After California: a look at the progress of professional cycling in the U.S.

Tim Johnson offers a look from the inside-out of the recently concluded Amgen Tour of California, watched by over 1.6 million live spectators, in an ESPN article that looks at the state and future of professional cycling in the U.S. In it, contrasts are drawn between the economic setbacks suffered by other race events in the coming months and the success of the Tour of California as measured by the dramatically heightened live spectator interest during this year’s extended race through the Golden State.

Echoed by countless riders who raced at the Tour of California, Tim says that the density of the crowds at the race was both highly motivating to them, and encouraging for the future of cycling in the U.S.

“When we pulled into Pasadena, I was dying to be in the breakaway,” Johnson told ESPN.com the morning after the stage that finished with five hotly contested loops in the neighborhood around the Rose Bowl. “I wished so much I had been up there. Pulling into the finish circuits, the crowd was incredible. As we got into the suburban streets, it got bigger and bigger and bigger, and when we finally took a right-hand turn into the circuit, I was just blown away.

“I had done [Tour de] Georgia ‘05, which was huge when Lance came. I’ve done every Tour of California. I’ve been to the world championships. This week has blown all of those away. It is an economic downturn, people do have a lot less money to spend, but that’s one of the draws of cycling — it’s free to everyone. You can see, you can feel, you can hear. People feel the wind when we ride by.”

Related Links:

• ESPN: Tour a success, but sport feeling crunch
• Gallery: Tour of California - the best seats in the house for free

Photo: Larry Rosa