The race, which is part of the International Cycling Union (UCI) America’s Tour, will begin with a 170.5 kilometres route around San Diego, which is set to conclude with a sprint finish in the state’s second largest city.

Sprinters are then due to be at the forefront of action again on stage two in Santa Clara, however the queen stage of the race from Thousand Oaks to Santa Barbara County is expected to be a key day for the climbers, who will be targeting overall victory.

The 167.7km stage will include a long ascent of Gibraltar Road with the climb, which has an average gradient of eight per cent, seen as a potentially pivotal moment of the race.

Stages four and five, which are scheduled to finish in Monterey County and South Lake Tahoe respectively, are anticipated to end with a select group of riders, as the race to succeed Slovakia’s defending champion Peter Sagan is due to heat up.

A 20.3km individual time trial in Folsom is seen as a potentially decisive day, with the overall winner expected to be decided on the 175.4km stage seven in Santa Rosa.

Racing will draw to a close with a 150km sprint stage, which will come to an end in Sacramento.

Overall 1,300km is due to be raced during the event, compared to 1,129km for the 2015 edition.

The four-stage women’s event will begin on May 19, when the men’s race reaches stage five, boasting similar stage starts and finishes to further boost excitement for fans, it is claimed.

"We have an epic route in store for the 11th annual Amgen Tour of California," said Kristin Klein, president of the Tour of California and vice president of AEG Sports.

"Competitors and fans are in for thrills - in particular, one of the longest routes ever with lots of climbing, our second time riding south to north across the state, four new host cities, our first team time trial (women), and a can't-miss race finish with the first-ever Gibraltar Road climb during the Queen Stage.

“The level of competition will highlight why the Amgen Tour of California is America's greatest race and also one of the international season's most challenging."

The race will be the first North American stage event of the inaugural UCI Women’s WorldTour, which will feature the top 20 UCI women's teams.

A 20km team time trial in Folsom looks likely to be a crucial day of the women’s event, with the second stage expected to provide time gaps between the leading riders as they seek to follow Germany’s Trixi Worrack in winning the race.