Amgen cyclists "racing" local celebrity Howie Nave

Lauren Hall and Lauretta Hanson with the UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling team will be “racing” local radio host Howie Nave on the bike path at Kahle Meadow trailhead to Nevada Beach on Wednesday, May 9. They’ll meet for coffee at Clydes Coffee Roasting Co at 10:00 a.m. and will take off around 11:00 a.m. Public, media, cycling enthusiasts, community members, businesses are welcome to mingle for coffee as well as join them for a fun race/bike ride to the beach.

Lauren Hall is the UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling team captain, a southerner who came to cycling after playing collegiate football she lives part time in Tucson, Arizona and works to help young athletes develop their skills for a life in sport.

Lauretta Hanson, an Aussie who has raced with the team since the start of 2017, brings some major sprinting power to the team. When she isn't racing she is studying Sports Management at university, and has hopes of combining racing and management at some point in the future.

The Amgen Tour of California Women's Stage 2 and Men’s Stage 6 at South Lake Tahoe will both include iconic vistas, stunning lake views, highest summit in race history at Luther Pass, and the grueling Daggett Pass along Kingsbury Grade state Route 207 on May 18.

Similar to 2017, the women’s Stage 2 presented by Visit California will be contested on the high-altitude Queen Stage in South Lake Tahoe, which features one of the biggest climbs in the UCI Women’s World Tour. The racers will head west from Heavenly Mountain Resort for the start of this 70-mile stage then turn south on CA-89 and over the 7,740’ summit of Luther Pass where they will challenge the first of the day’s three QOMs. A quick descent will take the riders into the spectacular Carson River Basin and on a loop through the Washoe Reservation before heading northeast into Nevada. A left turn will take them north on Kingsbury Grade. The “Grade” had never been attempted in any previous Amgen Tour of California stage until 2017. This 8-mile climb gains 2,700’ in elevation, with riders encountering the second QOM at an elevation of 7,400’. The descent back to South Lake Tahoe will provide beautiful views of the lake and the surrounding mountains. The final QOM of the stage will deliver the riders to the finish at Heavenly Mountain Resort.

The Amgen Tour of California Stage 6 presented by Visit California is a daunting stage that starts with a pass by Folsom’s newly completed Johnny Cash Trail, a unique 3-mile trail that honors the memory of the singer and his historic performance at Folsom Prison in 1968. Then 123-mile stage features more than 16,000 feet of climbing, four King of the Mountain (first athlete to reach the top of that pass) including Kingsbury Grade for the first time and an uphill finish. The elevation in Folsom is just 275’. The racers will reach 8,600’ as they crest Carson Pass and finish in South Lake Tahoe at Heavenly at 6,600-feet