The Amgen Tour of California is talking about its toughest route yet for the 11th edition coming up May 15-22, and after riding the race’s 2016 queen stage during last weekend’s L’Etape California, race ambassador Jens Voigt agrees.
“With that climb you cannot hide,” the two-time California stage winner told Cyclingnews hours after finishing the sportif that duplicated this year’s Tour of California stage 3 route. Voigt was talking about the stage’s final climb, a 12km ascent up Gibraltar Road outside of Santa Barbara.
“You cannot play smart or hang on or be clever,” he said of racing up Gibraltar. “You just gotta have it. You either have it or not. So you can clearly see who’s hot and who’s not after stage 3.”
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After his personal experience with Gibraltar, Voigt did not favour 2015 winner Peter Sagan’s chances of repeating his overall victory. Sagan lost his yellow jersey last year during the climb up Mt. Baldy on the penultimate day, but his performance up the climb kept him close enough to stage winner and new race leader Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx-QuickStep) that he was able to take back the lead with a time bonus on the final day. Voigt said Gibraltar will be a bigger obstacle for Sagan than Baldy was, however.
“I’m a big fan of Peter Sagan, I really do like him a lot, but I think it’s going to be very difficult for him to repeat last year’s win,” Voigt said. “I think it’s going to be very challenging for him – with a climb like that already on the third stage – to actually defend his title.
“I can see a little Colombian climber winning there,” Voigt said. “It’s a really proper climber’s climb.”
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