Amgen Tour of California 2019 Official Program

AMGEN TOUR OF CALIFORNIA | OFFICIAL 2019 PROGRAM | 15 2019 racing out and back from their hometown of Ventura, Calif. And, current U.S. National Champion Coryn Rivera (Team Sunweb), who at age 26 holds 72 national titles and a 2017 stage victory in California, hails from Tustin, Calif. Known as a race where young riders can make their names known, phenoms also punctuate the action including 2020 To- kyo Olympic hopefuls Emma White (Ral- ly UHC) and Chloé Dygert Owen (Sho-Air TWENTY20), who set a World Record on the track for individual pursuit in 2018 and took home every jersey, plus two stage wins, at this year’s Joe Martin Stage Race. AMGEN TOUR OF CALIFORNIA Returning champions also highlight the men’s rosters. The 2017 race winner, Team Jumbo-Visma’s George Bennett (NZL) skipped last year’s race and is now back for more. EF Education First Pro Cy- cling’s U.S. veteran rider Tejay van Gard- eren, whose credits include three top-10 Grand Tour finishes and the race record for the largest winning margin of all time (+1.47” ahead of the next competitor), won in 2013 and donned the yellow jersey for two stages last year, finishing second overall. This year’s lineup of 19 men’s teams in- cludes eight of the top 10 on the UCI WorldTour, plus five Continental teams and American riders from USA Cycling who will be eying a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team for Tokyo 2020. BORA-hansgrohe’s three-time World Champion Peter Sa- gan won the race in 2015, holds the race record for stage wins (16), and is back in the state he loves. While he missed add- ing to that stage win total a year ago, he’s aiming to add to it in cities like Morro Bay and Pasadena where he’s topped the podium in the past. “I’m really looking forward to coming back for my 10th Amgen Tour of California,” Sagan said. Next on the list of all-time stage victories in the race is Mark Cavendish (GBR) with 10. The Team Dimension Data rider trails only Eddy Merckx for the most Tour de France stage wins of all time. And, he’s always glad to be starting in Sacramen- to – he has four stage wins in the State Capitol. Alongside Sagan and Cavendish, expect Marcel Kittel (GER, KATUSHA ALPECIN) and Nacer Bouhanni (FRA, Cofidis) to bat- tle for the coveted Visit California green sprint jersey. Kittel has 14 career Tour de France stage wins and sprinted to the stage victory in Sacramento in 2017. And, 22-year-old Fabio Jakobsen (NED), who won his second consecutive Scheldeprijs last month, will keep Deceuninck-Quick- Step in front of the sprint pack as well. While the Amgen Tour of California con- tinues to attract the world’s top sprinters, the Lexus King of the Mountain jersey will also be hotly contested. After a sprint start in Sacramento, the PHOTO: CHRIS GRAYTHEN/GETTY IMAGES