The AMGEN Tour of California is wheeling its way here again this year -- with the tour's second stage set to breeze east along Russell Boulevard at the campus's north edge and into downtown Davis on Feb. 19.

Authorities plan to block access to Russell Boulevard to allow clear passage for the bike racers and their motorized support teams from approximately noon to 2 p.m. During this time, Russell Boulevard's eastbound lanes will be closed to vehicle traffic, and people will not be able to walk or bike across Russell nor drive their cars in or out of the campus's north entries.

The Unitrans Web site advises "unpredictable delays in bus service" during roughly the same two-hour period and advises people to take earlier buses "if you need to reach your destination during that time."

The bike racers are due to follow Russell into downtown, turn right from Russell onto B Street and follow B south past Central Park.

The route turns left from B onto Second Street -- and, in the vicinity of Second and D streets, the racers will cross a "sprint" line. The tour features several such lines, where points are awarded to the first few riders across; the rider with the most points at the end of the tour wins the green sprint jersey.

There is no time for celebration at any of the sprint lines; instead, the riders keep on racing. From Second and D in Davis, the route proceeds east to F Street and then turns left and follows F north out of downtown.

The route turns right from F onto Covell Boulevard, left onto Pole Line Road (County Road 102), and follows 102 north to the east edge of Woodland. There, the racers will follow 102 across Interstate 5, then turn right on East Main Street (County Road 22), en route to a three-lap showdown in downtown Sacramento and the finish line in front of the Capitol.

The second annual tour is set to begin Feb. 17 with the Palo Alto-Stanford University prologue. Stage 1 the next day goes from Sausalito to Santa Rosa.

After that, it is Stage 2 from Santa Rosa to Sacramento, Stage 3 from Modesto to San Jose, Stage 4 from Seaside to San Luis Obispo, Stage 5 in Solvang, Stage 6 from Santa Barbara to Santa Clarita and Stage 7 from Santa Clarita to tour's end in Pasadena.

Spectators are invited to watch the entire second stage on a giant outdoor television at Third and F streets in downtown Davis, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The race also is scheduled for live streaming on the Internet: www.amgentourofcalifornia.com. More information about the tour is available at the same Web site.