The Tour of California (officially sponsored as the Amgen Tour of California) was an annual professional road cycling stage race on the UCI World Tour and USA Cycling Professional Tour that ran from 2006 to 2019. It was the only event on the top-level World Tour in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The eight-day race covered 650–700 miles (1,045–1,126 km) through the U.S. state of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. A typical edition might begin in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...

, travel through the

Redwood Sequoioideae, commonly referred to as redwoods, is a subfamily of Pinophyta, coniferous trees within the family (biology), family Cupressaceae, that range in the Northern Hemisphere, northern hemisphere. It includes the List of superlative tree ...

forests, California's Wine Country and the Pacific Coast, and finish in

southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

. The 2009 race crossed the Central Valley from Merced to Fresno, with an excursion through the

foothills, before crossing over to the coast. With eight or nine of the 20

UCI ProTour The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle racing, road bicycle races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the Union Cycliste Internationale, UCI (International Cycling Union). Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, i ...

teams (known as ProTeams) usually racing, the Tour of California was one of the most important cycling races in the

. On November 28, 2006, the UCI upgraded it from 2.1 (category 1) to 2.HC (; English: ''beyond category''), the highest rating for races on the UCI Continental Circuits; the Tour 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. The race was originally staged in February, but the 2010 Tour of California was moved to May, the same time that the

Giro d'Italia The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...

is held. 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. Tour of California organizers sought to make the race a preparatory event for the Tour 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 by Amgen, a California-based biotechnology company most famous for developing the anti anemia drug

Erythropoietin Erythropoietin (; EPO), also known as erythropoetin, haematopoietin, or haemopoietin, is a glycoprotein cytokine secreted mainly by the kidneys in response to cellular hypoxia; it stimulates red blood cell production ( erythropoiesis) in th ...

(EPO), which has been used by professional cyclists in several

blood doping Blood doping is a form of Doping in sport, doping in which the number of red blood cells in the bloodstream is boosted in order to enhance athletic performance. Because such blood cells carry oxygen from the lungs to the muscles, a higher concentr ...

scandals. No plans have been announced regarding if or when the tour will return. Tour of CA Nevada City

General Classification Results

The leader and overall winner by time after each stage and at the conclusion of the race wore a ''Yellow Jersey''. Originally the leader's jersey was gold, a reference to the

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

, but in 2009 the jersey color was changed to yellow.

Records and Jerseys

Most Stage Victories

*, 17 (2019: 1; 2017: 1; 2016: 2; 2015: 2; 2014: 1; 2013: 2; 2012: 5; 2011: 1; 2010: 2) *, 10 (2016: 1; 2015: 4; 2014: 2; 2010; 2009: 2) *, 6 (2011; 2009; 2008; 2007: 2; 2006: 1) *, 5 (2008; 2007: 2; 2006: 2) *, 3 (2018) *, 3 (2008; 2006: 2) *, 3 (2018; 2016; 2015) *, 3 (2012; 2011; 2010) *, 2 (2018) *, 2 (2006: 2) *, 2 (2009; 2008) *, 2 (2013; 2007) *, 2 (2012; 2008) *, 2 (2016; 2014) *, 2 (2016; 2015) *, 2 (2017) :

Most Days in Leader's Jersey

*, 22 days (2009: 7; 2008: 5; 2007: 8; 2006: 2) *, 10 days (2019: 4; 2018: 2; 2013: 4) *, 8 days (2019: 1; 2016: 1; 2015: 2; 2012: 4) *, 7 days (2014: 7) *, 6 days (2016: 5; 2015: 1) *, 5 days (2006: 5) *, 5 days (2011: 5) *, 4 days (2018) *, 4 days (2015: 2; 2014: 1; 2010; 1) *, 4 days (2010: 4) *, 4 days (2010: 2; 2012: 2) *, 4 days (2017: 4)

Sprints Classification

The leader and overall winner by points from intermediate and final sprints wears the ''Green Jersey''.

Sprint Winners

Most Days in Green Jersey

*, 42 days (2019: 2; 2017: 5; 2016: 8; 2014: 4; 2013: 5; 2012: 8; 2011: 6; 2010: 4) *, 18 days (2015: 8; 2014: 3; 2010: 3; 2009: 4) *, 6 days (2007: 4; 2006: 2) *, 5 days (2019) *, 4 days (2018) *, 4 days (2006) *, 4 days (2008) *, 4 days (2009) *, 3 days (2007) *, 3 days (2013)

Mountains Classification

The leader and overall winner by points in mountain climbs is awarded the ''Red Jersey'' (Orange in the past, before 2009) and is known as the race's King of the Mountains or "KOM."

KOM Winners

Most Days in Mountains Jersey

*, 8 days (2013) *, 8 days (2014) *, 7 days (2016) *, 6 days (2009) *, 6 days (2012) *, 6 days (2017) *, 6 days (2018; 2, 2015; 4) *, 5 days (2006) *, 5 days (2008) *, 5 days (2010) *, 5 days (2011) *, 4 days (2018) *, 4 days (2007) *, 4 days (2019) *, 3 days (2006) *, 3 days (2007)

Best Young Rider Classification

The leader and overall winner by time for riders under 23 is awarded the ''White Jersey''. Before 2009, this jersey was silver and blue.

Best Young Rider Winners

Most Days in Youth Jersey

*, 16 days (2009: 8; 2008: 5; 2007: 3) *, 14 days (2014: 7; 2013: 7) *, 13 days (2012: 4; 2011: 2; 2010: 7) *, 7 days (2018) *, 6 days (2006) *, 6 days (2015) *, 6 days (2016) *, 6 days (2019) *, 5 days (2017) *, 4 days (2011) *, 3 days (2007)

Teams Classification

Teams are classified based on the total time of the team's top three finishers in each stage.

Best Team Winners

Most Courageous Rider Classification

The ''Blue 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 and Evan Huffman both won the jersey twice during the 2017 race. No one else has won this jersey more than once.

Doping controversy

The main sponsor of the event, Amgen, is the producer of the medical drug

, also called EPO. EPO has been used as a performance-enhancing drug by professional cyclists. Former professional cyclists who admitted their doping, such as Tyler Hamilton, claim that for some time most of the world's top cyclists used EPO. A plan to perform comprehensive anti-doping tests for the 2011 event was terminated by the UCI. The plan was to do blood tests performed by the United 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 the 2013 edition, the UCI elected to reintroduce testing based on the biological passport, as USADA would also take care of pre-race testing, but with no cooperation between the two agencies.

References

External links

*
Tour of California, live coverage, videos and photos
''Cyclingfans.com'' {{UCI World Tour 2006 establishments in California Cycle races in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 2006 UCI America Tour races UCI World Tour races Spring (season) in the United States