Amgen Tour of California
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| Tour of California | |
|---|---|
| Local name | Tour of California |
| Title Sponsor | Amgen (since 2006) |
| Region | California, United States |
| Date | February (since 2006) |
| Type | Stage Race |
| UCI Rating | 2.HC (2007); 2.1 (2006) |
| History | |
| First Edition | 2006 |
| Number of Editions | 2 |
| First Winner | Floyd Landis ( |
| Latest winner | Levi Leipheimer ( |
| Most Wins | Floyd Landis ( Levi Leipheimer ( |
| Most Stage Wins | 4 stages: Juan José Haedo ( |
The Amgen Tour of California is a professional cycling stage race on the UCI America Tour and USA Cycling Professional Tour that made its debut on February 19, 2006. Sponsored by the biotechnology company Amgen, the eight-day race covers between 650-700 miles (1,045 - 1,126 km). The race annually starts in San Francisco, then travels through the California redwoods, wine country and the Pacific Coast to finish in Los Angeles County. With eight to nine of the twenty UCI ProTour teams in attendance, the Tour of California has proven to be one of the largest cycling races in the United States along with the Tour de Georgia since the demise of the Coors Classic in 1988.
On November 28, 2006, the UCI upgraded the multi-day event from 2.1 (category 1) to 2.HC (French: Hors categorie; English: beyond categorization), which is the highest rating and makes it only the second 2.HC event in the United States along with the Tour de Georgia.
Contents |
The current leader and overall winner by time after each stage and at the conclusion of the race is awarded the Golden Jersey. Gold is the chosen color due to the state's history in the California Gold Rush.
- 2006 : Floyd Landis
United States, Phonak Hearing Systems - 2007 : Levi Leipheimer
United States, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
- Levi Leipheimer
United States, 9 days (2007: 7 days; 2006: 2 days) - Floyd Landis
United States, 5 days - George Hincapie
United States, 1 day
The current leader and overall winner by points awarded by his placing in intermediate and final sprints is awarded the Green Jersey.
- Juan José Haedo
Argentina, 6 days (2007: 4 days; 2006: 2 days) - George Hincapie
United States, 3 days - Allan Davis
Australia, 2 days - Olaf Pollack
Germany, 1 day
The current leader and overall winner by points awarded by his placing in mountain climbs is awarded the Orange Jersey and is known as the race's King of the Mountains.
- Christophe Laurent
France, 4 days - Bernhard Kohl
Austria, 4 days - Levi Leipheimer
United States, 2 days - Thomas Peterson
United States, 2 days
The current leader and overall winner by time for riders under the age of 25 is awarded the Silver Jersey.
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- Thomas Peterson
United States, 6 days - Robert Gesink
Netherlands, 3 days - Matthew Lloyd
Australia, 3 days - Zachary Grabowski
United States, 2 days - Taylor Tolleson
United States, 1 day
The Blue Jersey is given to the most aggressive rider at the end of each stage. An overall jersey at the end of the race is not awarded. It usually represents a rider who took an early breakaway or who attacks at key moments in the stage to press the action.
- Jackson Stewart
United States, 1 day - Michael Creed
United States, 1 day - Lars Ytting Bak
Denmark, 1 day - Nick Reistad
United States, 1 day - Sebastian Lang
Germany, 1 day - Glen Alan Chadwick
Australia, 1 day - Jurgen Van de Walle
Belgium, 1 day - Christophe Laurent
France, 1 day - Jens Voigt
Germany, 1 day - Alejandro Acton
Argentina, 1 day - Stuart O'Grady
Australia, 1 day - Danny Pate
United States, 1 day
- Juan José Haedo
Argentina, 4 - Levi Leipheimer
United States, 3 - George Hincapie
United States, 2 - Olaf Pollack
Germany, 2 - Paolo Bettini
Italy, 1 - Graeme Brown
Australia, 1 - Ivan Dominguez
Cuba, 1 - Floyd Landis
United States, 1 - Jens Voigt
Germany, 1
- Amgen Tour of California official website.
- VeloNews article on the Tour.
| Tour of California |
|---|
| 2006 | 2007 |