over nine days 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 www.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.
