Cycling icon Lance Armstrong will compete in his first U.S. professional race in more than three years when he joins a world-class field for the 2009 Amgen Tour of California. The nine-day stage race begins Feb. 14 in Sacramento.

Armstrong retired in 2005 after winning his seventh straight Tour de France championship. He recently announced that he would return to competitive cycling in 2009 to pursue an eighth Tour de France title while raising worldwide awareness for his cancer research. The native Texan overcame testicular cancer in the late 1990s.

"The level of competition, the challenge of the course and the highly professional atmosphere make it the ideal situation for me to continue my training,” Armstrong said. “I also have chosen the Amgen Tour of California because of the race's record of supporting cancer awareness and research through their Amgen Breakaway from Cancer initiative, and their commitment to partner with our Lance Armstrong Foundation.

“I look forward to racing once again in the United States in what we consider the best race outside of Europe," said Armstrong, who will compete for the Astana team.

The 2009 Amgen Tour of California will be expanded to cover more than 800 miles over nine days, Feb. 14-22.
“We’re delighted to have Lance Armstrong participating in the 2009 Amgen Tour of California. He will be one of the many world-class cyclists who will be participating in America’s greatest cycling stage race,” said Andrew Messick, president, AEG Sports, owner and operator of the Amgen Tour of California.

“We applaud the commitment that Armstrong has made to return to cycling for the purpose of raising awareness for cancer,” Messick said.

This marks the third straight year that Sacramento will be one of the host cities for the Amgen Tour of California. In 2007 and 2008, Sacramento served as the finishing city for the second stage of the race.

Already thrilled at being named the start city for the 2009 Amgen Tour of California, Sacramento officials were ecstatic about Armstrong’s announcement.

“On Feb. 14 and in the days leading up to the race, Sacramento will receive unprecedented attention as a result of Lance Armstrong’s return to competitive cycling,” said John McCasey, executive director of the Sacramento Sports Commission. “This will be one of the signature sporting moments in our city’s history.”

The route for the opening stage of the 2009 race will be announced later this fall. The stage will begin and end in downtown Sacramento and encompass 70 to 80 miles or road racing. Sacramento will also host a pre-race banquet at the Memorial Auditorium on Feb. 12 and feature other fan-friendly events in the days leading up to the start.

Building on last year's third annual stage race, which attracted 1.6 million spectators, the 2009 Amgen Tour of California will visit 16 host cities for official stage starts and finishes. Host cities for the nine stages include: Sacramento, Davis (new city for 2009), Santa Rosa, Sausalito, Santa Cruz (new city for 2009), San Jose, Modesto, Merced (new city for 2009), Clovis (new city for 2009), Visalia (new city for 2009), Paso Robles (new city for 2009), Solvang, Santa Clarita, Pasadena, Rancho Bernardo (new city for 2009) and Escondido (new city for 2009).

As the title sponsor of the race for the fourth consecutive year, Amgen, a leading global biotechnology company with headquarters in Thousand Oaks, Calif., will continue to leverage the race to raise awareness and support for people affected by cancer through the Breakaway from CancerTM initiative. Amgen's invaluable support of the Amgen Tour of California has helped to ensure the race’s continued success and impact beyond the sporting arena.

“Lance Armstrong’s feats in professional cycling and his leadership in the fight against cancer have served to benefit the sport of cycling and more importantly cancer patients everywhere,” said George Morrow, Amgen’s executive vice president of Global Commercial Operations. “We welcome Lance to the Amgen Tour of California and look forward to collaborating with him and the Lance Armstrong Foundation through Amgen’s Breakaway from Cancer initiative, which we launched in the inaugural year of the Amgen Tour of California to raise awareness of non-profit organizations that benefit people affected by cancer.”

For additional information on the 2009 Amgen Tour of California, please visit www.amgentourofcalifornia.com.