Lance Armstrong and his team both like Solvang.

“The terrain is perfect for training camp,” he said Thursday when asked what brought cycling team Discovery Channel back to the city for the fifth straight year.

“It's a bit of a tradition now with the guys,” he adds as he walked through the Alisal River Golf Course.

Team Discovery Channel had just finished another annual tradition, the taking of official team photos at the golf course.

Since 2003 the Discovery Channel cycling team (previously Team Postal Service) made famous by Lance Armstrong's seven Tour de France victories, has rolled into Solvang every January for a training camp. Team members stay in the Royal Scandinavian Inn and use the rear parking lot as a staging area.

“Out here you can work on so many different things because you do have the straight paths, but then you also have the rolling hills that help you work on your climbing skills,” said Armstrong when first asked about the Santa Ynez Valley's appeal to cyclists four years ago.

Thursday Armstrong listed the good climbs and quiet roads as the reason he, and the team he now partly owns have returned.

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“The guys are familiar now with the hotel and the town. It's tough to always be in a new place and have to ask where a good 20-mile loop is, or where's a good 40-mile loop, where's a restaurant,” said Armstrong who retired from cycling in 2005 following his last Tour de France win.

Though he is not training this year, Armstrong was still seen mingling with riders and team management at local restaurants, such as the Los Olivos Cafe, and has been spotted at the Bulldog Cafe on several mornings.

Team Discovery training camp officially started last Tuesday. Since then, locals and cycling enthusiasts have enjoyed the chance to get a little closer to the top international athletes, such as George Hincapie and Chechu Rubiera. This year the Discovery team also added big name riders Ivan Basso and Levi Leipheimer to the mix, becoming the cycling world's answer to the New York Yankees.

In total, the team's 28 riders represent 15 countries. Each morning the riders make their way down to the staging-area truck where they are outfitted with food and water for the day's ride. Photographers and fans mill around to watch the team prepare, and eventually take off on their training rides.

Sixth-grade teacher John Padfield took his Solvang Elementary School class on a morning field trip to the staging area Wednesday, collecting signatures from some of the Discovery members, including Armstrong who gave out some signatures before riding with the team on an “easy” four-hour ride.

Thursday was picture day before the team took off for serious riding.

Among those stopping before work to “see the boys” was local restaurateur Jim Sobell, who sported a “Livestrong” racing outfit - the name of Lance Armstrong's cancer survivors' charity, which he raises funds for.

“Wish I could stay, and try to keep up with them,” he said before leaving.

As the entire team posed for their photographer, fan and fellow cyclist Ellwood Johnson of San Juan Capistrano, lingered in the back, snapping a few pictures himself.

“We come up every year, the same week they come here,” said Johnson, gesturing towards Discovery.

A member of the Bicycle Adventure Club, Johnson and 20 other members have been coming to Solvang for seven years now to enjoy the year-round cycling opportunities the Central Coast offers. While he believes the club's annual trips to Solvang predate Discovery's training camps,

Johnson is quick to acknowledge that staying in the same hotel with the pros, “Certainly adds a lot to it.”

They're a very congenial team, letting us look around and ask questions,” he said. “We're very excited about the new riders they've added.”

Team Discovery gained an extra reason to train in the Santa Ynez Valley last year, with the inaugural Amgen Tour of California. The new week-long professional cycling tour, the biggest in the United States, stretches from San Francisco to Los Angeles over a 650-mile course. It is an event the Discovery team has shown great interest in. With the inclusion of Leipheimer, who along with Hincapie at one time led the tour, four of the top 10 finishers of the 2006 Amgen Tour all ride for Discovery.

Last year's route came through the Santa Maria Valley, following Highway 154 into Santa Barbara, allowing the team to scout out portions of the route.

This year, Amgen will hold all of stage five in the Valley on Feb. 23, with an individual time trial, 14.5 miles through Ballard and Los Olivos, beginning and ending in Solvang, using roads the Discovery riders are becoming quite familiar with.

The team will leave town Friday, riding 6.5 hours to Ojai.

Will Team Discovery be back for a sixth year? The team's Sports Manager Johan Bruyneel is typically tight mouthed about any future plans, but cycling fans can hope.

Glenn Wallace can be reached at 688-5522, Ext. 6007 or gwallace@santamariatimes.com.

Jan. 28, 2007