The 2015 Amgen Tour of California was the tenth edition of the Tour of California cycling stage race. It was held from May 10–17, and rated as a 2.HC event on the UCI America Tour. It began in Sacramento and finished in Pasadena.
The race's general classification was won by Slovakian Peter Sagan () by three seconds over Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe (), the closest winning margin in the race's history. Sagan also won two stages during the race, including the individual time trial. Colombian Sergio Henao () completed the podium. The sprints competition was won by Briton Mark Cavendish (), who also was the winner of four individual stages. The mountains classification jersey went to Italian Daniel Oss of , while Alaphilippe took the best young rider's jersey and the queen stage 7 and was awarded the "best team" title. Latvian Toms Skujiņš of domestic team also won a stage and wore the leader's jersey for three stages.
Schedule
+List of stagesStageDateCourseDistanceTypeWinner 1 May 10 Sacramento to Sacramento Flat stage 2 May 11 Nevada City to Lodi Hilly stage 3 May 12 San Jose to San Jose Hilly stage 4 May 13 Pismo Beach to Avila Beach Flat stage 5 May 14 Santa Barbara to Santa Clarita Hilly stage 6 May 15 Big Bear Lake to Big Bear LakeSanta Clarita to Santa Clarita Individual time trial 7 May 16 Ontario to Mount Baldy Mountain stage 8 May 17 L.A. Live to Pasadena Flat stage Total
Teams Eighteen teams were selected to take part in the race. As a 2.HC event, the race organizers could invite UCI ProTeams to make up 70% of the line-up; however, only eight ProTeams were invited, along with four UCI Professional Continental teams and six UCI Continental teams. The maximum number of riders allowed per team was eight, so the field had a maximum of 144 cyclists.
Preview and race favorites
As in 2014, the race followed a North to South route through California, visiting thirteen host cities. The overall classification was to be determined late in the race, notably in the time trial at Santa Clarita on Stage 6 and on the subsequent stage to Mount Baldy. The crosswinds often had an effect on the flatter stages and formed echelons of riders on the road. Former multiple Tour of California stage winner Jens Voigt was a race ambassador, served as a television analyst and was an adviser to the organizers. Anti-doping tests were conducted in-and-out of the competition by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), in agreement with the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). USADA's tests included researching for testosterone, CERA and human growth hormone (HGH). Subsequently, no positive tests were declared at the race nor after it.
The winner of the 2014 edition, Bradley Wiggins, did not participate in 2015 as he was going back to track cycling. The only former winner at the race was Robert Gesink of , who won the race in 2012, which featured the same queen stage (Stage 7). American Andrew Talansky () was designated as his team's leader, while other favorites included 's Sergio Henao who was supported by a strong , and Haimar Zubeldia of , who came in eighth at the 2014 Tour de France. There also was Warren Barguil, Lawson Craddock (both with ) and Laurens ten Dam of , in support of Gesink. Outsiders included Jacques Janse van Rensburg (), Janez Brajkovič () – a former Tour de France top-10 finisher – as well as Matthew Busche (), Rob Britton () and Phil Gaimon ().
Those who were chasing stage wins included Mark Cavendish of , who came to the race with a lead-out train to facilitate his sprints, including Mark Renshaw. Peter Sagan of , the record holder of most stage victories at the race with eleven and the winner of the sprints classification for the previous five years, was also a rider to watch in the sprints, especially on the hillier stages. American Tyler Farrar of was accompanied by other capable sprinters in his team such as Gerald Ciolek, Theo Bos and Matthew Goss. Other contenders for stage honors included Lucas Sebastián Haedo of , Danny van Poppel () and Guillaume Boivin ().
Ben Jacques-Maynes, who had competed in all previous editions of the race, was also on the startlist but he had to abandon after Stage 2 because of a crash.
Stages
Stage 1 May 10, 2015 — Sacramento to Sacramento,
The first stage of the race was generally pan flat and included three intermediate sprints in Walnut Grove, Isleton and West Sacramento, and a section of dirt roads starting into the race and lasting . The stage featured an elevation gain of .
A breakaway of four riders formed early on, consisting of Will Clarke of , Steve Fisher of , recent Tour of the Gila winner Rob Britton of and his teammate Robert Sweeting; this quartet's gap grew to a maximum of around six-and-a-half minutes. Soon, took the reins of the bunch, controlling for their sprinter Mark Cavendish. Clarke grabbed the first points on offer for the sprints classification in Walnut Grove, and also won the second intermediate sprint, accumulating six bonus seconds towards the general classification. With about to cover, one of the favorites, Andrew Talansky () abandoned the race due to a combination of allergies and an upper respiratory infection.
At the front, the four riders in the break were forming a mini-echelon to shelter themselves from the winds, when Britton suffered a mechanical and decided to sit up and wait for the peloton. Mark Renshaw crashed as he hit a pothole, but was able to remount and return to the peloton. and started helping at the front of the pack with to go, as the gap to the three breakaway riders was down to two-and-a-half minutes. With to race, ' Johnathan Freter crashed on the left side of the road, but was also able to return to the peloton. The break resisted to make it to the last intermediate sprint in West Sacramento, again won by Clarke. marshaled the peloton after the breakaway was caught, then Kiel Reijnen () attempted to attack solo, but was caught shortly after. took to the front of the field with to cover, with Renshaw leading out Mark Cavendish for his tenth victory of the season, ahead of Peter Sagan and Jempy Drucker; no overall classification contenders lost time on the fast run-in.
