Organizers of the Amgen Tour of California will be releasing the routes of the first two stages on Tuesday, including a change in the format for the city of Santa Rosa.
Instead of the cyclists riding three laps in downtown Santa Rosa, they will be riding a single lap, which officials said ensures that all riders will complete the stage and should result in a sprint to the finish line.
The downtown Santa Rosa route will be similar to that from previous races, with the finish line on Third Street near Courthouse Square, said Raissa de la Rosa, Santa Rosa's economic development specialist.
The Amgen Tour this year starts May 16 with a Nevada City-Sacramento stage and finishes May 23 in Thousand Oaks, a 750-mile race.
The second stage on May 17 is Davis to Santa Rosa, the fifth year Santa Rosa will host a stage finish.
The routes of the other stages will be released later this week.
It is expected to draw a large number of the top professional riders and teams, Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer, Dave Zabriskie and George Hincapie.
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