Bike race expected to attract big crowds

Event to go through county for first time

By J Harry Jones Union-Tribune Staff Writer

2:00 a.m. January 11, 2009

Late next month, 100 of the best bicycle racers in the world and tens of thousands of spectators are expected on the streets of Rancho Bernardo, Valley Center, Palomar Mountain and Escondido.

Organizers were predicting that as many as 40,000 people could jam downtown Escondido to watch the end of the race – and that was before Lance Armstrong said he would be riding.

The Amgen Tour of California, a nine-day race conducted in eight stages across the state, will finish at Broadway and Grand Avenue in Escondido around 3:30 p.m. Feb. 22, the end of a 96.8-mile course.

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