FrenchFit 

Citing some positive impacts and some negative from hosting, Livermore's City Council has decided to take the year off and decide whether it wants to see the Amgen again.

Props to the Livermore councilmemebers and City Manager for being honest, too much bs about how much money cities make by hosting these events...a favorite pet project for Mayors who pander for such exposures & press, imho. This is a guy who is being forced by the ACTC to set up a bike committee, which still isn't organized, though he loves the Amgen.

cthenn

Well maybe this will be a good thing. Let's make the race about an interesting route, rather than what cities are willing to host or not. I admit, as a fan, I have no interest in the money side of it, and if this event does not generate the revenue for towns, as you claim, then let's balance it with a better route. No offense, but towns like Merced, Modesto, Bakersfield, and to some extent Livermore, don't have much to offer the viewing public, or the race organization for that matter. I always disliked the routes down the central valley that were exceedingly boring, probably for the riders as well. I'd love to see more of a mountainous route anyway, and lets acknowledge that the North Coast exists! LA to Santa Rosa every year, time to switch it up! Or, at least try to find towns that are bicycling friendly, like Davis. Host cities like that would hopefully do much better than any crummy city in SoCal.

FrenchFit 

I agree, I didn't intend to come off as negative about the tour/Amgen itself. Personally, I'd rather see scenery, locales I'm not familar with then stuff I see all the time, and that includes all of the greater Bay Area.

B. Carfree

I would just love to watch those guys race on the Lost Coast. They could start in Ft Bragg, do a bit of dirt on Usul and Chemise Mountain, then head out from Shelter Cove and on up Wilder Ridge, then back to the coast and up over the Wall (Wildcat Ridge) and down to Ferndale. They wouldn't even have anyone bothered by the road closures most of the way since there aren't any cars on most of those roads anyway.

The only downside for me is having these guys show me how easy those hills are to get over.

Leinster

Have they ever done a stage to Tahoe? Or maybe even up to Yosemite? North Coast would be great too, but as fans we do have to be a little bit realistic about where they can/can't go; some of those SoCal stages can be boring, but the race does need to be close to people. The Palm Desert stage this year was a seriously exciting finish, but it was weird seeing them charge up that mountain with virtually nobody on the side of the road watching.

If they do have to stick to the coast, I can't be the first person to think a stage to San Simeon finishing with the climb up to Hearst Castle would be great to watch. Take a leaf from the TdF's book; these races are basically tourism commercials with some competitive sport thrown in.

FrenchFit 

I think that's right, California would be best served by having them ride/shirt our coasts & landmarks...but I suspect many of these areas, coastal towns, simply don't want it coming through. That's why they end up with Livermore, Santa Rosa, Bakersfield....

JakiChan

Well, I think Pleasanton ends up being a good target simply for Diablo. I hoPE they don't just try and drop that. Nothing like a good hill climb...

Beaker

Frankly I think you need some bigger hubs like Livermore , Santa Rosa and Sacramento to get some exposure for the other sponsors. It can also be fun for the fans to be able to mingle with the team buses, see the exhibitors, etc. The crit finish they had in Sac town a couple of years back looked like a real treat for spectators.

Leinster

Santa Barbara seemed absolutely delighted to have it. San Luis Obispo have had it come through in the past and they love it too.

Santa Rosa seemed an odd choice for the race climax, but it's not like they were going to close down a big chunk of San Francisco, even on a Sunday, for a bike race. As it turned out there was a great atmosphere in the town for it.

3alarmer 

...............it was.

DXchulo

Back in 2011 they had Stage 1 planned in Tahoe, but it was cancelled due to snow. (https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/tour...ge-1-cancelled)

I was there and it was a frustrating day to say the least. I've been wondering why they haven't been back. Are they afraid of more weather? Is the Tahoe area not cooperating? Is it some combination of both? I know I'm biased from living so close, but I think they owe it to the fans to come back and have a stage.

As far as Yosemite goes, I doubt they'd ever get approval for that. The Tour of Utah passes through Bryce Canyon National Park and I was very surprised they were able to pull that off. Speaking of Utah, it has been putting out the best route of the 3 big US races for the past 2 years, but it doesn't get as much love as California or Colorado.

FrenchFit 

Could you imagine a time trial down PCH with the finish line in Redondo Beach? That would be a hoot.

I notice that Pleasanton seems to have given the boot to the Fast & Furious crit race it hosted the last two years, ...it was a real Main Street business killer from the looks of it.

blt

The inability to have a local winery or wineries sponsoring the start or finish seems to be a real problem. Apparently a conflict with another sponsor of the entire Amgen won't allow for it, a not insignificant problem in Livermore hosting a start or finish.

Slicks

Couple that with the fact that it cripples the access for wine tourism for almost a full two days of the busy season, and you have an unhappy bunch (seewhatIdidthere?) of business owners that are critical to your City's growth and image as a winery destination.

DiabloScott

I'm confused... was there crippled access or was it mostly empty? I've heard both.

Livermore's a nice town to park in, the wine's pretty good, the AToC will move on to other equally good venues.

gpelpel

I think it's good to change hosting towns every year. New blood will stir new ideas and improve from the Livermore experience. The town may then pick some of what worked elsewhere and even improved on it for the next time they are chosen.
I also think it will be beneficial to boost competition from various cities and thus make the ToC a must for any town to host.

gsa103

The crowds were pretty good in Livermore, there was a security incident with a vendor leaving an unmarked box around. That resulted in the bomb squad and about a block being cordoned off, which I'm sure drove people away. The local bar/winery sponsorship issue is probably the major reason for the objection.

DiabloScott

A couple years ago there was a Livermore start and the route went up Mines Rd. There were tons of people at the staging/warmup areas and lots of us rode up Mines for the first KoM and then back to Livermore for lunch. The restaurants were packed full of bike racing fans.

Dchiefransom

The article in the Argus today about it said that some businesses saw a bit of an increase in business, but others lost business due to the crowds. It's kind of like the Super Bowl in Santa Clara. The fans will just displace other customers that would be in town, so very little gain.

https://www.insidebayarea.com/breakin...idebayarea.com

Interesting that one of the businesses that didn't gain financially and had to shut down for the day was Livermore Cyclery.

SkyeC

"That had to shut down"? You'd think a bike shop would want to shut down so their employees could go check out the race or they could have a booth in the staging area or something. That's on them.

I was in Livermore this year and it seemed like a good time to me. There wasn't much traffic at all, from what I remember. The wife made me go to the outlet mall nearby and that place was packed.