'King of California' Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) will once again headline a stacked sprinter showdown in the Amgen Tour of California's first WorldTour edition.
A record 11 top-division teams will be on the start line when the race rolls out of Sacramento on May 14, including Katusha-Alpecin with Alexander Kristoff and Trek-Segafredo with John Degenkolb, setting up a preview of notable fast finishers who will be fighting for stage wins in July. French Pro Continental team Cofidis will bring Nacer Bouhanni to throw into the mix on the sprint days. Those teams will be joined on the start line by WorldTour teams Astana, BMC Racing, Cannondale-Drapac, Team Sunweb, LottoNL-Jumbo and Team Sky.
UnitedHealthcare and Novo Nordisk will join Cofidis from the Pro Continental ranks, while Continental teams Rally Cycling and Jelly Belly-Maxxis also made the selection, ending months of speculation over whether Continental teams would be eligible to participate in the first-year WorldTour race, and if so, which teams would make the cut.
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Sagan, the two-time and reigning world champion, will be hoping to add to his record 15 stage wins in California dating back to 2010.
"Racing in California is a challenge and a joy every time," Sagan said. "I hope to continue building on the success I've had at the Amgen Tour of California, and know all the riders will do our best to give the incredible fans another good show this year."
Sagan took overall victory in 2015 after winning the weather-shortended time trial and then limiting his losses to Alaphilippe on the climb to Mt. Baldy. A time bonus on the final day lifted him past the Frenchman by one second. Alaphilippe got his revenge last year, taking the lead on the climb up Gibraltar Road while Sagan suffered in the grupetto more than 20 minutes down. Sagan was obviously more interested in adding to his stage win tally, which he did on stages 1 and 4.
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