TheTour of California (officially sponsored as theAmgen Tour of California) was an annual professionalroad cyclingstage race on theUCI World Tour andUSA Cycling Professional Tour that ran from 2006 to 2019. It was the only event on the top-level World Tour in theUnited States. The eight-day race covered 650–700 miles (1,045–1,126 km) through the U.S. state ofCalifornia.
With eight or nine of the 20UCI ProTour teams (known as ProTeams) usually racing, the Tour of California was one of the most important cycling races in theUnited States. On November 28, 2006, theUCI upgraded it from2.1 (category 1) to2.HC (French:Hors categorie; English:beyond category), the highest rating for races on theUCI Continental Circuits; theTour of Utah is the only other 2.HC race as of 2019. On August 2, 2016, the UCI upgraded the race to World Tour status and added it to the 2017 UCI World Tour schedule.[1]
The race was originally staged in February, but the2010 Tour of California was moved to May, the same time that theGiro d'Italia is held.[2] At the time of the move it was considered likely that the number of Americans in the Giro and Italians in the Tour of California would decrease.[3] Tour of California organizers sought to make the race a preparatory event for theTour de France, believing few riders who seek a serious position in the Tour would ride the Giro. Since the change in schedule, the race continued to be held in May.
The tour was sponsored byAmgen, a California-based biotechnology company most famous for developing the anti anemia drugErythropoietin (EPO), which has been used by professional cyclists in severalblood doping scandals. No plans have been announced regarding if or when the tour will return.[4]
The leader and overall winner by time after each stage and at the conclusion of the race wore aYellow Jersey. Originally the leader's jersey was gold, a reference to theCalifornia Gold Rush, but in 2009 the jersey color was changed to yellow.
The leader and overall winner by points in mountain climbs is awarded theRed Jersey (Orange in the past, before 2009) and is known as the race'sKing of the Mountains or "KOM."
TheBlue Jersey is given to the most courageous rider at the end of each stage. In 2008, the jersey was red.George Hincapie has won this jersey three times, after stages in 2008, 2009 and 2010.Jan Bárta won the award twice during the 2011 edition.Ben Wolfe andEvan Huffman both won the jersey twice during the 2017 race. No one else has won this jersey more than once.
The main sponsor of the event, Amgen, is the producer of the medical drugErythropoietin, also called EPO. EPO has been used as a performance-enhancing drug by professional cyclists.[6] Former professional cyclists who admitted their doping, such asTyler Hamilton, claim that for some time most of the world's top cyclists used EPO.[7]
A plan to perform comprehensive anti-doping tests for the2011 event was terminated by the UCI.[8] The plan was to do blood tests performed by theUnited States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which would have been able to detect EPO, but the UCI and the USADA couldn't agree on the details of the doping tests. For the2013 edition, the UCI elected to reintroduce testing based on thebiological passport, as USADA would also take care of pre-race testing, but with no cooperation between the two agencies.[9]
Floyd Landis (USA)
Tadej Pogačar (SLO)
