Organizers of the Amgen Tour of California have announced the stages for this year's edition of the highest UCI-ranked race in the United States. The event, which takes place May 11-18 also features two days of women's racing: a circuit race on May 11 in Sacramento, and a 12.5 mile time trial on May 12 in Folsom held in conjunction with the men's event on the same course.

This year's stages:

Stage 1: Sacramento to Sacramento, 123 miles; women's circuit race.

Stage 2: Folsom time trial, 12.5 miles; men and women.
Stage 3: San Jose to Mount Diablo Summit, 110 miles
Stage 4: Monterey to Cambria, 105 miles
Stage 5: Pismo Beach to Santa Barbara, 108 miles
Stage 6: Santa Clarita to Mountain High, 97 miles
Stage 7: Santa Clarita to Pasadena, 91 miles
Stage 8: Thousand Oaks (Circuit Race), 84 miles

Organizers also announced the final seven Continental and Pro Continental teams invited to round out the field. These are in addition to the earlier-announced group of elite UCI ProTeams, with about half coming from Europe.

This year's teams:

UCI ProTeams:

• Belkin-Pro Cycling Team, Netherlands
• BMC Racing Team, USA
• Cannondale Pro Cycling, Italy
• Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team, Belgium
• ORICA-GreenEDGE, Australia
• Team Giant-Shimano, Netherlands
• Team Garmin-Sharp, USA
• Team Sky, Great Britain
• Trek Factory Racing, USA

UCI Professional Continental Teams:

• UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team, USA
• Team Novo Nordisk, USA
• Team NetApp-Endura, Germany

UCI Continental Teams:

• Optum Pro Cycling presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies, USA

• Team Jamis-Hagens Berman presented by Sutter Home, USA
• Jelly Belly Cycling Team presented by MAXXIS, USA;
• Bissell Development Team, USA.

 

The race stages cover 740 miles, oriented from north to south, and the race holds true to form, featuring a boatload of torturous climbs.

"The peloton will be tested with more than 40,000 feet of climbs this year, with a categorized climb on every road stage. Stage 3 arguably will be the toughest in race history with two categorized climbs – up Mount Hamilton just five miles into the stage, and the final ascent to the summit of Mount Diablo, which will be a trying end to the day after 95 miles of racing. In the 10.8 miles of the Mount Diablo climb alone, riders will gain nearly 3,300 feet in elevation at an average six percent grade," said organizers in a release. "Other notable climbs throughout the week include San Marcos Pass before the descent into Santa Barbara; a long, restless climb to finish at the summit of Mountain High North; two technical climbs heading into Pasadena; and the infamous short and steep “Rock Store” climb in Thousand Oaks, which the riders will have to scale four times during the final stage. These climbs throughout the later days of racing will make life difficult for the sprinters and could allow small groups of strong climbers to break away from the peloton before the finish, making for exciting viewing opportunities for fans who historically turn out in droves to cheer on the riders as they toil uphill."

Organizers also shuffled the route to put the hardest stages up front.

"The peloton will face the longest stage, the fast and flat time trial, and the hardest stage in the first three days of racing. In past races, the time trial and Queen stages - which typically shape overall standings - came late in the race, and the leader after that point had to defend his top position for only one or two remaining days. This year, with several days of difficult racing to follow, it is likely 2014 race fans will see the coveted yellow leader jersey change hands throughout the week with top performers in close contention and challenging each other until the very finish," a race press release said.

Defending champion Tejay Van Garderen is expected to skip this year's event in order to follow a more classic training regime (including competing in the Spring Classics in Europe) to prepare for a full on go at a Tour de France title.