A Simple Plan? Tour of California in May Means Tougher Parcours, Weaker Peloton

The Amgen Tour of California was officially moved to the month of May beginning in 2010, as America's biggest and most popular stage race will now run from May 16-23. In what was a bold and risky move by race organizers, the popular and lucrative stage race will now be able to make forays into the high mountains of California, and a stage in and around the Lake Tahoe region in 2010 is almost certain. The tough, rainy conditions of previous editions will likely not be an issue in May either.

What seems to be glossed over in the news though is that the AToC is now a direct competitor with the second biggest stage race in the world, the Giro d'Italia. Now 100 years old, Italy's home tour attracts a talented field each season, and will most certainly cause the talent level assembled in California to be significantly watered down.

While many riders who are not participating in the Giro will be able to ride in California, there will also be a host of the best stage race riders in the world who will be in Italy instead of California. First and foremost, there won;t be a single Italian willing to forsake his home tour in favor of the AToC. In looking at past AToC line ups, the following Italian riders would not ride California in previous years if it occupied a May slot in the world cycling calendar: Ivan Basso, Paolo Bettini, Vincenzo Nibali, Francesco Chicchi, Franco Pellizotti, Enrico Gasparotto, and Giovanni Visconti. A impressive list, and one that shows the precipitous decrease in talent that will surely occur with a new May date.

Additionally, there are other riders that are not Italian that would also likely miss the Tour due to committing to riding the Giro in the future: Fabian Cancellara, Mark Cavendish, Chris Horner, Janez Brajkovic, Levi Leipheimer, Denis Menchov, Christian Vande Velde, and David Zabriskie just to name a few. The argument could be made that the Americans would lobby to ride California instead of the Giro, but most sponsors are International and the Giro would be viewed as the bigger of the two races on a worldwide scale.

One factor that could change everything though is the enormous potential of the AToC. In just four short years the race has gained an almost mythical standing within the world of cycling, as top-flight riders like Tom Boonen, Cavendish and more have consistently sung the praises of the organization and lay out of the race. Now a strategic partner with ASO, the organizers of the Tour de France, the Amgen Tour of California organizers may believe that they can take on the Giro head on. Perhaps they have a vision that they are not sharing with the public at this time. Could they perhaps be positioning themselves as a grand tour in the near future? And would the Giro possibly be forced to consider changing when their race takes place on the calendar in order to stay viable? The idea seems unthinkable right now, but with the way the AToC has grown year over year, it could become a reality for the Giro in the near future.

At this point it is far too early to predict what will unfold over the next few seasons. One thing is for certain though, and that is that if the Amgen Tour of California is to remain viable, they must find a way to continue to attract the best bike riders in the world to their event. And based on their past dealings within the sport, they have earned the benefit of the doubt. If they moved the event to May they had a compelling reason to do so, a reason that the public may not see until years form now. So until then, cycling fans in America will watch and wait, hoping to see the wisdom of this brash decision.