Science & Technology
Science and Technology
Science and Technology
Fri, December 19, 2008
Thu, December 18, 2008
City of San Jose, California: San Jose Cycling Classic Set for February
SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwire - December 18, 2008) - The San Jose Cycling Classic will be held February 14, 2009 throughout San Jose. The multi-pronged event will encompass professional, amateur and community cycling activities, including a competitive time trial race, a criterium, a recreational ride and a CEO Challenge. It is expected to attract more than 1,000 cycling athletes, 20,000 spectators and cycling-related exhibitors.
"Cycling is an important form of alternative transportation, and San Jose's Green Vision puts San Jose on the path to being a cycling-friendly city," San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed said. "The San Jose Cycling Classic lets the cyclists everywhere know that San Jose and the greater South Bay region is a one of the best places in the world to cycle whether you're an amateur or a professional."
The San Jose Cycling Classic will kick off with the The King of the Mountain Time Trial and Ride sponsored by Mattson Technology, and a CEO Challenge powered by SunPower, where riders will leave San Jose City Hall and reach the base of Sierra Road for a mass start time trial race. This challenging hill was featured in several Amgen Tour of California races and exploded the peloton. The climb is 3.7 miles long with an average gradient of 10 percent; however, some pitches reach 17-18 percent. It will include police motorcycles leading a rolling closure north and east of Downtown San Jose to the base of the Sierra Road climb. The San Jose Cycling Classic will also feature a 30-mile recreational ride which will start along the same route but will not include the challenging Sierra Road climb.
All rides will start with police motorcycles leading a rolling closure north and east of Downtown San Jose to the base of the Sierra Road climb. Cyclists on the King of the Mountain and CEO Challenge ride will then cross a timing pad to activate timing chips and begin their ascent up Sierra Road -- a stunning 3.7-mile, 1,830-foot climb. After summiting Sierra Road, riders may complete the Sierra/Calaveras/Piedmont loop and ride west to City Hall. Even though the ride officially ends at the Sierra Hill summit, riders are invited to return back to City Hall for a post ride celebration.
The San Jose Cycling Classic continues that day with the debut of The Criterium built by WEBCOR. Riders will take to the streets of San Jose to compete in a multi-lap one-day race throughout the city. The .86 mile urban downtown "track" features many of the elements that will get it that "classic" designation -- tight turns, high speed straight aways, side-by-side racing as well as cash and prizes, including $5,000 for top male professional and $5,000 for top female professional. All the action starts and finishes on Park Avenue near Plaza de Cesar Chavez.
In addition the to these two events, there will be many others, including a special LIVESTRONG Challenge San Jose Kick-Off Party at 6 p.m. on Monday, February 16, at The Tech Museum of Innovation. The event will help build momentum for the LIVESTRONG Challenge, the Lance Armstrong Foundation's signature fundraising event, taking place July 11-12 in San Jose. Inspired by the hope, courage and perseverance of Lance Armstrong and the nearly 12 million Americans living with cancer, LIVESTRONG Challenge participants will take to the streets on bicycles and on foot to raise funds and awareness for the fight against cancer. In addition to San Jose, the 2009 LIVESTRONG Challenge will take place in Seattle (June 21); Philadelphia (Aug. 23); and Austin (Oct. 24-25).
San Jose then welcomes the world's best professional cyclists with the Amgen Tour of California Stage 3 Start at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, February 17, at Park and Almaden in Downtown San Jose. A host city for the Amgen Tour of California for the fourth year in a row, San Jose will, for the first time, serve as a start city to one of the most challenging legs of the race. Festivities will include a healthy lifestyle festival and "autograph alley," a designated area where cycling fans will have the opportunity to meet their favorite riders, including Lance Armstrong who is taking part in the Amgen Tour of California as a member of the Astana Cycling Team, and who is considered to be one of the greatest cyclists of all time.
