Rabobank Signs On As Founding Partner of the 2009 Amgen Tour of California

LOS ANGELES and ROSEVILLE, CA – Rabobank, N.A., a leading California community bank, and AEG announced that Rabobank will be a “Founding Partner” of the 2009 Amgen Tour of California. Under the three-year sponsorship agreement, Rabobank will be a Founding Partner and the Official Bank of the Amgen Tour of California beginning in 2009 and extending through the 2011 event.

The fourth-annual professional cycling road race will make its way through 16 host cities down the coast and through the Central Valley of California, which will include some of the state's most picturesque highlights, along a demanding 800-mile course. The nine-day race starts on Saturday, February 14, 2009 in Sacramento and concludes on Sunday, February 22, in San Diego County, with a finish in Escondido. The race passes through many of the communities where Rabobank currently has a bank presence or in which it plans to grow.

As part of the sponsorship, Rabobank will present the daily award given to the “best young rider” for the just concluded daily “stage.” Each day, all riders who are under the age of 23 compete for this special recognition. The recipient is determined by his overall placement at the finish line after each stage. During the daily awards ceremony, special recognition is given to the winner of the award as he is presented with the specially branded Rabobank Best Young Rider Jersey. At the race’s conclusion, an overall winner of the jersey is also named. Coincidentally, a rider from the Rabobank team has been the overall winner of this jersey for the past two years.

“We are pleased to enter into this partnership with AEG and to become the official bank of the Amgen Tour of California professional cycling race,” said Ronald Blok, chief executive officer of Rabobank, N.A. “In just three years, AEG has built the race into a highly professional and well-organized event that attracts millions of spectators and cycling fans in California and, increasingly, around the world. Rabobank has a long association with cycling and a century-old heritage of community banking, so our sponsorship of the Amgen Tour of California is an ideal synergy between our commitment to cycling and the growth of our bank in California.”

In addition to active participation in the awards ceremonies, Rabobank also will have a significant presence at the Amgen Tour of California Lifestyle Festival, where thousands of fans will engage in various cycling, healthy lifestyle and sponsor-supported activities in the city where the race finishes each day. Rabobank will offer special co-branded banking products to promote the bank’s involvement with the Amgen Tour of California and will feature these products at the Lifestyle Festival, along with games, giveaways and other items that showcase Rabobank’s position as the bank of choice in communities throughout California.

Rabobank has been a sponsor of one of the world’s top elite cycling teams for the past 12 years. Having participated in the Amgen Tour of California the past two years, the team is expected to once again compete.

Additionally, Rabobank’s sponsorship of the Amgen Tour of California will include VIP hospitality opportunities and promotional exposure through onsite advertisements, the Amgen Tour of California Web site, a commercial on the official television broadcast and all race marketing materials. Rabobank’s sponsorship will also include stage entitlement for a yet-to-be-determined stage of the race.

“The addition of Rabobank as a 'Founding Partner' of the Amgen Tour of California is a perfect fit,” said Andrew Messick, president of AEG Sports, presenter of the race. “Rabobank's commitment to the sport of cycling through their sponsorship of this race and of their professional cycling team is important to the growth of the Amgen Tour of California and to cyclists everywhere."

During the 2009 Amgen Tour of California, elite international and domestic cycling teams will traverse the state from north to south with scheduled stops in the following host cities: Sacramento, Davis, Santa Rosa, Sausalito, Santa Cruz, San Jose, Modesto, Merced, Clovis, Visalia, Paso Robles, Solvang, Santa Clarita, Pasadena, Rancho Bernardo and Escondido. A portion of the Tour proceeds will be dedicated to raising awareness and support for people affected by cancer.

For additional information on the 2009 Amgen Tour of California, please visit www.amgentourofcalifornia.com.