I was raised in Orange County and didn’t know much about Long Beach till I moved here. Long Beach always seems to have something going on. There is the Toyota Grand Prix, the Marathon, triathlons, a couple of bike clubs and easy access to riding down the coast or if you want to hit the hills, riding over to Palos Verde. I’ve known, as well as everyone else, that the city of Long Beach was awarded the final stage to the upcoming Tour of California. The other day I had a short meeting with someone from the Tourism Board regarding what Long Beach wants to do. Their big goal is to have the race always end in Long Beach. As a local, I’m all for that! But on top of that, they envision a weekend devoted to cycling and outdoor activities. On Saturday they are proposing running a time trial on the route that the racers will compete on Sunday. The day of the race they are going to have Jumbotrons so everyone can watch the race live. There were other ideas proposed and the city is open to anything. At this point they were asking what they should do after the race. I suggested an after-party. That was the one thing that the Tour of California lacked last year in Redondo Beach. The race ended and that was that. Every big race I’ve attended always has an after party. What a great way to blow off steam after a stressful week! I’ve made myself available to the city and hopefully I can be a part of making Long Beach a permanent stage of the Tour of California.

Tony Cruz, Long Beach native and riding for Discovery next year, will be a spokesperson for the Long Beach stage