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Armstrong, Leipheimer, Hincapie to Race 2010 Tour of California

There are a number of high-profile commitments from top US racers like Lance Armstrong, defending champion Levi Leipheimer, George Hincapie and Dave Zabriskie, Messick also felt confident in the race’s ability to attract top European riders despite going head to head with the Giro d’Italia.

“We’re pretty optimistic,” he said of AEG’s hopes to attract big-name riders. “We have a lot of experience taking care of some of the top athletes and their experiences here have been good. We’re optimistic that we’ll get the cream of the riders who aren’t racing the Giro.”

Messick said the sixth stage, from Pasadena to Big Bear, will clearly be the queen stage. He estimates there will be 11,000 feet or more of climbing, but that is contingent on CalTrans and the State Patrol opening the portions of the Angeles Crest Highway that have been closed since the Station Fire.

Other minor changes include the probable addition of a third climb on the San Francisco-Santa Cruz stage, which could further cement that day as pivotal to the race’s early going; and the fourth stage, from San Jose to Modesto, may see more mountains after the traditional climb of Sierra Road.

At this point the biggest unknown seems to be how long and hard the fifth stage, from Visalia to Bakersfield, will be. The promoters dearly want to introduce at least a little bit of the Sierra Nevada, but are aware that the options are limited. “We’re mindful of how much climbing we want on Thursday, knowing that Friday (Pasadena to Big Bear Lake) is a very hard day.”

Overall, the 2010 ToC route looks more challenging and should produce a tighter race compared to past years, when it was mostly over after the mid-race Solvang time trial. What remains to be seen is how the specific stage routes play out, and whether top European riders really can be enticed to come nine time zones away from home in mid-season.