12 most memorable moments from the Tour of California

The rise of Sagan

Peter Sagan came into the 2010 Tour of California as the neo-pro who happened to win two stages in Paris-Nice and one in Tour de Romandie. Riding for Liquigas-Doimo, he spoke only in Italian through a translator and had yet to win the hearts of American cycling fans with his carefree approach to racing, flashy wheelies and impish personality.

But his class shone through almost immediately, with a second-place on stage 2, first in the bunch sprint for fourth on stage 3 and some good work to deliver teammate Francesco Chicchi to the win on stage 4.

Sagan began building his record-setting stage win tally in Bakersfield on the day that Armstrong crashed out, winning an uphill sprint ahead of eventual race winner Michael Rogers. He backed up that win with another in Big Bear Lake after surviving seven classified climbs to the high altitude finish.

It was here that Sagan made his mark of an unshakable fast-man, with Rogers remarking: "I saw him there at the top of the last climb and started concentrating on second [place]".

Sagan went on to become the undisputed king of the Tour of California, building a huge fan base, 17 stage victories and the almost surreal overall victory in 2015 Tour of California where he stunned the peloton, winning the individual time trial (after it was relocated due to bad weather in Big Bear Lake) and holding onto two-second deficit to Julian Alaphilippe on the tough climb up Mt. Baldy.

Sagan won the overall with time bonuses on the final stage, proving to then critical team owner Oleg Tinkov that he was more than worth his salary, thank you very much.