Stage 3 of the Amgen Tour of California, the 2016 Queen Stage

When the route of the 2016 edition of the Amgen Tour of California was announced January 28, many were calling Stage 3, the Queen Stage. Stage 3 goes from Amgen headquarters in Thousand Oaks to a summit finish on Gibraltar Road in Santa Barbara. This stage will be 104 miles long with 8,700 feet of elevation gain. The tour will visit Oxnard, the largest city in Ventura County, and the county seat, Ventura, for the first time as well as Mugu Rock on the Pacific Coast Highway. However, the biggest news about the route is the Gibraltar Road summit finish.

 Gibraltar Road is one of the toughest climbs in the Ventura/Santa Barbara area. Many of the local cyclists here have wondered how the pros would do on Gibraltar over the years. After Santa Barbara County completely repaved the road for the first time since the 1940’s, the Tour organizers jumped at the chance.

The stage begins at Amgen headquarters and proceeds to Potrero Road. The peloton will not tackle the Potrero grade. The route passes through Thousands Oaks to Westlake Village, going up Decker Canyon Road (Highway 23) for the first King of Mountain competition of the day. After that, the riders will descend Mulholland Highway to the Pacific Coast Highway. They will head west on the PCH toward Mugu Rock for the first time. From this point until the cyclists reach Route 33 going towards Ojai, the stage will flatten out and there will be a headwind. The PCH and the Oxnard Plain are open to the sea breeze and there should be at least 10 miles per hour steady breeze for the next 31 miles. The first sprint competition will be in Port Hueneme on Ventura Road, just short of Channel Islands Boulevard, in front of Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC). The feed zone is near the intersection of Wooley Road and Harbor Boulevard in Oxnard. For fans looking for discarded bottles and musettes, position yourselves between Wooley Road and Fifth Street on Harbor Boulevard. There is a pay parking lot at Oxnard Beach Park, a short distance south of the feed zone.

After passing through the Oxnard and Ventura beach areas along Harbor Boulevard, the route turns inland to take the cyclists around Lake Casitas and over Casitas Pass. For the first time, the route will use Santa Ana Road and meet Highway 150 at the entrance to Lake Casitas Park instead of going to Ojai and then turning onto Highway 150 which is the normal route. Casitas Pass is the next King of the Hill competition. The main Casitas Pass climb is 1.3 miles long with an average grade of 7%. On a hot day, this climb can have no wind, few trees, and temperatures in the 90s.

The peloton will have a fast descent on Highway 150 from the top of Casitas Pass and turn onto Highway 192, one mile from the beach. Highway 192 has been used several times within the tour and is a way to bypass the town of Carpinteria through the avocado groves. The second sprint competition is on Highway 192, after Linden Avenue. The peloton stays on Highway 192 passing from Carpinteria to Montecito along Toro Canyon. Toro Canyon has two distinct climbs; the first is a half mile at 6% and the second is again a half mile at 7%. Attacks have happened here in the past and taken unwary cyclists by surprise. There should be parking at Toro Canyon Park at the top of the second climb.

Then there will be a short descent down Highway 192 with a longer climb following that. Once the cyclists reach Mountain Drive, they will turn right and begin the final climb. Gibraltar Road itself begin a quarter of a mile ahead of them and starts at 10%. Gibraltar Road starts at 880 feets and rises to 3,470 feet when it reaches Camino Cielo, the road that runs along the top of the mountains directly behind Santa Barbara. It averages 8% overall, with one section near the end of the climb, going up to 15%. It is a Category 1 climb with stunning views. A couple of vistas along the road have 180-degree views from Carpinteria to Goleta with the Channel Islands directly in front, 10 miles out to sea.  There are few trees along the road and the sea breeze doesn’t seem to reach the upper parts of the climb. On a hot day, t could be 10 or 20 degrees warmer near the top than at the base of the climb.

Parking is very limited along Gibraltar. The road shoulder is small and the drop offs impressive. Guardrails are few and far between.There should be some parking at the top of the climb at the finish.The best bet is to ride your bicycle up the road. Parking can be found at Skofield Park near the base of the climb.