AMGEN Tour of California Stage 5 comes to Avila

The Avila Beach finish for Stage 5 of the AMGEN Tour of California was somewhat underwhelming. The fans who did show up were excited die-hards, most of whom rode their bikes from San Luis Obispo or South county. But for those who were looking for the huge crowds reminiscent of the San Luis Obispo or Paso Robles finishes of years past, the expected swarm was more like a flock.

The cool thing about it was that there still were a large-enough number of people there to make it seem like the big event it was, but not so many that it was uncomfortable. The racers were still the best in the world and the man with the most recognizable name in the Tour, Jens Voigt, pushed ahead in the last few miles in a daring move to take the stage.

On a small little uphill that I’ll now call “Voigt Hill,” the German made his move. Voigt even called the hill “sticky,” which made me feel so happy that it isn’t just me who might have a hard time on the little bump at the beginning of San Luis Bay Drive.

What did you think of the tour? Did you expect more people? Why do you think more people didn’t come?

By Owen Main:

By David Livingston: