Follow the Amgen Tour of California press conference live

Cyclingnews will host live streaming of the Amgen Tour of California pre-race press conference on Friday, May 13 at 2PM Pacific Daylight Savings Time (11PM CET, 7AM Saturday, May 14 AUS).

Race organizers will kick off the 2011 Amgen Tour of California by hosting a press conference with race officials, sponsors, athletes and team managers to prepare for the start of the professional road cycling race.

Considered the largest cycling race in North America, the 2011 Amgen Tour of California will cover nearly 800 miles over eight days and feature 18 of the world’s top professional cycling teams. Traversing some of the state’s most picturesque highways and coastlines, the sixth-annual race kicks off in South Lake Tahoe and will visit 15 Host Cities for official stage starts and finishes from May 15 – 22.

Amgen Tour of California organizers, cycling officials, sponsors, top cyclists and team managers expected to participate include:

· Andrew Messick, President, AEG Sports

· Jim Birrell, Race Director, 2011 Amgen Tour of California

· Stuart Arbuckle, Vice President & General Manager Oncology, Amgen, official race sponsor

· Bob Stapleton, Owner, HTC-Highroad

· Carol Chaplin, Executive Director of the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority

· Andy Chapman, Director of Tourism, North Lake Tahoe Resort Association

· Levi Leipheimer, Team RadioShack (three-time Amgen Tour of California champion)

· Ben King, Team RadioShack

· Andy Schleck, Leopard Trek

· Dave Zabriskie, Team Garmin-Cervelo

· Andrew Talansky, Team Garmin-Cervelo

· Taylor Phinney, BMC Racing Team

· Tejay Van Garderen, HTC-Highroad