The Amgen Tour of California brought the drama and excitement of a professional, international bicycle stage race to the Clovis Feb. 18.

Primary sponsor this year race, Amgen is the leading global biotechnology company whose aim is to leverage its race sponsorship to raise awareness of its mission to serve patients and the promise of medical breakthroughs made possible through biotechnology.

This fourth annual tour consists of eight stages in which carry some of the world’s top professional cycling teams who compete over a nine-day, 800-mile race that charter throughout the greater parts of California. The professional bicyclists made their journey from Sacramento and finish in Escondido on Sunday Feb. 22.

The 2009 Amgen Tour of California festivities were held along Woodward and Pollasky Avenues in Old Town Clovis. Thousands of spectators drew around to witness cycling’s most important and successful road race in the United States.

“When we were planning for the inaugural race in 2004, our vision was to become the greatest race,” said Andrew Messick, president of AEG Sports.

Stage four, began in Merced, leading riders on a 115.8-mile route that went into the snow-capped Sierra Mountains and ended in Clovis late Thursday afternoon.

The event highlighted the three top winners for the day. Coming in first, Mark Cavendish of Great Britain and of Team Columbia-Highroad; second, Tom Boonen of Belgiuan, Team Quick-Step; and finally, Juan Jose Haedo of Argentina, Team Saxo-Bankum.

“This win was massive for me and for the team,” said Cavendish. “I was really driven and I wanted this win bad. The team stayed so well together on every climb and it played into our ends today.”

Amgen invited local cancer survivors to participate in start activities in Merced, and in Clovis cancer survivor Lisa Burnett had the honor of awarding Hamilton Amgen’s “Breakaway from Cancer Most Courageous Rider” jersey.

Perpetually the race’s largest appeal, seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, after a three-year hiatus from professional cycling, did not make a public appearance after placing under the top ten and at the time an overall fourth.

Ellen Dirschkee, a Clovis native and fellow bicyclist said, “I’m glad to be apart of such a historic event. Dirschkee had rode along side the parade of racers from Oakhurst to the finish line. “I had only hoped to see more of the Armstrong.”