If you blinked, you missed it. The first time the Amgen Tour of California staged a finish in Santa Barbara, in 2006, there was a blur of colored jerseys on Cabrillo Boulevard as George Hincapie edged out a swarm of sprinting cyclists. It was the same in 2013, when Tyler Farrar won a mad dash at East Beach. A year later, Taylor Phinney exceeded 50 mph descending San Marcos Pass and cruised triumphantly down the final stretch.
Speed will give away to brute power next Tuesday, May 17, when the 11th edition of the Amgen Tour comes to Santa Barbara. Instead of finishing on the waterfront, Stage 3 will come to an end at an elevation of 3,300 feet. The last six miles of the 104-mile stage, which starts in Thousand Oaks, will be on the relentlessly steep and winding Gibraltar Road.
It has been designated as the “Queen Stage,” in cycling parlance the most demanding stage of the race that will total almost 800 miles over eight days. In a preview on NBC Sports network, which will televise the action, young rider Lawson Craddock said, “You’ll see the race just blow to pieces” on Gibraltar Road. The 8 percent grade is comparable to the climb up the famed Alpe d’Huez in the Tour de France.