Women's Tour of California kicks off Thursday

By Sarah Muench

The Amgen Tour of California women’s peloton, stacked with elite cyclists from around the world, will begin its three-stage stint Thursday in Elk Grove with a course built for sprinters.
Teams officially were announced Tuesday and include a field of 85 riders from 18 countries – 29 of those riders are from the U.S.
Among them are prominent California cyclists including three-time national champion and 2016 Tour of California overall winner Megan Guarnier (USA Cycling Team); UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling’s Katie Hall,  who won on the slopes of South Lake Tahoe last year and ended the race in second place, just one second away from the overall win; and Team Sunweb’s Coryn Rivera, who claimed the third stage on an identical Sacramento circuit course last year.
Rivera said she and her team are looking for good, hard racing.
“The harder the better for us,” Rivera said. “We’re here with a strong team, a young team and we’re excited to kick it off here in Elk Grove. This is the stage that I had won last year, looking forward to being back and getting the race started…just excited to race at home.”
Hall, who won Tour of the Gila and Redlands Bicycle Classic said Tour of California will be a test for her going up against some international riders she hasn’t competed against yet this year.
“I have a lot of confidence in myself, I’ve had a good spring, but also feel like I haven’t gone up against any of these girls yet, so a lot of unknown having everybody over from Europe to race here,” Hall said. “I think it will be a really fun, hard day in Tahoe.”
Other favorites include CANYON/SRAM Racing’s Kasia Niewiadoma, who is stacking up early season results; TWENTY20 Pro Cycling p/b Sho-Air’s phenom Chloé Dygert, who recently won two stages at the Tour of the Gila; USA Cycling Team’s sister duo Samantha and Skylar Schneider; and Wiggle High5’s Annette “Netti” Edmondson who won the Santos Women’s Tour Down Under earlier this year.
“The world will be watching as some of the best women in the world deliver the best racing in America,” said Kristin Klein, president of the Amgen Tour of California and executive vice president of AEG Sports. “I’m thrilled to welcome our world-class field to California and for our fans – near and far – to witness another thrilling edition of the Amgen Tour of California Women’s Race empowered with SRAM.”

Favorites in popular categories include:

General Classification:
  • Megan Guarnier (USA), USA Cycling Team (USA)
  • Katie Hall (USA), UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling (USA)
  • Kasia Niewiadoma (POL), CANYON//SRAM Racing (GER)
  • Arlenis Sierra (CUB), Astana Women’s Team (ITA)
  • Ruth Winder (USA), Team Sunweb (NED)
  • Jasmin Duehring (USA), TWENTY20 Pro Cycling p/b SHO-AIR (USA)
  • Allie Dragoo (USA), TWENTY20 Pro Cycling p/b SHO-AIR (USA)
  • Sara Poidevin (CAN), Rally Cycling (USA)
  • Sara Bergen (CAN), Rally Cycling (USA)
  • Grace Anderson (NZL), Team Illuminate (USA)
Sprinters
  • Coryn Rivera (USA), Team Sunweb (NED)
  • Annette Edmondson (AUS), Wiggle High5 (GBR)
  • Skylar Schneider (USA), USA Cycling Team (USA)
  • Samantha Schneider (USA), USA Cycling Team (USA)
  • Emma White (USA), Rally Cycling (USA)
  • Chloe Dygert Owen (USA), TWENTY20 Pro Cycling p/b SHO-AIR (USA)
  • Erica Allar (USA), Rally Cycling (USA)
  • Lauretta Hanson (AUS), UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling (USA)
  • Kendall Ryan (USA), Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank (USA)
  • Alexis Ryan (USA), CANYON//SRAM Racing (GER)
  • Shannon Malseed (AUS), Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank (USA)
Climbers
  • Katie Hall (USA), UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling (USA)
  • Megan Guarnier (USA), USA Cycling Team (USA)
  • Kasia Niewiadoma (POL), CANYON//SRAM Racing (GER)
  • Arlenis Sierra (CUB), Astana Women’s Team (ITA)
  • Leah Thomas, UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling (USA)
  • Alice Cook (GBR), Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank (USA)
  • Sara Poidevin (CAN), Rally Cycling (USA)
  • Sara Bergen (CAN), Rally Cycling (USA)
Stage wins
  • Chloe Dygert Owen (USA), TWENTY20 Pro Cycling p/b Sho-Air (USA)
  • Emma White (USA), Rally Cycling (USA)
  • Megan Guarnier (USA), USA Cycling Team (USA)
  • Kasia Niewiadoma (POL), CANYON//SRAM Racing (GER)
  • Annette Edmondson (AUS), Wiggle High5
  • Coryn Rivera (USA), Team Sunweb (NED)
  • Skylar Schneider (USA), USA Cycling Team (USA)
  • Kendall Ryan (USA), Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank (USA)
  • Alexis Ryan (USA), CANYON//SRAM Racing (GER)

Race coverage:

Race data, text coverage and a nightly recap video of the Amgen Tour of California Women’s Race empowered with SRAM will be available on Tour Tracker presented by Microsoft for mobile and desktop devices, along with recap videos at 9 p.m. nightly on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/user/AmgenTourofCali .
Additionally, Voxwomen, the online women’s cycling channel, will return to California to provide the best of the women’s race and behind-the-scenes action to give fans and followers insight into the peloton. Video coverage will be available at www.voxwomen.com and www.amgentourofcalifornia.com  for the duration of the race, as well as live updates throughout the week on Voxwomen social media channels.
NBC Sports Group will air a comprehensive highlight show featuring robust coverage of the Amgen Tour of California Women’s Race empowered with SRAM on Tuesday, May 22 at 10 p.m. PDT/Wednesday, May 23 at 1 a.m. EDT on NBCSN.
Amgen Tour of California fans can connect with the race through all of their favorite social media platforms and use #AmgenTOC to join the conversation.

Routes:


Some content provided by Tour of California