2016 Amgen Tour of California Route Announced
The 2016 Amgen Tour of California route has been released, revealing a scenic but challenging course across nearly 800 miles of California's most beautiful terrain where the world's most accomplished cyclists will compete for the overall title May 15-22, 2016. Millions Expected to Line Nearly 800 Scenic Miles to Cheer on Premier Men and Women Cyclists in Eleventh Annual Event.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Jan. 28, 2016) - The 2016 Amgen Tour of California route was released today, revealing a scenic but challenging course across nearly 800 miles of California's most beautiful terrain where the world's most accomplished cyclists will compete for the overall title May 15-22, 2016. Presented by Visit California, the route announcement included a route video with details of each of the eight stages, viewable at www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/stages.
Beginning May 19, an international field of lauded women cyclists will compete for four days with similar stage starts and finishes to the men's course, doubling the racing excitement for many of this year's host cities. The Amgen Tour of California Women's Race empowered with SRAM is the first North American stage race of the inaugural UCI Women's WorldTour and features the first Team Time Trial in race history.
For only the second time in Amgen Tour of California history, the race will progress south to north, beginning in San Diego and traveling through 10 additional host cities (four new this year) before a new champion is crowned in the state capital of Sacramento. The peloton will endure nearly 65,000 feet of climbing, including the race's first ascent up the infamous Gibraltar Road in Santa Barbara County.
"We have an epic route in store for the 11th annual Amgen Tour of California," said Kristin Klein, president of the Amgen Tour of California and executive vice president of AEG Sports. "Competitors and fans are in for thrills - in particular, one of the longest routes ever with lots of climbing, our second time riding south to north across the state, four new host cities, our first team time trial (women), and a can't-miss race finish with the first-ever Gibraltar Road climb during the Queen Stage. The level of competition will highlight why the Amgen Tour of California is America's Greatest Race and also one of the international season's most challenging."
Cyclists of all levels will have the chance to join public preview rides of several Amgen Tour of California stages, including the sixth annual L'Etape California on April 24 from Thousand Oaks to Santa Barbara County, and other free community rides with new race ambassador and four-time National Champion Freddie Rodriguez in Folsom (today), Monterey County (Feb. 3) Santa Rosa (March 19) and San Diego (April 30).
The stages of the 2016 Amgen Tour of California (Men)
Sunday 15 May, stage 1: San Diego – San Diego, 170,5 km
Monday 16 May, stage 2: South Pasadena – Santa Clarita, 148 km
Tuesday 17 May, stage 3: Thousand Oaks – Santa Barbara County (Gibraltar Road), 167,5 km
Wednesday 18 May, stage 4: Morro Bay – Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway, 215 km
Thursday 19 May, stage 5 : Lodi – South Lake Tahoe, 213 km
Friday 20 May, stage 6 : Folsom Time Trial, 20,3 km
Saturday 21 May, stage 7 : Santa Rosa – Santa Rosa, 175,5 km
Sunday 22 May, stage 8 : Sacramento – Sacramento, 150 km
The stages of the 2016 Amgen Tour of California (Women)
Thursday 19 May, stage 1 : South Lake Tahoe – South Lake Tahoe, 117 km
Friday 20 May, stage 2 : Folsom Time Trial, 20,3 km
Saturday 21 May, stage 3 : Santa Rosa – Santa Rosa, 111 km
Sunday 22 May, stage 4 : Sacramento – Sacramento, 66 km
Ride with Jens Voigt and Freddie Rodriguez on the 2016 Amgen Tour of California Queen Stage!
Fans have the opportunity to ride this course at the sixth annual L'Etape California on April 24, three weeks before the race. Once again, Amgen Tour of California Ambassador Jens Voigt will lead the ride along with new ambassador and four-time National Champion Freddie Rodriguez.
This year the ride will feature a first time climb up the recently resurfaced Gibraltar Road which provides spectacular 180 degree views of Santa Barbara and the Pacific Ocean throughout the 10 kilometer climb which averages 8% grade.
Registration is open now at amgentourofcalifornia.com/letapecalifornia-register.
About the Amgen Tour of California
The Amgen Tour of California is a Tour de France-style cycling road race created and presented by AEG that challenges the world's top professional cycling teams to compete along a demanding course that traverses hundreds of miles of California's iconic highways, byways and coastlines each spring. The teams chosen to participate have included Olympic medalists, Tour de France contenders and World Champions. Amgen Tour of California is listed on the international professional cycling calendar (2 HC, meaning "beyond category"), awarding important, world-ranking points to the top finishers. More information is available at amgentourofcalifornia.com.
This year, the men's course will cover more than 750 miles over eight days through 12 host cities, including San Diego (first-time host), South Pasadena (first-time host), Santa Clarita, Thousand Oaks, Santa Barbara County, Morro Bay (first-time host), Monterey County, Lodi, South Lake Tahoe (first-time host), Folsom, Santa Rosa and Sacramento. The Amgen Tour of California Women's Race empowered with SRAM will run for the latter half of the men's race (May 19-22) as the U.S. debut event on the inaugural UCI Women's WorldTour (WWT).
About Amgen
Amgen is committed to unlocking the potential of biology for patients suffering from serious illnesses by discovering, developing, manufacturing and delivering innovative human therapeutics. This approach begins by using tools like advanced human genetics to unravel the complexities of disease and understand the fundamentals of human biology.
Amgen focuses on areas of high unmet medical need and leverages its biologics manufacturing expertise to strive for solutions that improve health outcomes and dramatically improve people's lives. A biotechnology pioneer since 1980, Amgen has grown to be one of the world's leading independent biotechnology companies, has reached millions of patients around the world and is developing a pipeline of medicines with breakaway potential.
About AEG
Founder and operators of the Amgen Tour of California, AEG is one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world. AEG, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Anschutz Company, owns or controls a collection of companies including facilities such as STAPLES Center, StubHub Center, Sprint Center, The O2, Mercedes-Benz Arena, Microsoft Theater, L.A. LIVE and PlayStation Theater; sports franchises including the LA Kings (NHL), two Major League Soccer franchises, two hockey franchises operated in Europe, management of privately held shares of the Los Angeles Lakers; AEG Live, the organization's live-entertainment division, is a collection of companies dedicated to all aspects of live contemporary music performance, touring and a variety of programming and multi-media production. For more information, visit AEG today at www.aegworldwide.com.