King City will be seen by millions as start for Amgen Tour of California Tuesday

With a population of just under 14,000, the close-knit, slow paced, small city is King Tuesday, as they set the stage for the Amgen Tour of California.

“With small rural communities you never really get these types of opportunities. This is an international event viewed by over 11-million worldwide. For our residents to take part in this, and see that there’s so much more out there, to me that is what’s important,” said King City Mayor Mike LeBarre.

While millions watch from all over the globe, thousands are expected to pack downtown King City Tuesday morning.

“Everything will be down here. We have a lot of the local agencies putting of booths, a lot of the local vendors. It’s just going to be a lot of activities. That starts at 8:30 a.m., and then the route will start in King City at 10:20 a.m.,” said LeBarre.

And getting to this moment has taken a lot of hard work, not just for the athletes but city leaders.

“Numerous, numerous meetings with the Amgen folks. Setting up things as simple as hotels, clearing the streets out, making sure the road closures are in place. It’s really about being a good partner with them. We want them to enjoy their experience here, because we would love to have them back next year,” said LeBarre.