6 Amgen Tour of California, 11-18 May, 2.HC, USA

Bradley Wiggins recently signed to the same management agency as David Beckham and Lewis Hamilton in a bid to increase his worldwide profile, with the first port of call a debut at the Tour of California. Wiggins squirmed at the idea of him ‘cracking America’ but says he’s going there to win. He won’t have last year’s winner Tejay Van Garderen to contend with, who’s skipping it to focus on the Tour after last year’s disaster. A UCI rule change means HC races can now have 70 per cent top tier teams, and one of these will be Sky, who will increase their focus on US races this year to satisfy sponsor 21st Century Fox. The race reverts to a north-south route, with summit finishes on Mt Diablo (stage 3) and Mountain High (stage 6) set to be decisive. Stage 2’s 20.3km TT may see Wiggins taking the lead into the crucial Diablo stage.