2010 Tour of California in Santa Rosa on May 17th

<p>The second stage of the 2010 Tour of California will finish in Santa Rosa on May 17th, the Sacramento Bee reported Wednesday.</p><p>While the announcement was hardly a surprise – it has been known for at least a month that Santa Rosa was going to be involved – it is interesting that no city on the 2010 Tour of California will host a finish and starting stage. The more cities involved, the more money to be made, the thinking goes.</p><p>And, truth to tell, hosting a stage finish will bring more money to a city that hosting a start.</p><p>AMGEN officially will announce all the tour routes Thursday which comes just two days before all the routes of the 2010 Giro d’Italia will be announced. A coincidence? I don’t think so. The Giro will run May 8-30 while the Tour of California is set May 16-23. Riders will have to make a decision which tour to ride to prep for the Tour de France.</p><p> That will be the most interesting development and will provide a strong barometer on exactly how popular the Tour of California is.</p><p>The Giro certainly has its traditions but many riders in the past have opted out of it, claiming the race would rob them of the total fitness needed for France.</p>