Amgen Tour of California to Begin in San Diego

The Amgen Tour of California has announced the host cities for each stage of the tour and excitingly, San Diego will host the first stage – the first time in the eleven-year history of the tour. The men’s event will run May 15-22 and will finish in our state capitol, Sacramento. Towards the last half of the tour, women cyclists from around the world will converge to compete in the Amgen Tour of California Women’s Race empowered with SRAM. The race will be the first U.S. event on the first-ever UCI Women’s World Tour (WWT). Below is the race schedule from the Amgen Tour of California website:

Stage 1 – San Diego, May 15, 2016
The Amgen Tour of California has entered North San Diego County twice before, but for the first time, the race will reach the heart of the city with Stage 1’s start and finish on the water near Mission Bay and downtown San Diego.

Stage 2 – South Pasadena to Santa Clarita, May 16, 2016
Stage 2 will begin in first-time Host City South Pasadena, with much of the race contested in the Angeles National Forest, ending with the stage conclusion in veteran Host City Santa Clarita. Of the 2016 lineup, Santa Clarita has the distinction of having hosted the most stages (11).

Stage 3 – Thousand Oaks to Santa Barbara County, May 17, 2016
As well as serving as a popular training ground for professional and weekend cyclists alike, Thousand Oaks is home to biotechnology company Amgen, the race’s title sponsor since its inception. The day will conclude with a thrilling, first-time mountaintop finish at Gibraltar Road that has been 11 years in the making (road conditions precluded the oft-requested finish until this year).

Stage 4 – Morro Bay to Monterey County, May 18, 2016
Racing on Highway 1 south to north, this stage will highlight two first-time hosts this year, Morro Bay and Monterey County. The riveting and technical race day conclusion will be at a venue known for speed – the Laguna Seca Recreation Area, host to auto and motorcycle racing at the highest level.

Stage 5 – Lodi to South Lake Tahoe, May 19, 2016
From here out, the four-day women’s race will run in conjunction with the men’s, including the same start and finish cities except for this day, when the women begin and end in South Lake Tahoe. Lodi welcomed the 2015 Amgen Tour of California and is back for a second round with a men’s stage start this year. South Lake Tahoe hosted a successful two days of the Amgen Tour of California Women’s Race last year, and this will be the first of the four-day women’s race. Featuring a long day of climbing, the stage will reach the highest elevation ever mounted by the race: 8,600 feet.

Stage 6 – Folsom Individual Time Trial & Women’s Team Time Trial, May 20, 2016
The men’s individual time trial returns to Folsom where Team Sky’s Bradley Wiggins dominated en route to his 2014 overall Amgen Tour of California victory. The women will compete in a team time trial on the same course.

Stage 7 – Santa Rosa, May 21, 2016
In 2006, the world took notice as record crowds flooded downtown to watch the race roar into Santa Rosa for a spectacular finish. This year’s stage will incorporate a portion of the uber popular Levi’s GranFondo, with the men and women competing on different courses.

Stage 8 – Sacramento, May 22, 2016
As an 8-time host, Sacramento has seen some of the most exciting stages and race moments, and will up the ante for 2016 with the grand finale of both the men’s and women’s races for the first time.