A complete San Jose Cycling Classic schedule overview follows:
-- Friday, February 13, 5-9 p.m., athlete registration/packet pick-up for all events, San Jose City Hall Rotunda, 200 East Santa Clara Street -- Saturday, February 14, 7 a.m., King of the Mountain Time Trial Race and Ride led by Mattson Technology, start at San Jose City Hall Rotunda, 200 East Santa Clara Street -- Saturday February 14, The Criterium built by WEBCOR athlete registration/packet pick-up, 7 a.m.-2 p.m., San Jose City Hall Rotunda, 200 East Santa Clara Street; Criterium built by WEBCOR, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Park Avenue -- Monday, February 16, 6 p.m., LIVESTRONG Challenge San Jose Kick-Off Reception with the Lance Armstrong Foundation, The Tech Museum of Innovation, 201 South Market Street -- Tuesday, February 17, 10 a.m.-noon, Amgen Tour of California Stage 3 Start, including a riders' autograph alley and lifestyle festival, Park & Almaden
For registration, visit [ www.sanjosecyclingclassic.com ]
For more information about sponsorship opportunities, please contact Tricia Kerkhof, 408.277.5144, ext. 33, or [ tricia.kerkhof@sanjoseca.gov ].
ABOUT MATTSON TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Mattson Technology, Inc. is the leading supplier of dry strip equipment and the second largest supplier of rapid thermal processing equipment in the global semiconductor industry. The company's strip and RTP equipment utilize innovative technology to deliver advanced processing performance and productivity gains to semiconductor manufacturers worldwide for the fabrication of current- and next-generation devices. For more information, please contact Mattson Technology, Inc., 47131 Bayside Parkway, Fremont, Calif. 94538. Telephone: (800) MATTSON/(510) 657-5900. Fax: (510) 492-5911. Internet: [ www.mattson.com ].
ABOUT WEBCOR
Webcor Builders is the largest general contractor in California, by volume, and the 10th largest concrete contractor in the nation. Over thirty-five years of serving clients such as Oracle, eBay, Lucasfilm, and the California Academy of Sciences has secured Webcor's position as a leading builder of large-scale, high-profile projects. Visit [ www.webcor.com ] for more information.
ABOUT SUNPOWER
SunPower Corporation (
ABOUT THE CITY OF SAN JOSE'S OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
The San Jose Cycling Classic is being produced by the City of San Jose's Office of Economic Development (OED), part of the San Jose Office of the City Manager, is committed to a vital, competitive San Jose economy that increases prosperity for people and companies and enhances City revenues. The Office -- which includes the San Jose Office of Cultural Affairs -- guides the City's economic strategy, provides assistance for business success, helps connect employers with trained workers, and provides art and cultural resources to our community. For more information, please visit, [ www.sjeconomy.com ].
ABOUT SAN JOSE'S GREEN VISION
On October 7, 2007, Mayor Chuck Reed introduced San Jose's Green Vision, which sets 10 ambitious goals for environmental protection and economic development. This 15-year plan envisions: creating 25,000 Clean Tech jobs; building or retrofitting 50 million square feet of green buildings; installing 100,000 solar roofs (1/10 of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's 1 million solar roofs for California initiative); reducing per capita electricity use by half; becoming a zero waste city; recycling and reusing 100 percent of the city's water; and moving to 100 percent renewable energy. San Jose, the nation's tenth largest city, already is a leader in clean energy and solar innovation, with leading corporations such as SunPower, SoloPower, Stion, Nanosolar, Fat Spaniel, SunWize, Sopogy, and others headquartered in the city. Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Motors recently announced that it would locate its headquarters and new manufacturing plant in San Jose. For more information, visit [ www.sanjoseca.gov/greenvision/ ].
ABOUT THE CITY OF SAN JOSE
From its founding in 1777 as California's first city, San Jose has been a leader, driven by its spirit of innovation. Today, San Jose stands as the largest city in Northern California and the Capital of Silicon Valley -- the world's leading center of innovation. The city, the 10th largest in the U.S., is committed to remaining a top-ranked place to do business, to work and to live. According to the City of San Jose's Department of Transportation, San Jose has more than 38,000 bike commuters traveling on more than 150-miles of on-street bikeways, which helped earn the city a National Bicycle Friendly Community Award from the League of American Bicyclists. In addition, the city has one out of only 19 velodromes in the United States. Funds raised from the San Jose Cycling Classic will be earmarked to enhancing, building and maintaining the South Bay's public cycling infrastructure and promoting cycling safety and Fit for Learning, a program provided by the Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE) in cooperation with Healthy Silicon Valley that addresses the crisis of childhood obesity and is a multi-faceted initiative that will increase physical activity and encourage healthy nutrition among elementary school students in Santa Clara County. For more information, visit, [ www.sanjoseca.gov ].
