Where: USA
Rank: WorldTour (men) | WorldTour (women)
The Tour of California 2019 was made up of a seven-stage men's race and three-stage women's edition.
Since it started in 2006, the Tour of California has become a premier race not just in the US, but for many top riders from around the world. For 2019, the men's race ran from May 12-18, and the women's from May 16-18.
The Tour of California is a great race to watch on television, with the stunning backdrop of the Californian scenery shown off by aerial footage of the peloton snaking its way through the countryside.
The race is in both the UCI Men's WorldTour series and the UCI Women's WorldTour series and the sunny shores of the famous American state are attracting some of the biggest names as an alternative to the Giro d'Italia in Europe.
However, the weather can be as challenging as the race route, with both heavy snowfall and extremely high temperatures affecting various editions in recent years.
In October 2019, it was announced the race would be put on hiatus, with hopes that it will be re-launched for 2021. It was claimed the 'business fundamentals' of the race had changed.
Tour of California 2019 Stages: men's race
| Stage 1 - Sun May 12 | Sacramento to Sacramento | 143km | Flat |
| Stage 2 - Mon May 13 | Rancho Cordova to South Lake Tahoe | 194.5km | Mountain |
| Stage 3 - Tues May 14 | Stockton to Morgan Hill | 207km | Mountain |
| Stage 4 - Weds May 15 | Laguna Seca to Morro Bay | 212.5km | Hilly |
| Stage 5 - Thurs May 16 | Pismo Beach to Ventura | 218.5km | Hilly |
| Stage 6 - Fri May 17 | Ontario to Mount Baldy | 127.5km | Mountain |
| Stage 7 - Sat May 18 | Santa Clarita to Pasadena | 141km | Mountain |
Tour of California 2019 Stages: women's race
| Stage 1 - Thurs May 16 | Ventura to Ventura | 96.5km |
| Stage 2 - Fri May 17 | Ontario to Mt Baldy | 74km |
| Stage 3 - Sat May 18 | Santa Clarita to Pasadena | 126km |
Tour of California: Recent winners (men)
2019 Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
2018 Egan Bernal (Col) Team Sky
2017 George Bennett (NZ) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
2016 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Etixx-QuickStep
2015 Peter Sagan (Slv) Tinkoff
2014 Bradley Wiggins (GBR) Sky
2013 Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC
2012 Robert Gesink (Hol) Rabobank
2011 Chris Horner (USA) RadioShack
2010 Michael Rogers (Aus) HTC-Columbia
2009 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana
2008 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana
Tour of California: Recent winners (women)
2019 Anna van der Breggen (Hol) Boels-Dolmans
2018 Katie Hall (USA) United Health Care
2017 Anna Van Der Breggen (Hol) Boels-Dolmans
2016 Megan Guarnier (USA) Boels-Dolmans
2015 Trixi Worrack (Ger) Velocio-SRAM
Info: Men's start list | TV guide
External links: Official website | Twitter - @AmgenTourofCali
Latest
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Record-breaker Tadej Pogačar wins Tour of California after Cees Bol takes stage seven
Slovenian Tadej Pogačar successfully defends his yellow jersey as Cees Bol wins the seventh and final 2019 Tour of California stage
By Chris Marshall-Bell • Published
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Elisa Balsamo wins frantic stage three as Anna van der Breggen wraps up Tour of California GC
Italian rider Elisa Bolsamo continues her good form, while Anna van der Breggen repeats her 2017 triumph
By Chris Marshall-Bell • Published
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Brilliant Tadej Pogačar rides into Tour of California lead after thrilling stage six win
The UAE-Team Emirates rider beat Sergio Higuita of EF-Education First to ride into the yellow jersey
By Chris Marshall-Bell • Published
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Dominant Boels-Dolmans score one-two as Anna van der Breggen closes in on Women's Tour of California victory
Katie Hall won stage two of the Women's Tour of California, with her Boels-Dolmans team-mate Anna van der Breggen finishing second to maintain her lead in yellow
By Chris Marshall-Bell • Published
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'It sets a dangerous precedent': Tour of California riders react to controversial UCI ruling
The UCI commissaires allowed Tejay van Garderen to maintain his overall lead despite getting caught in a crash outside of the 3km mark
By Sophie Smith • Published
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Anna van der Breggen solos to brilliant Tour of California stage one victory
World champion Anna van der Breggen timed her attack perfectly to put her in pole position to repeat her 2017 win
By Chris Marshall-Bell • Published
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Bahrain-Merida's Iván Cortina wins Tour of California stage five
Tejay van Garderen (EF-Education First) maintains his lead in the general classification, though it has been cut to four seconds
By Chris Marshall-Bell • Published
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'We are willing to sacrifice ourselves': Deceuninck - Quick-Step dominant with three stages in a row at Tour of California 2019
The Tour of California has proved fertile ground for super-team Deceuninck - Quick-Step, as the Belgian outfit racked up its 29th win of the season on stage four.
By Cycling Weekly • Published
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Fabio Jakobsen won stage four of the Tour of California on Specialized’s tubeless tyres
Will the pros now start to switch to tubeless from tubs?
By Paul Norman • Published
