Tour of California - Team Rosters Announced
Complete list of the 18 Teams the Amgen Tour of California announced for the February stage race. 144 riders will take to the start line in San Francisco for the prologue for the 8 day race that finishes in Long Beach, California.

Best-Ever Field Assembled for a Race on U.S. Soil to Compete
February 18-25
Joining previously announced Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team, Team CSC, Predictor-Lotto and Health Net Pro Cycling Team, 14 additional teams, including U.S. teams Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team, Jelly Belly Cycling Team and Colavita/Sutter Home Presented by Cooking Light Team, have been confirmed for the 2007 Amgen Tour of California by AEG, promoter and operator of the professional cycling race. The 650-mile, eight-day stage race, modeled after the Tour de France, will feature 18 of the world’s top professional teams racing from San Francisco to Long Beach February 18-25.

International field bask in the California sun at the start of Stage 7, 2006
Photo c. www.dailypeloton.com

18 professional cycling teams:
BMC Racing Team (USA)*
Colavita/Sutter Home Presented by Cooking Light Team (USA)*
Crédit Agricole (FRA)*
Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team (USA)
Gerolsteiner (GER)*
Health Net Presented by Maxxis (USA)
Jelly Belly Cycling Team (USA)*
Liquigas Pro Cycling Team (ITL)*
Navigators Insurance Cycling Team (USA)*
Predictor-Lotto (BEL)
Priority Health Cycling Team Presented by Bissell (USA)*
Quick Step-Innergetic (BEL)*
Rabobank Cycling Team (Netherlands)*
T-Mobile Team (GER)*
Team CSC (DEN)
Team Slipstream Powered by Chipotle (USA)*
Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team (USA)*
USA Cycling National Development Team (USA)*
*Newly announced

"With the tremendous success of last year’s race and the very positive ‘word of mouth’ among the professional cycling community, we were extremely fortunate that not only did all of the top teams from 2006 ask to return but we were also able to add some of the new favorites entering the upcoming racing season,” said Shawn Hunter, president of AEG Sports. "The success of the 2006 race, combined with an updated, world-class course will ensure a level of competition that is unprecedented in the United States."

Split between teams who compete on the UCI Pro Tour and those who race predominately in the United States, the field of 144 athletes will be one of the most diverse, accomplished groups of cyclists ever assembled for a stage race in the U.S.

Ed Beamon Navigator Insurance
"We are very excited, and looking forward to the 2007 Amgen Tour of California," said Ed Beamon, team manager for the Navigators Insurance Cycling Team. "As an American team that competes around the world, it is very gratifying to know that one of the best events on the international calendar is right here in America. It’s just great to know that we can get the season started with a world class event, against the best competition in the world, on our home soil."

Navigator rider leads the break on  stage 7
photo c. www.dailypeloton.com

Domestic Teams
Along with Pro Tour teams, the growing class of top domestic teams will be represented by return competitors Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team, Jelly Belly Cycling Team and Colavita/Sutter Home Presented by Cooking Light Team, and new competitors Priority Health Cycling Team, USA Cycling National Development Team and Northern California-based BMC Racing Team.

Danny Van Haute, Jelly Belly
It's a privilege to be invited again to the Amgen Tour of California which has such a competitive field," said Danny Van Haute, manager of the Jelly Belly Cycling Team. "The Jelly Belly riders are excited about the event and are very positive, as I am, for some great results."

Danny Van Haute goes over last minute preparation with his Jelly Belly lads for stage 7, 2006. Photo c. www.dailypeloton.com

Several of the 18 professional cycling teams will hold their pre-season training camps in California, which will give residents across the state an opportunity to watch these elite athletes prepare for one of the top professional cycling races in the United States.

For more information about the teams competing in the 2007 Amgen Tour of California, please visit www.amgentourofcalifornia.com.

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 Amgen's pioneering science and 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, Toyota Park, Toyota Sports Center, Anaheim Convention Center Arena, El Rey Theatre, Colosseum at Caesars Palace, NOKIA Theatre at Grand Prairie and NOKIA Theatre Times Square; sports franchises including the Los Angeles Kings (NHL), Los Angeles Riptide (MLL), four Major League Soccer franchises, , two hockey franchises operated in Europe, management of privately held shares of the Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) and Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA), the ING Bay to Breakers foot race and the Amgen Tour of California cycling road race; AEG LIVE, the organization’s 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. Additionally, the company has begun fully developing London’s 28-acre Millennium Dome which includes a 23,000-seat arena, the O2 and over 650,000sf of leisure and entertainment use within the ‘Dome’ and additional arenas, The O2 World on a 45-acre site in the heart of Berlin, Citizen’s Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California, Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri as well as Red Bull Park, a soccer stadium in Harrison, New Jersey and L.A. Live, a $2.5 billion sports and entertainment district in downtown Los Angeles. For more information, visit AEG today at www.aegworldwide.com