| UCI America Tour | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dates | February 19–26, 2006 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 7+Prologue | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 700 mi (1,127 km) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2006 Tour of California was the inaugural edition of a professional road cycling stage race that made its debut on February 19, 2006. Sponsored by the biotechnology company Amgen, the eight-day, 700 mile (1,126 km) race started in San Francisco, winding its way down the California coast to finish in Redondo Beach. With eight of the twenty European UCI ProTour teams in attendance, the inaugural Tour of California proved to be one of the largest cycling races in the United States since the demise of the Coors Classic in 1988.
Among the professional cyclists in attendance were George Hincapie (Discovery Channel), Floyd Landis (Phonak), Chris Horner and Freddy Rodriguez (Davitamon–Lotto), Bobby Julich and Dave Zabriskie (Team CSC), Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner), and Gilberto Simoni (Saunier Duval–Prodir).