King City to host stage of 2018 Amgen Tour of California

A Central Coast city has been chosen to host a stage of this year’s Amgen Tour of California.

King City will host stage 3 in May and is already making plans to prep the area for the big event.

Between May 13th and the 19th, the tour will go through Long Beach all the way to Sacramento.

Though the cycling race has come through King City before, this the first time they’re hosting and kicking off one of it’s seven stages.

“This is a huge, huge deal for King City,” said Mayor Mike LeBarre.

The 2018 Amgen Tour of California will cover 645 miles in seven stages across the state.

Stage three, kicks off in King City and goes to Laguna Seca on the Peninsula.

Though it’s expected to bring a lot of money to the area, Mayor Mike LeBarre says it brings something just as valuable.

“It builds pride within our community, how could you not have pride when such an amazing event is coming here,” LeBarre said.

He adds that he was quickly on board when the city manager brought the hosting possibility to city staff.

“Very rarely do you get world class athletes rolling through your town and very rarely do you have over 11 million viewers on our small town,” the mayor said.

Though the event doesn’t happen until May, LeBarre says plans are already being made.

“Right now it’s working with our businesses, working and coordinating schedules to make sure everything in the streets are clean,” the mayor said.

Work is also being done to get the community involved.

“[We] need volunteers and there’s also sponsorships,” LeBarre said, “So as a community, those are things that we pull together in support of the Amgen tour.”

Though King City officials and businesses have a lot of work ahead, LeBarre says he’s grateful the city has this opportunity.

“It’s the premiere bike race of North America so we’re very Fortunate,” LeBarre said.

The mayor says any costs that come to King City will be minimal as he expects sponsorships to cover any big charges.

You can head to King City’s website to find out more about volunteer and sponsorship opportunities.