Amgen Inc. announced on Thursday that it has decided to renew its sponsorship of the Tour of California.

The Thousand Oaks biopharmaceutical company has sponsored the bicycle race since it started in 2006. It is the country’s largest and most popular cycling event with last year’s edition said to drawroughly 2 million spectators.

“We are very excited about renewing our title sponsorship,” said Ray Jordan, Amgen’s senior vice president of corporate affairs, who called it a great opportunity to connect with patients from a different perspective.”

The length of the renewed sponsorship and other financial details were not disclosed.

The Tour of California, held over eight days, is owned and run by Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), a Los Angeles unit of Anschutz Corp. of Denver. AEG owns the Staples Center, the L.A. Galaxy soccer team and has a stake in the L.A. Kings hockey team, among other interests.

The 2013 race traversed nearly 750-miles of roadways, passing through more than a dozen California cities, including Palmdale and Santa Clarita. It was won by Tejay van Garderen who races for the BMC Racing Team.

Next year’s race is set for May 11-18. Host cities have not yet been announced.