Tour of California returns to Gibraltar Road climb in 2018
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Tour of California is returning to some familiar and iconic locations next year, including a finish atop Gibraltar Road on the second stage from Ventura to Santa Barbara County.
Race organizers announced the host cities for North America’s biggest stage race on Thursday.
The seven-stage men’s race will begin May 13 with a stage in Long Beach, then travel north to a hilly second stage. The third stage returns to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, a potentially decisive time trial in San Jose makes up the fourth stage, and three more stages take riders to Sacramento.
The three-stage women’s race starts May 17 and mirrors the final three stages of the men’s race.
George Bennett was a surprising overall winner this year, while world champion and fan favorite won the sprints classification. Daniel Jaramillo won the kind of the mountains jersey.