CVB Helps Santa Rosa Land 2013 Amgen Tour Finish

Thanks in part to the support of the Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB), Santa Rosa will be host to the overall finish of the Amgen Tour of California (ATOC), which is considered America's largest and most prestigious professional road cycling stage race.

“We’re excited about the announcement,” said Brad Calkins, Executive Director of the CVB. “We worked hard to prove there’s no better place to host the finish of this great race.”

With the CVB working alongside Raissa de la Rosa, David Guhin and the local organizing committee, Santa Rosa created and submitted a compelling proposition to event organizers that highlighted Santa Rosa as a premier cycling destination. Event organizers were encouraged to create a south to north tour route for the first time in the eight-year race history and award Santa Rosa the overall race finish.

“Taking the Amgen Tour of California from south to north is something we always knew we wanted to do, and we are thrilled with the way things have come together for 2013," said Kristin Bachochin, executive director of the Amgen Tour of California and senior vice president of AEG Sports.

The CVB and Santa Rosa Tourism Business Improvement Area were major sources of funding for the 2012 ATOC’s overall start in Santa Rosa, and look forward to sponsoring the 2013 event both financially and with staff support: the CVB serves on the local organizing committee, takes the lead on hospitality coordination surrounding the event and assists with VIPs and media relations.

The 2013 ATOC is expected to rival last year’s race, which brought an estimated 40,000 spectators to Santa Rosa, $6.9 million in spending and showcased Sonoma County to an international TV audience. The first seven stages will be available on NBC Sports cable network (formerly Versus), while Sunday’s overall finish in Santa Rosa will be a live, mid-day broadcast on NBC’s national network of television stations.

For more on the 2013 Amgen Tour of California host cities, see the release from ATOC.