Promoters hope event rivals Tour de France: “‘I remember reading about the Coors Classic back in the day (mid- to late-1980s), and how it inspired me to become a professional rider,’ said Levi Leipheimer, a Santa Rosa resident and one of the leaders of the German Gerolsteiner team. ‘Now, we have the Tour of California to inspire the next generation.’”

I used to be a big mountain-bike rider until my brother took me to see the Coors Classic in the city. After seeing dozens of bike riders going 60mph downhill in the Presidio, inches apart from each other on skinny tires, I realized that I really wanted to be a road-bike racer