Events Sporting Events Tour of California

The Amgen Tour of California is a professional cycling stage race on the UCI America Tour and USA Cycling Professional Tour that made its debut on February 19, 2006. Sponsored by the biotechnology company Amgen, the eight-day race covers between 650-700 miles (1,045 - 1,126 km) throughout California. The race annually starts in San Francisco Bay Area, then travels through the California redwoods, wine country and the Pacific Coast to finish in Los Angeles County. With eight to nine of the twenty UCI ProTour teams in attendance, the Tour of California has proven to be one of the largest cycling races in the United States along with the Tour de Georgia since the demise of the Coors Classic in 1988.

On November 28, 2006, the UCI upgraded the multi-day event from 2.1 (category 1) to 2.HC (French: Hors categorie; English: beyond categorization), which is the highest rating and makes it only the second 2.HC event in the United States along with the Tour de Georgia.