Over 100 cyclists raced through the roads of Contra Costa County, up Mt. Diablo and down Marsh Creek Road in East County on Tuesday, May 15, during Stage 3 of the Amgen Tour of California 2012 Bike Race.

The race lasted from May 13 to the 20th, with eight stages throughout the state.

According to the Amgen Tour of California website “Stage 3 of the 2012 Amgen Tour of California started in north San Jose…and made its way down to the city of Livermore. For the first time in the history of the race, the riders were challenged with a climb up Mt. Diablo, one of the most revered climbs in California. Peter Sagan (SVK) [Slovakia] of Liquigas-Cannondale crossed the finish line first taking his third stage win of the 2012 race and making Amgen Tour of California history by winning three consecutive stages.”

According to the Associated Press, “The seventh annual event began May 13 in Santa Rosa with a field of 128 representing 16 teams. The 735-mile race, which had 110 finishers, progressed to the Bay Area before taking a largely inland route to Southern California.”

After eight epic days of racing along some of California’s most iconic roadways, highways and coastlines, the 2012 Amgen Tour of California concluded at L.A. LIVE in downtown Los Angeles, with Rabobank’s Robert Gesink of the Netherlands winning the overall race.

For Gesink, the win marked a both a remarkable comeback and bittersweet win in remembrance of his father, who passed away after a cycling accident in October 2010.

“I dedicate this win for my father,” said Gesink, who said his father attended the 2009 Amgen Tour of California to see his son place 8th overall and win the race’s Best Young Rider jersey that year. “For me emotionally it is something really big to be back at this high level and to win a stage here, the toughest stage of all. It’s a good thing to be back in California and to be winning again.”

American teammates David Zabriskie and Tom Danielson of the Garmin-Barracuda team took second and third place overall. It was Zabriskie’s fourth second-place finish in America’s Greatest Race, having finished second in 2006, 2009, 2010 and 2012.

“Sure, I’d like to win, doesn’t anyone?,” said Zabriskie. “But it was a good tour for the Garmin-Barracuda team.”

About the Amgen Tour of California

The largest cycling event in America, the 2012 Amgen Tour of California is a Tour de France-style cycling road race, created and presented by AEG, that challenges the world’s top professional cycling teams to compete along a demanding course from May 13-20, 2012.

About Amgen

Amgen discovers, develops, manufactures, and delivers innovative human therapeutics. A biotechnology pioneer since 1980, Amgen was one of the first companies to realize the new science’s promise by bringing safe, effective medicines from lab to manufacturing plant to patient. Amgen therapeutics have changed the practice of medicine, helping millions of people around the world in the fight against cancer, kidney disease, rheumatoid arthritis, bone disease and other serious illnesses. With a deep and broad pipeline of potential new medicines, Amgen remains committed to advancing science to dramatically improve people’s lives. To learn more about our pioneering science and vital medicines, visit http://www.amgen.com. Follow us on www.twitter.com/amgen.

About AEG

AEG is one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world. AEG, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Anschutz Company, owns or controls a collection of companies including facilities such as STAPLES Center, The Home Depot Center, Sprint Center, The O2, Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE and Best Buy Theater Times Square; sports franchises including the Los Angeles Kings (NHL), two Major League Soccer franchises, two hockey franchises operated in Europe, management of privately held shares of the Los Angeles Lakers, the ING Bay to Breakers foot race, and the Amgen Tour of California cycling road race; AEG Live, the organization’s live-entertainment division, is a collection of companies dedicated to all aspects of live contemporary music performance, touring, and a variety of programming and multi-media production. For more information, visit AEG today at www.aegworldwide.com.

 

 

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Amgen Bike race competitors head east down Marsh Creek Road

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