Amgen Tour of California

Matt himself is an avid cyclist and racer beginning his career at a very early age riding on bikes purchased with "blue chip stamps".  Over the years he's participated in many significant rides, but still ranks the Jon & Ken among his most favorite.  In fact, Matt was instrumental in bringing about the very first Jon & Ken ride 11 years ago.   

In 2005 he became aware of the Tour of California and recognizing the positive impact it could have on our community, he decided to make it his personal mission to bring a stage of this most prestigious domestic race through Santa Cruz.  After years of working with the city, submitting proposals and even joining the SCC Conference and Visitors Council to educate the elders on the benefits to the community, Matt pulled off the impossible and won a bid to have Santa Cruz host a stage in the 2008-9 Tour. 

Matt showed a video of the tour (available on the Amgen website) which did an excellent job of portraying the significance of this event and certainly raised the excitement level.   Now that Lance Armstrong has announced his probably particpation next year, it's REALLY a big deal!  

The date of the race is February 14-22, 2009.   The 3rd stage will end in Santa Cruz.  There will also be a woman's pro race staged in SC on that same weekend.

Sponsorship and volunteer opportunities will exist as we get closer to the Feb 2009 race date.