ATOC organisers confirmed the sprint stars' attendance at the seven stage, 1038 kilometre race from Long Beach to Sacramento, in a press release overnight. Teams racing in the concurrent women's race from 17-19 May were also confirmed.
Rally Cycling, who animated the 2017 edition with impressive attacks and two stage victories, have been granted a wild card.
"With the UCI WorldTour race designation, it was important that we upgrade to Pro Continental in order to remain eligible for America's biggest race," Rally Cycling managing director Charles Aaron said.
"This is a critical race for our team and our partners. It's a showcase for the future of American cycling, like last year, our athletes are training hard to take on the world's best cyclists and have an impact in this year's edition."
Pro conti men's team Aqua Blue Sport unlucky so far in its pursuit of Giro and Tour de France wild cards, also missed out on one for ATOC. Founder and owner Rick Delaney wasn't shy about sharing his thoughts on the decision:
Many of the major Women's WorldTour teams are also not racing at the women's three stage ATOC including Boels-Dolmans, the team of last year's winner Anna van der Breggen.
It overlaps with the four-stage Emakumeen Bira in the Basque region, an existing race but new to the Women's WorldTour. These teams won't make the trip stateside due to finite resources and the European focus of sponsors.
But Boels-Dolmans' Megan Guarnier who won the race in 2016, is likely still to race by lining up with the USA national team. And Southern Californian Coryn Rivera, who nabbed an impressive victory on stage 3 last year will be back to spice things up with Sunweb.
“The team and I had some great results at the Amgen Tour of California last year and we will be back this year looking to build on that – it's a fun race in beautiful locations, plus holds a lot of personal meaning for me being in my home state and country," said Southern Californian Coryn Rivera.
Canyon/SRAM, with SRAM also sponsoring the women's ATOC, will also target the race, likely to start with Kasia Niewiadoma and Californian Alexis Ryan. 21-year-old Chloe Dygert, who smashed the individual pursuit world record twice in one day at this year's track world championships is also expected to line-up with Twenty20.
SBS will bring you the action of this year's Amgen Tour of California. Details TBC.
Men's teams at the 2018 Amgen Tour of California:
• AG2R La Mondiale (FRA)
• BMC Racing Team (USA)
• BORA-hansgrohe (GER)
• Hagens Berman Axeon Cycling Team (USA)
• Holowesko|Citadel p/b Arapahoe Resources (USA)
• Mitchelton-SCOTT (AUS)
• Quick-Step Floors (BEL)
• Rally Cycling (USA)
• Team Dimension Data (RSA)
• Team EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale (USA)
• Team KATUSHA ALPECIN (SUI)
• Team LottoNL-Jumbo (NED)
• Team Sky (GBR)
• Team Sunweb (GER)
• Trek-Segafredo (USA)
• UAE Team Emirates (UAE)
• UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team (USA)
Women's teams at the 2018 Amgen Tour of California:
• Astana Women’s Team (KAZ)
• BePink (ITA)
• CANYON//SRAM Racing (GER)
• Hagens Berman | Supermint Pro Cycling (USA)
• Mexican National Team (MEX)
• Rally Cycling (USA)
• Swapit/Agolico Cycling Pro Team (MEX)
• Team Illuminate (USA)
• Team Sunweb (NED)
• Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank (USA)
• Trek–Drops (GBR)
• TWENTY20 Pro Cycling p/b Sho-Air (USA)
• UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team (USA)
• USA Cycling National Team (USA)
• Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling (GBR)
