The final three stages of the Amgen Tour of California, now underway, will take place in and around the Sacramento area starting Thursday, when the men’s stage five arrives in Elk Grove after a circuitous 110-mile route from Stockton.
This year’s tour, which covers 600 miles in seven stages over seven days, started Sunday in Long Beach and will end up Saturday in downtown Sacramento with three triumphant laps of the Capitol.
The first Amgen Tour of California was in 2006, when it lasted eight days, and went from north to south, starting in San Francisco and winding its way down the coast to Redondo Beach. Last year, the Union Cyclist Internationale granted the race WorldTour status.
Stage 5: Stockton to Elk Grove (May 17)
Start: 11:20 a.m.
Expected finish: 3:41 p.m.
Distance 109.7 miles/ 176.5 kilometers
Towns: Stockton, Waterloo, Linden Clements, Wallace, the Camanche Reservoir, Burson, the Pardee Reservoir, Ione, Carbondale, Rancho Murieta, Hagood, Herald and Elk Grove.
Elevation: riders will climb just over 2,500 feet.
Stage 6: Folsom to South Lake Tahoe (May 18)
Start: 9:40 a.m.
Expected finish: 3:41 p.m.
Distance: 122 miles
Passes through: Folsom, Placerville, Sierra Springs, Sly Park, Kirkwood, Carson Pass, Picketts Junction, Alpine Village, Mesa Vista, Fredricksburg, Sheridan, Mottsville, Daggett Pass and South Lake Tahoe.
Elevation: climbs 16,000 feet
Stage 7: Sacramento loop (May 19)
Start: 10:15 a.m.
Expected finish: 1:39 p.m.
Distance: 88.9 miles
Passes through: West Sacramento, Fremont, Woodland, Winters, Cottonwood before returning to Sacramento to make three circuits around Capitol Park.
Elevation: virtually no elevation changes