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2018 Tour of California route hinges on Gibraltar and Morgan Hill TT

The men's race kicks off May 13 with a stage around Long Beach, and the women's three-day race starts on May 17 with a stage around Elk Grove. CG/Tim De Waele/Corbis via Getty Images

Riders hunting for overall glory in the 2018 Tour of California will be circling two days on their calendars: stage 2, which finishes atop Gibraltar Road, and stage 4, a new individual time trial route near San Jose.

The Amgen Tour of California's 1,038-kilometer (645-mile) route will run south to north from May 13-19 and will attract such stars as Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data), Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe), and Marcel Kittel (Katusha-Alpecin). It will be the event's second year as a men's WorldTour race.

Those three sprinters - and other speedsters - will have plenty to look forward to in the 2018 route. Stages 1, 5, and 7 all are anticipated to feature bunch sprint finishes.

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