Armstrong, Brennauer will headline California women's TT

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Organisers of the Amgen Tour of California Women's Time Trial today released the lost of athletes who will compete at the May 15 race at Big Bear Lake. The roster of the fifth annual women's invitational time trial includes previous Tour of California winners along with world champions, national champions and Olympic gold medalists.

Among the lineup of 23 will be Lisa Brennauer, the reigning individual and team time trial world champion; two-time Tour of California time trial winner and Olympic champion Kristin Armstrong; Amber Neben, who has held multiple national and world titles in road racing and time trial; para-cycling powerhouse Sarah Storey; and Tayler Wiles, who placed third in last year's Amgen Tour of California Time Trial. Two of Brennauer's teammates from the team time trail championship, Carmen Small and Evelyn Stevens, will also be competing.

“The Amgen Tour of California has always been a place where the best women in the world can come to race in an international forum,” said Stevens, who will be riding for Boels Dolmans Cycling Team. “This year, the competition is steeper than ever.”

Beginning at 11 a.m. on May 15, the UCI sanctioned race will precede the stage 6 men's individual time trial. The 24km race is ranked 1.1 by the UCI, the highest race classification behind a World Cup.

“I was planning to retire until I learned I had the opportunity to race in the 2015 Amgen Tour of California,” said BMW-Happy Tooth Dental's Rhae Shaw, who recently won the time trial in Big Bear Lake as part of the Redlands Bicycle Classic. “It's a race worth sticking around for, and I'm thrilled to be a part of it.”

Jackie Crowell, a Tour of California Ambassador, will be competing under the Breakaway from Cancer banner in her first professional race since she was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2013.

“I can't wait to get out on the course with all these amazing women,” Crowell said. “And it's especially poignant for me to be able to help bring attention to supporting cancer patients and their families through Breakaway from Cancer.”

Some of the cyclists will seize the opportunity the race provides to prepare for the World Championships in Richmond this September. Team USA Cycling Junior riders like Emma White and Maddie Boutet, both of whom expect to ride at the world championships, will get to test their mettle against some of the winningest time trialists in the sport.

“One of the founding goals of the Amgen Tour of California is to nurture the next generation of cyclists by giving them exposure to the best competition in the world," said Kristin Bachochin Klein, executive director of the Amgen Tour of California and senior vice president of AEG Sports.

"On occasion, that young hunger leads to very exciting and surprising turn of events,” Bachochin said. “That's the beauty of cycling - anything can happen. With the best field of women time trialists yet, we can't wait to see what is in store along the beautiful Big Bear Lake course."

At 2,060 metres,, the fast and flat course will feature one of the most beautiful lakes in California. Beginning in the Village in Big Bear Lake, the cyclists will wind counterclockwise around the lake via shore roads and neighborhoods, doubling back around the halfway point to finish on the 304 metre jetty near Stone Road.

Tour of California Women's Time Trial Start List