2007 Tour to Take Major Detour Away from Malibu

Photo credit, MSN/Frank Lamonea
ROADWORK—Pacific Coast Highway faces many frequent problems, such as the recent water main break, that its use as a cycling route drawing thousands of spectators could be subject to postponement or cancellation.

• City Council Responded to Constituent Concerns about Impact of Thousands of Cycling Fans

BY HANS LAETZ

Objections to the specter of hundreds of thousands of bicycle racing fans clogging Malibu’s main road apparently have scared away the Amgen Tour of California, a statewide cycling competition that will bypass the local stretch of Pacific Coast Highway next February.

Tour organizers announced last week that the second-year version of the bike race will detour around Highway 1 in Malibu, and instead head from Santa Barbara inland, through Ojai, Santa Paula and Santa Clarita.

“I think that’s bad news,” said Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich, who acknowledged that the prospect of closing PCH on a Sunday might not have sat well with many Malibu residents. “The bike race would have led to more acceptance of bicyclists, and the race is such a cool event. It’s like the Olympics,” she added.

But other council members said they wished the race well on its inland course. “We only have one main street, and it’s used by millions of visitors every year,” said Mayor Ken Kearsley. “Did you see the traffic last weekend when we closed off just one lane for emergency repairs?”

Councilmember Jeff Jennings agreed. “Malibu does not have the geographical layout or infrastructure in place to support a public event of that size.”

Last summer, the nationwide entertainment firm that owns Staples Center asked the Malibu City Council for permission to use parts of Highway 1 for the race. AEG Sports had tentative plans to enter the city from Oxnard on PCH, use canyon roads and sections of Mulholland Highway, and then swoop down to a finish line at Malibu’s civic center.

Most council members sounded deeply skeptical about the prospect of closing PCH on a winter Sunday, and finding parking places and spectator services for hundreds of thousands of race fans. Bike race organizers didn’t help their cause when they showed council members a video of last year’s race, which showed huge throngs of cheering people standing astride all four lanes of a San Francisco-area freeway during the 2006 inaugural run.

AEG, owned by Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz, refused to tell the city how much it was making by selling television rights, sponsorships and naming rights. The company had asked the City of Malibu to supply crowd control and fund other services and allow the race in exchange for promotional rights, including the opportunity to host a VIP tent.

The race is sanctioned by international and national bike racing groups, will raise more than $1 million for charity, and will be televised this year on the Versus network.

AEG announced last week that it will start on the streets of San Francisco Feb. 18, with legs starting or finishing in San Francisco, Sausalito, Santa Rosa, Sacramento, Stockton, San Jose, near Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Solvang, Santa Barbara, Santa Clarita and Long Beach.

AEG calls the race the premier bicycle race in the nation, and hopes it will become as popular as the Tour de France. “We are proud to produce this great event, which not only showcases the exciting sport of cycling and our beautiful state, but brings tremendous economic impact to California as well,” said Shawn Hunter, AEG’s race producer, when he announced the new course last week.

Despite the pessimism from four of the five Malibu politicians last summer, the council voted unanimously to allow the city and AEG to negotiate on bringing the Tour through the city. However, the council majority never pushed for the event.

Conley Ulich said Monday she still hopes that, in future years, the bike race will come to Malibu’s western end, perhaps using PCH to Encinal Canyon Road, and then head up into the hills. “We’re such a beautiful city, and the bike race is such a wonderful way to foster bicycling as a recreation.

“It would show Malibu people that bikers are neat people, and it would open a dialogue about setting up a safe bike route for residents and visitors alike on PCH west of Trancas,” she said.

CAPTION 1. Photo credit, MSN/Frank Lamonea
ROADWORK—Pacific Coast Highway faces many frequent problems, such as the recent water main break, that its use as a cycling route drawing thousands of spectators could be subject to postponement or cancellation.