The Amgen Tour of California Ends in Pasadena!

The 2008 Amgen Tour of California came to an incredible end in Pasadena on Sunday! While the rain persisted on the final day of the Tour, both cyclists and spectators celebrated the big finale, which took place right by the Rose Bowl!

For the second year in a row, Levi Leipheimer came out as the winner of the Amgen Tour of California! Here he is with his wife Odessa:

We're also proud to say that Breakaway from Cancer spokesperson, George Hincapie, went on to win Stage 7. Both Kim Thiboldeaux from TWC and Michael Bergin from NCCS joined George on stage for the ceremony.

Overall, it was an amazing week being a part of the Amgen Tour of California. TWC would like to thank everyone involved for helping us extend our reach to so many people affected by cancer!

The Tour's Stage 5 Time Trial in Solvang

Mary Klem, Kathryn West, Alison Liebich and Kim Thiboldeaux

Today's Time Trial in Solvang turned out to be a spectacular day of the Amgen Tour of California. The morning started with clouds and rain, but eventually gave way to sunshine, which the cyclists and spectators greatly appreciated after yesterday's grueling weather conditions.

For those of you who have never been to Solvang, it's a quaint Dutch community in the middle of California with real windmills, delicious bakeries, and an incredible variety of wooden clogs for sale!

Spectators had a great time watching the Time Trial, which consisted of an intense 15 mile circuit route for each cyclist. Once again, Levi Leipheimer came out on top with an incredible time of 30 minutes, 46 seconds and maintained his position as overall leader of the race.

Tomorrow, cycling teams will travel from Santa Barbara to Santa Clarita for Stage 6 of the race. Check back for more race updates tomorrow!

Stage 4, a Test of Endurance

After San Jose provided some relief from bad weather, the cold rain was back yesterday as cyclists began Stage 4 of the Tour, and, this time, it was relentless. The 135 mile leg, the longest part of the Tour, should have taken the top cyclists 5-6 hours, but instead took nearly 7 hours to complete.

Although weather conditions were less than ideal, the people of the San Luis Obispo brought out their ponchos and umbrellas and enjoyed the Lifestyle Festival. TWC's Natalie Haskins had the opportunity to go up on the Finish Line stage and talk to crowds about TWC's free cancer support services for all people affected by cancer.

After many hours of waiting anxiously for the cyclists to come in, Dominique Rollin from Team Toyota-United made history by securing a solo victory! For those of you unfamiliar with the sport of cycling, a solo victory under these weather condition is almost unheard of. Cyclists usually ride in packs, or pelatons, with the cyclists in the front taking the brunt of the wind, and, therefore, having to use more energy. However, Rollin came in all on his own and defied all expectations of how the end would turn out.

Breakaway from Cancer spokesperson, George Hincapie, also made a great showing, coming in second, and Iker Camano of Team Saunier Duval-Scott came in third. Levi Leipheimer still managed to maintain the overall leader jersey and will lead the pack in today's Time Trial in Solvang.

San Jose Comes Out to Celebrate the Tour

The day started out cold and gray in the city of Modesto, where cyclists began Stage 3 of the Tour. Teams traveled 103 miles on what may have been the most difficult leg of the race, which included 5 mountain climbs and temperatures that spanned from near freezing to 60 degrees!

Thankfully, it was a sunny day in San Jose, location of the Lifestyles Festival and the Stage 3 Finish Line. Robert Gesink from Team Rabobank barely edged out last year's Amgen Tour of California winner, Levi Leipheimer, to win today's race, while Leipheimer from Team Astana came in second and Jurgen Vandewalle from Team Quick Step came in third.

Representatives from TWC's newest facility in development, TWC-Silicon Valley, joined our booth today and spread the word of their efforts to bring TWC's free services of cancer support and education to the local community. TWC-Silicon Valley Board Member and cancer survivor, Ellen Cirigliano had the honor of sharing her story with a crowd of thousands on the Finish Line stage...

...as well as presenting world renowned cyclist, Levi Leipheimer with the overall race leader jersey.

Last, but certainly not least, Georger Hincapie, Breakaway from Cancer spokesperson and cyclist for Team High Road, won the most aggressive cyclist award for Stage 3.

Tomorrow, Stage 4 of the Amgen Tour of California will travel from Monterey to San Luis Obispo. Be sure to check back for more photos and race updates!

Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the Tour Complete!

It's been an exciting few days since the Amgen Tour of California began on Sunday. Professional cyclists traveled from Sausalito to Santa Rosa yesterday to complete Stage 1, and Team CSC's Jaun Jose "J.J." Haedo biked away as the winner. TWC met with thousands of people from the Santa Rosa community, who came to our booth to learn about our free cancer support services.

TWC's Natalie Haskins and Messellech Abebe

The Tour continued today with Stage 2, which went from Santa Rosa to Sacramento. Although the weather was cold and rainy, 35,000 people still came out to support the sport of cycling and to check out the Lifestyles Festival and TWC booth. In addition to meeting a lot of great folks from the Sacramento area, TWC also participated in a stage presentation where we were honored with a generous $50,000 check from Union Bank of California!

Scott Hagel, Market President of Union Bank presents the check to Natalie Haskins of TWC

Just a few minutes later, Governor Arnold Schwarzeneggar walked onto the stage to introduce and congratulate Stage 2 winner, Tom Boonen from team Quick Step.

Governor Schwarzenneger and Tom Boonen

Tomorrow, Stage 3 will travel from Modesto to San Jose, so be sure to check back for more race updates soon!

The Amgen Tour of California Kicks Off in Palo Alto!

The 2008 Amgen Tour of California began today with the Prologue in Palo Alto. TWC-San Francisco/East Bay participant, Andy Leven, had the honor of firing the start gun to officially kick off the 3rd annual professional cycling race that travels all the way down the California cost!

Andy Leven fires the starting gun in Palo Alto

Andy Leven and Natalie Haskins, TWC Public Education & Awareness Manager

Tens of thousands of people came out to see the Prologue and enjoy the Lifestyles Festival, where TWC and NCCS had the opportunity to meet people from the Palo Alto community and hand out materials about cancer education and support. Fabian Cancellara from team CSC captured the very first leader jersey by winning today's Prologue, and he will lead the cycling pack as teams begin Stage 1 of the race tomorrow and travel from Sausalit0 to Santa Rosa. Stay tuned for more updates from the road!

Back in Action!

Greetings all! After a wonderful 2007 - our 25th anniversary year - we have started 2008 off with a bang. We are in the process of preparing for a 2.0 launch of The Virtual Wellness Community - our online community for all people affected by cancer. We are excited to welcome a new Senior Director of The Virtual Wellness Community, Bill Shaffer. Also new to the team overseeing Education and Outreach is Ivy Ahmed - welcome!

In addition to exciting changes to The Virtual Wellnes Community, we have begun the development process to build The Wellness Community's National Cancer Survivorship Research and Training Institute, to be housed in Philadelphia. This Institute will be the first ever community-based survivorship center in the Unites States. We hope you will all come and visit when we launch the Institute in 2009.

And finally, we are gearing up again (no pun intended!) for the Amgen Tour of California, and the public awareness and fundraising arm of this amazing cycling event, Breakaway From Cancer. You will be hearing from us throughout the week starting February 17 as we follow the Tour from the north of California to the south and talk to folks affected by cancer throughout the state. Check out www.breakawayfromcancer.com to learn more about this amazing event.

That's all for now. We hope to hear to from you as we blog from the Tour!