The Tour of California is one of the high points of the year on the US calendar, and despite clashing with the Giro d’Italia it has attracted a strong line-up.
The eight-day race begins on Sunday, May 15, in San Diego and concludes the following Sunday in Sacramento. The mountain stages into Santa Barbara and South Lake Tahoe will define the race, but the stage 6 time trial in Folsom will be just as important.
Defending champion Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) will be back, but he’ll face a tough battle if he wants a repeat performance. First and foremost, the world champion will be looking to add to his record number of stage wins.
There will be plenty of home interest, too, and reigning US national time trial champion Andrew Talansky (Cannondale) will give the stars-and-stripes skinsuit its last outing ahead of the national championships later this month.
There was some strong competition, with riders such as John Degenkolb, a late addition to the race, but Cyclingnews has put together a list of five riders to watch for the Tour of California.
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