Tour of California announces 2019 route details

The 2019 Amgen Tour of California will start in Sacramento with a day for the sprinters and end a week later in Pasadena in the shadow of the Rose Bowl. Race owners AEG today unveiled route details for the men's and women's WorldTour races, which start on May 12 with the men in Sacramento. The women's race starts three days later in Ventura on May 16, and both races conclude Sunday, May 18, with a lap around Pasadena's iconic Rose Bowl.

This year will mark several firsts for the women's race, which will run concurrently with the final three men's stages and share similar courses and the same finishes. The women's race will skip Lake Tahoe and instead take on Mt. Baldy for the first time during their second stage on May 17.

"The 2019 race course is incredibly demanding - there's more climbing and more long road days than ever before," said Kristin Klein, president of the Amgen Tour of California and executive vice president of AEG Sports. "With the best of the best in cycling coming to California to contest it, we are in for another memorable race."

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New heights for men's race

The 14th edition of the men's race will feature more than 20,725 metres of climbing over 1,251 kilometres. The seven-stage race will visit 13 host cities, contesting 14 sprints and a race-record 25 KOMs along the way. More than half of the stages are longer than 190km.

The north-south orientation is a familiar one for the race, and the flat stage in Sacramento to get things rolling with a field sprint should provide a proper opening for the race. The 142.9km stage hugs the Sacramento River, includes just 61metres of elevation gain and finishes on the same Sacramento circuit that has hosted the race finale numerous times.

If stage 1 is a good warm-up for the legs, stage 2 will have them downright sizzling. The 193.9km route from Rancho Cordova to South Lake Tahoe includes six KOMs and nearly 4,500 metres of climbing. Riders from 2018 will remember the majority of this stage, which saw Egan Bernal (Team Sky) take the overall lead and never look back. 

Nearly 6,340 metres of climbing for women's race

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com