Cowbells were ring-a-ding-dinging throughout Cavedale and Trinity roads as 143 of the world’s finest cyclists roared into Napa County in the Amgen Tour of California’s Stage 2 on Tuesday morning.

In the peloton was Napa native Lucas Euser. The 2002 Napa High graduate rides for Team Slipstream Powered by Chipotle and made his second appearance in the tour. He finished 49th last year with TIAA-CREF. He’s 72nd out of 144 original riders through Day 3 after finishing 54th on Tuesday.

Known as a powerful climber, Euser was thrilled that this year’s tour made its way through some of the roads he grew up riding on.

“That made it all worthwhile,” Euser said about making the trek up the Category 2 climb. “The whole day was a good day especially since it was a road I grew up on. I was thankful for a lot today. It was pretty sweet.”

Euser wasn’t the only thankful one up on the hill. He was joined by more than a thousand cycling fans at the King of the Mountain line, including older sister Hannah Euser and many others who donned banners in favor of their hometown hero.

“(I’m here) basically to support Lucas, who has come through the Sheriff’s Activities League,” Napa County Sheriff Capt. John Robertson said. “The Sheriff’s Department wanted to show him support. That’s why Sheriff (Doug) Koford came up there to root him on.

“It’s nice to see a person develop from a teenager to a young man who has the heart, drive and commitment to cycling. I counted at least five road markings dedicated to support Lucas. He definitely had a fan base out here and you could hear it.”

Napa resident and custom bicycle frame builder Chris Inglis added, “Seems like a lot more fans are out (this year). I want to see Lucas do well — he’s our hometown hero. Lucas is a good climber.”

Dozens of painted and chalked supportive phrases lined the roads and Euser admitted it was very inspirational and drove him to push past his limit.

“It was epic,” Euser said. “It was very motivational and awesome. It was pretty cool seeing all the names on the road and all the signs out there, a lot of people screaming my name on top of Trinity. I knew I couldn’t get dropped with everyone watching.”

Euser added that his training partner, overall leader and Santa Rosa resident Levi Leipheimer (Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team), teased him about his name being all over the roads and that he would have to look at them for the next year while he trains.

Euser was one of the front 30 riders in the peloton while ascending Cavedale Road but once he hit the King of the Mountain line at Trinity Road, he felt comfortable in making a break towards the front.

“Going down Trinity I jumped on the front because I knew the road,” Euser said. “A lot of my teammates thought it was a pretty hairy descent. For me it wasn’t. I’ve done it a hundred times. I was going down so smooth — everyone behind me was so sketch.”

During that descent, Euser noticed his dad Archie Euser posted on the right side of the road and later, closer to Lake Berryessa, his mom Jackie Hartley was cheering her son on. He flashed them both a smile and kept charging through.

Lucas Euser enjoyed the finish into Sacramento with the thousands of fans, including Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, cheering the cyclists on. The stage finished with a quick circuit around the Capitol Building, though not as brisk as yesterday’s three-lap finish of Stage 1 in downtown Santa Rosa.

Two thirds of the peloton crashed with two laps left and tour-favorite Dave Zabriskie (Team CSC) had to retire due to a mild concussion. Euser said Monday’s crash was on many of his competitors’ minds during the last few miles and they took things a bit easier and safer than the day before.

“It’s huge just to make it to the professional level,” Robertson said. “To ride with (143) of the best riders in the world — he’s riding with them. He’s chasing a dream. He has the courage to make it.”

Euser and his team’s goals for Day 3 were to keep Jason Donald in second place overall, Tom Peterson in the KOM jersey and Taylor Tolleson in the Best Young Rider Jersey.

Their mission was accomplished.

“Today we got a lot more respect than we have in the past,” Euser said. “We rode strong and are fighting for the overall position.”

Despite riding more than 200 miles in two days, Euser felt great and is excited to get back on his bike today.

“I feel good, surprisingly better than last year,” Euser said. “At this point last year I was getting sick. I feel fresh and good to go. Tomorrow’s the big day we’re really going to have to work our asses off.

“That last climb, it will definitely break up more than the other climbs. We have to put as many guys up there as we can. We have to get our second-place guy up there. It’s going to be a fight to do that. The more we have up there, the better to win the stage and overall. I’m here for everyone on the team.”

Today’s Stage 3 begins in Stockton and finishes in San Jose, which includes the tour’s lone Category 1 climb up Sierra Road.

Stage 4 goes from Seaside to San Luis Obispo on Thursday while the starting line Friday for a second set of time trials is in Solvang and Stage 6 begins in Santa Barbara and ends in Santa Clarita on Saturday. The Tour concludes on Sunday with a circuit race through Long Beach.