The eight-day, 600-mile Tour of California will start with a 1.9-mile prologue time trial in the city's financial district.

The $150,000 event will conclude Feb. 26 with a circuit race in Redondo Beach.

Last November, mired in unpaid bills, the San Francisco Grand Prix, a one-day race that attracted many of the world's top riders, was canceled after a five-year tenure.

A field of 128 riders on 16 teams, including three top-10 finishers in the 2005 Tour de France, will ride through 10 cities in the Tour of California.

The new event was announced last March during the Track Cycling World Championships in Carson.

Between race sessions, Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), the international sports franchise and entertainment conglomerate based in Southern California, revealed its plan to dedicate $35 million to fund the new race for five years.

At the time, the event didn't have a title sponsor, nor did it have dates on the international cycling calendar, a course route or any confirmed teams.

Last November, race details were announced in San Francisco, but there was a twist.

The event's title sponsor is Amgen, the global biotechnology company based in Thousand Oaks. Among other pharmaceuticals, Amgen manufactures Erythropoeitin (EPO). It's used often to increase red blood cell levels, particularly in cancer patients.

But EPO, which also improves oxygen capacity, has also been used by cyclists to improve performance. It's banned by Union Cycliste Internationale, the sport's governing organization.

The unique sponsorship drew criticism, but it's also been supported.