The organizers of the Amgen Tour of California have named the host cities for the 2018 and while the exact route is still under wraps the week of UCI WorldTour racing is beginning to take shape.
The male pros will move from south to north, starting in Long Beach and finishing in Sacramento, with the biggest days looking like Stage 2 from Ventura to Santa Barbara over Gibraltar Road and Stage 6 from Folsom to South Lake Tahoe. The women's peloton will race the last three days with the stage to the 6,500-foot finish at Tahoe one of the biggest climbs on the UCI Women's WorldTour.
For the amateur gran fondo rider L'Etape California offers the chance to race on the same pavement as the professionals.
We don't yet know which stage ASO and AEG will choose for L'Etape.
In August, the event's Facebook teased: "Where will the 2018 ride take us? We're diligently planning next year's route and location..." alongside the mountainous picture below.
Stages for the sprinters are therefore out and that suggests that there are three stages that lend themselves to an Etape route.
Stage 2, the Queen Stage over Gibraltar Road would be an obvious choice.
The other strong contender would be Stage 6 from Folsom to South Lake Tahoe.
The third possibility could be Stage 3 from King City to Laguna Seca depending on the route taken in the hills either side of Route 101. The racetrack would certainly make a great finish party venue.
Given that the Etape took on Gibraltar Road as recently as 2016 and this year's course was also in Southern California at Mt. Baldy, my money would be on Stage 6 to Lake Tahoe.
There is a chance that the organizers will throw a curveball and do something a bit different and perhaps only use a part of a Stage, starting at a different point to the pros.The reason being that all three stages above suffer from significant distances between start and finish, even as the crow flies. That presents real logistical issues for a gran fondo that are of no concern to a pro race.
Basically, how does everyone get home?
We will update you on how right or wrong we were as soon as we know and when registration opens.
Registration opened on January 14 with an early bird price of $115, rising to $145 on the day.
The original Etape that takes place on a Tour de France stage, the granddaddy of them all and a bucket list event on the world gran fondo scene, is in the French Alps this year on July 8 and is a tough 105 miles and 15,600 feet of climbing, much of it towards the end of the day.
Read sportive.com's analysis of the 2018 Etape.
2018 Amgen Tour of California
Sunday, May 13 Stage 1 - Long Beach
Monday, May 14 Stage 2 - Ventura to Santa Barbara County (Gibraltar Road)
Tuesday, May 15 Stage 3 - King City to Monterey County (Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca)
Wednesday, May 16 Stage 4 - San Jose (Time Trial)
Thursday, May 17 Stage 5/1 Women - Stockton to Elk Grove
Friday, May 18 Stage 6/2 Women - Folsom to South Lake Tahoe
Saturday, May 19 Stage 7/3 Women - Sacramento
0 Comments
