WHAT:  The Home Depot Center Criterium 2005
presented by Lightning Velo

WHEN:  Sunday, March 20, beginning at 8 a.m.
   Pre-registration now underway for the popular
   Outdoor Road Cycling Event

WHERE:  The Home Depot Center
   18400 Avalon Blvd…Carson, CA…90746…310.630.2000

Pre-registration is now underway for The Home Depot Center Criterium 2005, an exciting day-long cycling event that returns to The Home Depot Center on March 20 and features men, women and youths competing in a 0.9 mile, not-so flat, fast, rectangular pavement course following the perimeter of The Home Depot Center Soccer Stadium.

Presented by Lightning Velo, the Criterium race, which usually features 200-300 riders, features four right-hand turns (two slightly off camber) with chicane on downhill backstretch, and the start/finish is on west side of course on moderate uphill.

Pre-registration concludes on Monday, March 15.  For more information, call Greg Page at 562-928-8862 or Garry Giem at 714-236-0396, or visit the Lightning Velo website at www.lighningvelo.org or register at www.active.com.  There is no admission charge for spectators.

The Home Depot Center is southern California's new home of world-class competition and training facilities for amateur, Olympic, collegiate and professional athletes.  The $150 million privately financed facility was developed and is operated by AEG on a 125 acre site on the campus of California State Dominguez Hills in Carson, California, The Home Depot Center features a 13,000 seat stadium for tennis, a 27,000 seat stadium for soccer, rugby, lacrosse & other athletic competitions and outdoor concerts, a 20,000 seat facility for track & field, the ADT Event Center, a 3500-seat indoor velodrome and other facilities for softball, baseball, beach volleyball, basketball and other sports. Named an Official U.S. Olympic Training Site, The Home Depot Center is home of the USA Tennis High Performance Training Center as well as the national team training headquarters for the U.S. Soccer Federation.  The \"complex, \" which is also the home of the nationally recognized Athletes Performance training center for elite and professional athletes has additionally be designated \"official\" training sites for USA Cycling, United States Track & Field, the USTA and the AVP.

Contact: Michael Roth, AEG, 213-742-7155/Jeff Moeller, AEG, 213-742-7307