Amgen Tour Pedals into Santa Clarita

The 2017 Amgen Tour of California is rolling through Santa Clarita Wednesday as the city is the finish line for the fourth day of the men’s weeklong bicycle race. Sponsored by Thousand Oaks biotech Amgen Inc., the Tour of California is a 576-mile course that began Sunday in Sacramento, reaching Santa Clarita by Wednesday and will conclude Saturday in Pasadena. Today’s 100-mile leg takes the cyclists from Santa Barbara to Santa Clarita, which has hosted the race nine times in the event’s 12-year history. “We are thrilled to once again be hosting this world-class event in Santa Clarita,” Mayor Cameron Smyth said in a statement. “We’re ecstatic that folks around the world watching this event will see our city.” The Tour de France-style race, which features some of the top cyclists in the world, is organized by L.A.-based live entertainment company AEG and is sponsored by several big brands, including Lexus and Tag Heuer. The race will enter Santa Clarita from Highway 126 and conclude on Magic Mountain Parkway beside the Westfield Valencia Town Center. Road closures will occur on Magic Mountain Parkway between Auto Center Drive and Citrus Street with rolling closures taking place on Old Road, according to the Santa Clarita Valley Signal. The race ends at approximately 3:45 p.m. with all closures ending between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. The women’s 257-mile race, won by Dutch cyclist Anna van der Breggen, began in Lake Tahoe last Thursday and finished in Sacramento on the same Sunday the men’s race began.