Contact: Rebecca Blanco (209) 577-5346
No. 07-184
November 9, 2007

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES NOW AVAILABLE FOR THE 2008 AMGEN TOUR OF CALIFORNIA

4,000 Volunteers Needed to Staff This Year's Professional Cycling Race,
Which Is Expected to Draw More Than 1 Million People

LOS ANGELES (November 06, 2007) - Organizers for the 2008 Amgen Tour of California announced on Tuesday that volunteer opportunities for the professional cycling road race are now posted online at the official tour Web site, www.amgentourofcalifornia.com. Volunteers looking for an opportunity to participate in the third-annual, high-profile race can apply online for positions including, course marshal, security, media relations and medical control. The 2008 Amgen Tour of California is scheduled for February 17-24, 2008. International cycling teams will race through 750 miles of scenic landscape from northern to southern California in an eight-day road race modeled after the Tour de France. The race will come to Modesto on Wednesday, February 20.
 

"Volunteers are vital to making a race of this caliber a success," said Kristin Bachochin, senior director of AEG Sports, presenters of the race. "Without the support of the communities we travel through, the Amgen Tour of California wouldn't be able to accommodate the more than 1.6 million fans and world-class roster of athletes that are part of the race."
 

"A great bicycling event is about to take place here in Modesto," said Louis Levin, Volunteer Co-Director for Modesto's Local Organizing Committee. "We need your help to make this the best event ever and to show off Modesto to the world."
 

More than 4,000 volunteers in communities throughout the state participated in last years second-annual race, making it seamless and successful from start to finish and establishing it as the largest sporting event in the state of California. In each of the host cities, as many as 350 local volunteers were recruited to help staff the race.
 

Next year, the majority of volunteers are needed to serve as course marshals, providing support for the 75 professional course marshals that travel with the tour and support the local law enforcement authorities in each city. Course marshal volunteers have an opportunity to be on the race route, close to the cyclists, with responsibility for monitoring pedestrian traffic, barricades and street closures.

Volunteer positions for the 2008 Amgen Tour of California include:

• Course Marshal

• Health Net Lifestyle Festival EXPO

• Media Relations

• Medical Control

• Security

• Site Decoration/Restoration

• Sweepstakes Surveyor

• Volunteer Check-in

Volunteers must be over the age of 18 or accompanied by an adult. The online sign-up form offers volunteers the opportunity to rank their top-three job preferences, and every attempt is made to match volunteers to their area of interest.

Dates of the 2008 Amgen Tour of California:
Prologue: Sunday, Feb. 17 - Palo Alto-Stanford University
Stage 1: Monday, Feb. 18 - Sausalito to Santa Rosa
Stage 2: Tuesday, Feb. 19 - Santa Rosa to Sacramento
Stage 3: Wednesday, Feb. 20 - Modesto to San Jose
Stage 4: Thursday, Feb. 21 - Seaside to San Luis Obispo
Stage 5: Friday, Feb. 22 - Solvang individual time trial
Stage 6: Saturday, Feb. 23 - Santa Barbara to Santa Clarita
Stage 7: Sunday, Feb. 24 - Santa Clarita to Pasadena road race, concluding with a circuit race in Pasadena
*For further information on volunteering for the 2008 Amgen Tour of California, please visit www.AmgenTourofCalifornia.com/Tour/volunteer

ABOUT AMGEN
Amgen discovers, develops and delivers innovative human therapeutics. A biotechnology pioneer since 1980, Amgen was one of the first companies to realize the new science's promise by bringing safe and effective medicines from lab, to manufacturing plant, to patient. Amgen therapeutics have changed the practice of medicine, helping millions of people around the world in the fight against cancer, kidney disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and other serious illnesses. With a broad and deep pipeline of potential new medicines, Amgen remains committed to advancing science to dramatically improve people's lives. To learn more about our pioneering science and our vital medicines, visit www.amgen.com.

ABOUT AEG
AEG is one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world. AEG, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Anschutz Company, owns or controls a collection of companies including facilities such as STAPLES Center, The Home Depot Center, Sprint Center, and NOKIA Theatre Times Square; sports franchises including the Los Angeles Kings (NHL), two Major League Soccer franchises, a Major League Lacrosse team, two hockey franchises operated in Europe, management of privately held shares of the Los Angeles Lakers, the ING Bay to Breakers foot race and the Amgen Tour of California cycling road race; AEG LIVE, the organizations live-entertainment division, is a collection of companies dedicated to all aspects of live contemporary music performance, touring and a variety of programming and multi-media production. For more information, visit AEG today at www.aegworldwide.com.

Media Contacts:
AEG                                      GolinHarris
Michael Roth                           Nicole Okoneski
213-742-7155                         213-438-8793
mroth@aeg-la.com                   nokoneski@golinharris.com

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To contact the City of Modesto Public Information Office, 
call Jessica Smart at (209) 342-4707. Email: jsmart@modestogov.com