Preview of the 2018 Amgen Tour Stage

Preview of the 2018 Amgen Tour Stage

Gibraltar Road returns as a mountaintop finish in the Amgen Tour of California. For years local cyclists wanted the Tour to tackle this challenging Hors Categorie climb and were thrilled when the Tour came to Gibraltar in 2016.

This shot of the Pacific Ocean was
taken from Gibraltar Road

Gibraltar Road is a 6.5-mile climb that averages grades of 9% with sections that go to 13%, especially near the top. It is a popular climb with local cyclists and pro teams that train here in the area during the winter. Gibraltar climbs up the Santa Ynez Mountains directly behind Santa Barbara, therefore from almost every point on the climb you can see the ocean and the city. The view helps take away the pain. I’ve been climbing up Gibraltar for 7 years now and the view helps me ignore the effort.
Stage 2 will begin in Ventura, the Ventura County seat, for the first time and then pass through Oxnard and Camarillo for the second time. This is the flat portion of the stage. Very flat, if there are 500 feet of elevation gain, the bulk of that would be highway overpasses. At that time of the afternoon, there should be a general tailwind, a 5 to 10 mph sea breeze.
Once through Camarillo, the climbing will not end for the rest of the stage. The peloton will tackle Balcom Canyon Road, fortunately, they will be going up the short side (with 13% grade). Normally, the route goes in the opposite direction, where the grade is 20%. There is nothing like going a 12% grade and seeing the asphalt tilt higher in front of you. This is where you wish you just one more gear.
From there the peloton passes through Santa Paula and will proceed up Hwy. 150, the annual route chosen for the Tour. The peloton will climb up 8 miles up from downtown Santa Paula. Four miles into this climb, they will pass the spot where the Thomas Fire began in early December 2017, the largest wildfire in California history. You will see the damage along both sides of the road and up the hillsides.

Lake Casitas from the top of East
Casitas Pass

Then they will pass through Ojai on the way to Casitas Pass. Casitas Pass was once the main road between Los Angeles and Ventura County to Santa Barbara. I can’t imagine taking a stagecoach on this route. Casitas Pass averages 6 to 8% on the main climb of 2.5 miles with a second 1-mile climb with an 8% grade. It’s downhill from there to Hwy 192, another Tour favorite route element.
Here the Tour organizers and California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) have some work to do. The flooding that followed the fires damaged the most of the bridges along the route.

Bridge on Hwy 150 at Toro Canyon

Unless CalTrans repairs all of the damaged bridges in the few two weeks, the Tour organizers will have to reroute the race. There are alternate routes around the damaged bridges, I’ve ridden along some of this routes trying to make my way through Carpinteria and Montecito. Once through Montecito the peloton will tackle Gibraltar where the real attacks will begin. The last time, Rally Cycling team were near the front, primarily since they train out of Oxnard in the winter, so this is basically home turf. Expect the best climbers to fight their way to the front and battle each other up the climb. Pay attention to the last

Who needs gaurdrails? Gibraltar Road

1.5 miles of the climb. This is where the grades increase to 13% for a stretch. A good climber could lurk just behind the leaders and pounce once the grade picks up. It should be another fun stage and a thrill for all of us local cyclists.