Cycling Pro Road & Mtb

2010 Amgen Tour of California, …

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Parent Category: Cycling Pro Road & Mtb

Category: News 2010

Published on Friday, 29 January 2010 07:14

Written by Marcella Crisanti

Be a part of America’s most important cycling event volunteer opportunities now offered for 2010 Amgen Tour of California

Volunteer opportunities for the 2010 Amgen Tour of California are now posted online at the official race Web site, www.amgentourofcalifornia.com.  Anyone wishing to volunteer for an opportunity to participate in the fifth-annual cycling race can apply online for positions, including hospitality, volunteer course marshals, security, and media operations, among others. Considered cycling’s most important and successful road race in the United States, some of America's most accomplished cyclists, including Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer, Dave Zabriskie and George Hincapie have already committed to participating in the 2010 Amgen Tour of California.  The fifth edition of the annual race will travel to 16 host cities throughout the state over the course of eight days from May 16-23, including the very first mountaintop finish in race history.  The eight-day race will begin in Nevada City and travel by some of the state's most scenic landmarks, with the overall finish taking place in Thousand Oaks. "The support of the volunteers in the local communities that the Amgen Tour of California travels through is essential to the success of the race," said Andrew Messick, president of AEG Sports, presenter of the race.  "Getting involved with the race as a volunteer allows local residents to take part in an event that captures the attention of local communities and the world, in addition to witnessing first-hand in the behind-the-scenes planning involved in an event of this stature." More than 4,500 volunteers in communities throughout the state participated in last year’s race, making it seamless and successful from start to finish, and solidifying it as the largest sporting event in the state of California.  In each of the start and finish cities, as many as 350 local volunteers were recruited to help staff the race. The majority of volunteers are needed to serve as volunteer course marshals, providing support for the 75 professional course marshals that travel with the tour and support the local law enforcement authorities in each city.  Course marshal volunteers have an opportunity to be on the race route, close to the cyclists, with responsibility for monitoring pedestrian traffic, barricades and road closures.

Volunteer positions for the 2010 Amgen Tour of California include:

Volunteer Course Marshals – Assist with the coordination and safety of the fans and participants in a designated area along the race course

Media – Assist with distribution of media credentials, media hospitality, media operations press room management, media liaisons and press events

Security – Assist Tour security staff with access-control, including on-course, hospitality, awards and special events

Site Decoration/Restoration – Assist with installation and clean up of banners

Lifestyle Festival EXPO – Assist Tour Lifestyle Festival staff with EXPO coordination – guide vendors and exhibitors to their tents for set-up; assist with festival logistics as needed; and assist with marketing activities in EXPO

Sweepstakes Surveyors – Ensure that Festival guests are aware of the Tour Sweepstakes opportunities, as well as all of the amenities of the festival

Volunteer Check-in – Assist LOC volunteer coordinator with set-up, check-in/registration and deployment

Volunteers must be over the age of 18 or accompanied by an adult.  The online sign-up form offers volunteers the opportunity to rank their top-three job preferences, and every attempt is made to match volunteers to their area of interest.  Shortly after filling out the online form, volunteers will be contacted by the local organizing committee for further information.

Dates of the 2010 Amgen Tour of California:

Stage 1: Sunday, May 16 – Nevada City to Sacramento

Stage 2: Monday, May 17 – Davis to Santa Rosa

Stage 3: Tuesday, May 18 – San Francisco to Santa Cruz

Stage 4: Wednesday, May 19 – San Jose to Modesto

Stage 5: Thursday, May 20 – Visalia to Bakersfield

Stage 6: Friday, May 21 – Pasadena to Big Bear Lake

Stage 7: Saturday, May 22 – Los Angeles (individual time trial)

Stage 8: Sunday, May 23 – Thousand Oaks/Westlake Village/Agoura Hills

A major step forward in the fight against doping

On Monday the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected an appeal by Stefan Schumacher and upheld the worldwide two-year suspension that the UCI had imposed on the German rider in extension of the sanction by the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) regarding competition in France. Today – there has been another extremely important legal reaffirmation of the fight against doping. The Third Section of the Provincial Court of Almería, Spain, completely rejected the appeal by the Spanish rider Carlos Roman Golbano, who had challenged the legitimacy of the Whereabouts Information System that is used to gather vital information on the location of sportspeople who are subject to out-of-competition doping controls. According to the ruling, which confirms the first judgment in the case issued by Almería Civil Court No. 6 in September 2007, the implementation of the programme does not breach individual rights guaranteed by the Spanish Constitution, in particular in respect of the protection of privacy. The UCI, having defended the legitimacy of the Whereabouts Information System in conjunction with the Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC) during the hearing, expressed its profound satisfaction at the ruling; it certainly represents a major step forward in case law in the fight against doping. UCI President, Pat McQuaid, said: "Cycling has been at the forefront of the fight against doping for many years. We are once again proud that our commitment offers benefits to the sports movement as a whole. We are ever more convinced that our joint efforts against the scourge of doping will become increasingly effective, in particular as a result of rulings such as this, which recognise the basic principles upon which our strategies and actions are based." The UCI also thanked the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) which played an important part in the first stage of the case, and also points out that some 850 professional cyclists come under the remit of the Whereabouts Information System through the biological passport programme.