Tour of California Debuts in San Diego

By Josh Babin, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published February 23, 2009 at 6:39 AM PST

This story was published more than 15 years ago.

Thousands of people lined the 97-mile route of the last stage of the Tour of California that went from Rancho Bernardo to Escondido.

There was joy at the finishing line as cyclists rolled into Escondido on the last stage of the Tour of California.

Thousands of people lined the 97-mile route from Rancho Bernardo to Escondido, which included a five-thousand foot climb up Palomar Mountain.

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Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong said he was impressed with the difficulty of the course as well as the crowds.

Armstrong: Ya'know, I heard stories about people camping out last night. Very-very European-esc Amazing. But the crowds all week have been amazing.

Armstrong finished seventh overall. His teammate -- Levi Leipheimer of Northern California -- won the overall victory for the third year in a row.