Liquigas-Cannondale race team to train at Lake Tahoe for Amgen Tour of California Race

Professional road cycling teams continue to take note of Lake Tahoe as a premier outdoor biking destination.
The latest is Liquigas-Cannondale, a professional Italian racing team in the UCI ProTour, who will call North Lake Tahoe home Saturday, May 5 through Friday, May 11 to train for the upcoming Amgen Tour of California, an eight-stage race scheduled for May 13-20 and held throughout the state of California.

“Many cyclists got a taste of Lake Tahoe last May while training for the 2011 Amgen Tour of California,” said Chief Marketing Officer Andy Chapman of the North Lake Tahoe Chamber/CVB/Resort Association. “These professionals had the opportunity to experience the beauty of the area firsthand and its challenging, high-altitude terrain. Although last year’s Tahoe stages of the Amgen Tour of California were cancelled due to an untimely snowstorm, riders have been eager to get back and hit our scenic steeps.”

According to Chapman, Liquigas-Cannondale will be difficult to miss while training in Lake Tahoe as they’ll be outfitted in their team jerseys and accompanied by support vehicles as they make their way around Lake Tahoe. Visitors to the area may see the professional cyclists along Tahoe’s vertical terrain, such as climbing Highway 267 from Kings Beach to Truckee, Highway 431 from Incline Village to Reno, up historic Old Highway 40 near Donner Lake or maybe via Highway 89 from Truckee to Downieville. The switchbacks of Emerald Bay have also been a popular training ground for other professional cyclists.

Liquigas-Cannondale team members training in Lake Tahoe are Vincenzo Nibali, Mauro Da Dalto, Kristjan Koren, Alessandro Vanotti, Alan Marangoni, Sthefano Agostini, Daniel Oss, Peter Sagan, Paolo Slongo, Dario Mariuzzo, Michele Pallini, Maros Hlad, Simone Schuler, Nazzareno Berto and Matteo Cornacchione.

For more information about cycling in North Lake Tahoe, including road biking and mountain biking trails, click to the North Lake Tahoe Visitors Bureaus’ website at www.GoTahoeNorth.com. And, for the best lodging and activities deals, click on the Cool Deals tab, which is updated daily with deals and savings.

North Lake Tahoe is a 45-minute drive from the Reno Tahoe International Airport, two hours from Sacramento International Airport and just over three hours from San Francisco International Airport. Visitor information centers are located at 380 North Lake Boulevard in Tahoe City and 969 Tahoe Boulevard in Incline Village. The North Lake Tahoe Visitors Bureaus, the Incline Village Crystal Bay Visitors Bureau and the North Lake Tahoe Chamber/CVB/Resort Association, work together to promote North Lake Tahoe as a premier, year-round destination.

— Writer Pettit Gilwee of Pettit Gilwee Public Relations can be reached at pettit@gilweepr.com.