Armstrong - California tour moving to May

After a rainy, bone-chilling stage of last February's Tour of California, cycling icon Lance Armstrong posted a Twitter message about the atrocious weather that was plaguing the race.
"The Tour of California should be in late April," Armstrong told his fans. Others have agreed. Next year's race is being moved to May with the hope that spring conditions will lead to better racing and attract even larger crowds. But there is a calculated risk in the calendar change, which pushes the Tour of California into the heart of traditional racing season. The race now conflicts with Europe's more prestigious Giro d'Italia -- testing the belief of Tour of California organizers that their event already has become well-established after just four years.The race schedule of May 16 to 23, which was reported on Cyclingnews.com, has the California cycling community buzzing. Michael Roth, a spokesman for event owner AEG Sports, would not confirm the new date until a formal announcement is made next week. But Andrew Messick, president of AEG Sports, told Cyclingnews.com that going head-to-head with Giro d'Italia won't adversely affect their race. A May date, he added, should make it a prime tune-up for the Tour de France. "I think being a lead-up to the Tour is the strongest place for us to be," Messick said. This year's Tour of California was a nine-day, 750-mile.

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