Tour of California 2016

Tour of California 2016

Julian Alaphilippe sealed his first overall stage victory as the Frenchman held off Rohan Dennis on the eighth and final stage, won by Mark Cavendish. Alaphilippe finished safely in the front group to ensure it wasn't a repeat of last year's race which he lost by just three seconds to Peter Sagan (Tinkoff).

Cavendish hit out in the finale of Sacramento course to record his tenth career victory at the Tour of California with Sagan notching yet another second place and stage 7 winner Alexander Kristoff third.

Brief Results

Start list

Tour of California Race Route

The 2016 race begins with an opening stage that starts and finishes in downtown San Diego on the city's famous waterfront. The course includes one challenging climb, but the fast finish makes it a strong possibility for a sprint.

The second stage from South Pasadena to Santa Clarita will pass through the high mountains of the Angeles National Forest. Previous stage finishes in Santa Clarita have favoured the sprinters, but the course's difficult middle section could make this a year for a breakaway or reduced peloton.

The third stage from Thousand Oaks to Gibraltar Road is 2016's queen stage and should truly set the pecking order for the general classification fight. The fourth stage travels from Morro Bay to Monterey, where it finishes on the legendary Laguna Seca race track.

The race then begins its stage 5 ascent from Lodi to Lake Tahoe, the race's second trip there since the area's plans for the grand depart were cancelled by snow in 2011.

Folsom hosts the stage 6 time trial on the same course where Wiggins won in 2014 ahead of Rohan Dennis and Taylor Phinney. A stage 7 circuit that starts and finishes in Santa Rosa has a few climbs that could favour opportunists, but the final day in Sacramento will be all about the high-end speed as the race finishes for the first time in the state capitol. 

Tour of California Contenders

Despite being arguably the hilliest edition in the race's 11-year history, the 2016 Tour of California has a wealth of sprinters on tap. Sagan, Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data), Alexander Kristoff (Katusha), John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin), Niccolo Bonifazio (Trek-Segafredo) and recent 4 Days of Dunkirk winner Bryan Coquard (Direct Energie) are expected on the start line, just to name a few.

For the general classification, Wiggins will be going up against the other podium riders from 2014 in Dennis (BMC) and Lawson Craddock, who will be leading the Cannondale Pro Cycling team. Julian Alaphilippe, who lost to Sagan last year by just three seconds, will return with Etixx-Quickstep, while Team Sky will have Peter Kennaugh. Tiago Machado will lead Katusha's GC hopes, and American Peter Stetina will take the reins at Trek-Segafredo. Giant-Alpecin are pinning their overall chances on Laurens ten Dam.

Tour of California US Riders

WorldTour riders from the US expected to compete in the 2016 Tour of California will be led by elder statesman Tyler Farrrar on Dimension Data. BMC will bring Brent Bookwalter and Taylor Phinney, while former UnitedHealthcare rider Kiel Reijnen will return to California with with the Stetina-led Trek-Segafredo team. Cannondale will field the most US WorldTour riders, with Craddock, Andrew Talansky, Nate Brown, Ben King and Phil Gaimon leading the green argyle charge.

Other US teams in the race include UnitedHealthcare, Axeon-Hagens Berman, Jelly Belly-Maxxis, Holowesko-Citadel and Rally Cycling. 

Past winners