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Canadian Riders at 2017 Amgen Tour of California – Kicks Off Today

by Ben Andrew
Karol Ann Canuel  ©  Cor Vos
May 11, 2017 (California) – The Tour of California kicks off today with top pros from around the world gathering in the Golden State for some quality racing. Many of Canada’s best roadies are set to make appearances in both the Amgen Breakaway from Heart Disease Women’s Race empowered with SRAM running May 11-14, as well as in the men’s Amgen Tour of California, starting this Sunday from May 14-20.

Gillian Ellsay  ©  Team Colavita/Bianchi
The women’s event, which began in 2015, will consist of four stages. Stage 1 sees riders contest a 117km circuit around Lake Tahoe, finishing on a 1.7km Cat. 3 climb. The 108km Stage 2 features three categorized climbs, including a Cat. 1 ascent followed by a Cat. 3 finishing climb inside the last 15km. Stage 3 from Elk Grove to Sacramento and Stage 4 in Sacramento are both flat circuits, and should make for exciting racing.

Katherine Maine leads Kirsti Lay  ©  Sam Wiebe
Kirchmann  ©  Martin Reid
Canadians scheduled on the start line include Karol-Ann Canuel of Boels-Dolmans Cycling Team, Gillian Ellsay of Colavita/Bianchi, Kristi Lay, Katherine Main both from Rally Cycling, Leah Kirchmann of Team Sunweb, Jasmin Duehring of Sho-Air TWENTY20, Lex Albrecht of Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank and Marie Soleil Blais of Team Illuminate.

Jasmin Duehring  ©  Sho-Air TWENTY20
Lex Albrecht  ©  Mitch Clinton
The men’s Amgen Tour of California, kicking off this Sunday, will bring racers around much of California over seven stages. Stage 1 is a 167.5km flat circuit in Sacramento with three finishing circuits forming the final kilometers of the stage. Stage 2 sends riders from Modesto to San Joes over 143km route which includes five categorized climbs, including the 6.9km trek up Mt. Hamilton with 97km to go. Stage 3 covers 186.5km and contains one Cat. 3 climb and will take riders from Pismo Beach to Morro Bay. Stage 4 from Santa Barbara to Santa Clarita is 159.5km including four categorized climbs towards the first half of the day, before a long drag to the finish.

Jordan Cheyne  ©  Andrew Rogers
The decisive Mt. Baldy day comes on Stage 5, beginning in Ontario. The 125.5km stage contains two Cat. 1 climbs, Glendora Ridge and Glendora Mountain Rd, before heading up to the summit of Mt. Baldy. Coming on the heels of this year’s ATOC Queen stage, the Stage 6 time trail in Big Bear Lake should solidify the top General Classification contenders. The final 125km Stage 7 of this year’s Tour starts in Mountain High, with riders descending for 30km before battling over two Cat. 2 and a Cat.3 climb. Riders will then descend 28km from Clear Creek to the finish in Pasadena.

Rob Britton  ©  Chris Redden
Four Canadian men are set to start on Sunday. Jordan Cheyne of Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis will join the trio of Rob Britton, Matteo Dal-Cin and Adam De Vos of Rally Cycling. Expect all four to be active over the course of the race, especially when the road turns up. Stay tuned for more daily ATOC coverage from Pedalmag.com.

Matteo Dal-cin  ©  Rally Cycling
Adam de Vos  ©  Cor Vos




1 Comments For This Post

  1. Ben Aroundo, ON, Canada says:

    Well now I know who I’m rooting for “The Canadians”. Plus Taylor Phinney. I basically live in Boulder Colorado his home town.

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