Stage 2 May 11, 2015 — Nevada City to Lodi,
The second stage of the race again contained three intermediate sprints which were included in the first half of the parcours. There was also one categorized climb which summited after of racing, a category 4 climb situated on State Route 49 to determine the first leader of the mountains classification. There was a finishing circuit in Lodi, which the riders completed twice. The elevation gain of the whole stage was .
A flurry of attacks occurred from kilometer zero, and after numerous failed attempts, Daniel Oss () and Markel Irizar () succeeded in getting from the peloton. They were soon joined by Luis Amarán of and Robin Carpenter of , and after of racing, the four escapees held a three-minute advantage. Carpenter took the first sprint points in Meadow Vista, and also led over the categorized climb, to take the polka-dot jersey for the third stage. later, an intermediate sprint was contested in Cool, and was also won by Carpenter, who completed a sweep of the sprints in El Dorado. The breakaway enjoyed a maximum advantage of just over five minutes in the flat, open terrain, with controlling the pace for race leader Mark Cavendish.
With to go, the breakaway quartet held a 2' 40" lead over the peloton, but this gap decreased on the run-in to Lodi. A crash occurred before a bend with to go implicating Ben Jacques-Maynes () and one of the race favorites Warren Barguil of ; Jacques-Maynes did not finish the stage. The breakaway was absorbed shortly afterwards and no one tried to escape the bunch from that point on. In a very fast finish, Wouter Wippert () launched a long sprint and Sagan jumped onto his wheel. Cavendish opened his own sprint on the right side of the road and Sagan popped out of Wippert's wheel on the left, with Cavendish prevailing to take his second stage in a row, with Wippert rounding-up the podium.
Stage 3 May 12, 2015 — San Jose to San Jose,
The third stage of the race featured only one intermediate sprint, contested in Livermore, then the climbing began. There were six King of the Mountains prizes (four were category 4 and one was category 2), with the major one being the climb to Mount Hamilton, an "hors-category" climb of at an average 7% gradient. One of the category 4 climbs was situated at the end of the stage in San Jose, where the finale featured at an average gradient of 10%. The elevation gain for the stage was .
As the riders rolled out of the neutral zone, the temperatures were around and sunny. Two riders did not take the start of the stage: Warren Barguil of and Tyler Magner of , both due to a crash that occurred on the second stage. The start of the stage was very fast since a lot of riders wanted a chance to get the mountain points on offer during the stage. After of racing and numerous attempts at forming a breakaway, riders were being dropped due to the rapid pace. Travis Meyer () was first through the intermediate sprint as the composition of the leading group was still changing by the minute. Soon, Roy Curvers (), Daniel Oss (), Jonathan Clarke (), Evan Huffman (), Oscar Clark and Toms Skujiņš (both of ) joined Meyer and formed the break.
Oss swept the three fourth-category climbs prior to Mount Hamilton, as the gap to the escapees was hovering around three-and-a-quarter minutes. At the foot of the climb, Skujiņš accelerated away from his companions and took maximum points, while behind him, the peloton split into several groups as they tackled the climb. Following the descent, Peter Sagan suffered a mechanical incident, but was able to rejoin the peloton. Skujiņš won the second-category climb at Quimby, but crashed on the descent as he made contact with a protective hay stack. After remounting, Skujiņš held a lead of two-and-a-half minutes over Oss with to cover, with a further minute-and-a-half to the next main group. Skujiņš remained clear to the end of the stage, completing a solo victory to take the lead of both the general and mountains classifications. Sagan, Julian Alaphilippe and Daniel Jaramillo were 1' 06" back, with a further 20 riders coming across the line 3 seconds later.
Stage 4 May 13, 2015 — Pismo Beach to Avila Beach,
The fourth stage featured three intermediate sprints once again, contested in Guadalupe, Orcutt and Arroyo Grande respectively. Between the final two sprints, the peloton had to ascend a third-category climb on Tepusquet Road. The altitude gained in the parcours was .
Despite the stiff crosswinds, the peloton rode at speeds approaching early on. The first sprint was won by Gregory Daniel () while the race was still in "breakaway formation mode". Daniel was one of five riders that would eventually be part of the day's breakaway, along with Jesse Anthony (), Kiel Reijnen (), Daniel Teklehaimanot () and Will Clarke () – who had featured in the break on stage one. Daniel was the highest-placed rider in the breakaway, trailing race leader Toms Skujiņš of by exactly eight minutes; he also took the honors in the second intermediate sprint at Orcutt. On the run-in to the climb of Tepusquet Road, the peloton was being marshaled by and as the gap hovered at three-and-a-half minutes. The ascent of Tepusquet Road averaged 5% until the final kilometer, which was steeper at nearly 7%. The gap to the leaders reduced on the climb, with Anthony taking maximum points at the front.