Amgen Tour of California 2018 Races Through Ventura and Lodi Wine

What do Ventura’s historic Mission, Olympic cyclists, and Lodi wine have to do with each other?

The Amgen Tour of California!

On Saturday May 19 in SACRAMENTO, Calif. Egan Bernal, Team Sky’s 21-year-old Colombian rider, claimed the 2018 Amgen Tour of California championship by the second largest margin in race history, with +1.25” ahead of BMC Racing Team’s U.S. rider Tejay van Garderen. Team EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale’s Daniel Martinez (COL) rounds out third place overall. In the Women’s Race, UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling’s Katie Hall from Oakland, Calif. came away the decisive 2018 champion when Stage 3 and the race concluded today in Sacramento; last year she placed second by just one second. Trek-Drops’ Tayler Wiles (Fairfax, Calif.) took second place overall with CANYON//SRAM Racing’s Kasia Niewiadoma (POL) in third.

This year, the race started on Sunday May 13 and continued through the week with a conclusion in Sacramento on May 19, 2018 bringing the world’s best cyclists to compete for 645 miles along roadways, highways, and coastlines in a seven-stage race from Long Beach to Sacramento.

The second stage of the race started in Ventura — and rolled by near my house! The celebration in Ventura consisted of four separate activation points and represented the first time a stage start has seen a celebration of its kind, says Visit Ventura; check out the video above to see.

Much of the Stage Two action took place in areas of Ventura county impacted by the recent Thomas Fire; our hillsides that were blackened by fire now are ablaze with wildflowers!

We celebrated the passing of the Amgen Tour of California by opening four wines made from Lodi grapes. Why Lodi?  Lodi Wines is the Exclusive Wine Sponsor for the 2018 Amgen Tour of California with Lodi’s local wine producers, Michael David Winery, LangeTwins Family Winery and Vineyards, Klinker Brick Winery, and Estate Crush featuring many of their signature wines and newest releases at various high profile hospitality areas throughout the week-long event: “The VIP Hospitality tents at each day’s  the finish line and the Team Presentation event will serve wines from Michael David Winery, LangeTwins Winery and Vineyards, and Klinker Brick Winery, and Estate Crush wines will be featured at the exclusive Chairman’s Dinner on May 12.”

“Lodi, a popular destination for wine lovers with a community of avid cyclists, is thrilled to be a part of the action,” said Stuart Spencer, the brand new Executive Director of the Lodi Winegrape Commission.

Read more about what we thought about these Lodi wines and about the Amgen Tour of California race over at Wine Predator.

For more about the Amgen Tour of CA, check out amgentourofcalifornia.com.

Congratulations to the winners of the race and to the communities that hosted and the businesses that sponsored them! Cheers!