Santa Clarita to get double the excitement this year.

Come February 23rd, hundreds of thousands of fans will pack Santa Clarita streets and tune in through the media to witness the largest American bicycle race take shape.

Last year, the Amgen Tour of California blazed through Santa Clarita, which hosted the Stage six finish. This year, however, in addition to hosting the Stage six finish, Santa Clarita will also serve as the starting point for Stage seven.

That means all the teams, all the pros, all the action….will stay in Santa Clarita overnight. The City is already planning a street party for the evening between race stages, and the economic impact of the additional hours of tourism is expected to rise dramatically.

And as an added bonus, the Santa Clarita stages take place on a Saturday and Sunday, so tourism is expected to be even more fruitful.

The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition played a big part in supporting the Amgen Tour of California’s Santa Clarita run last year, and that won’t change this coming year.

“Last year, we manned and sponsored bicycle valet parking, and this year we’ll probably expand on that a little bit given the fact that this is a two day event,” said Chet Kostrzewa, with the Coalition.

As the event nears, many bike related activities will be offered by the Coalition, the City of Santa Clarita and other organizations.