There seems to be no clear favouite for the Tour of California, with many of the big GC riders saying they were unsure of their form at the pre-race press conference. Lawson Craddock, Andrew Talanksy and Robert Gesink have had quiet springs and will look to improve in California.

“I hope to do my best, whether that’s on the podium, or the top step,” Craddock said. “It’s a prestigious race, and I hope to be racing for the win, but for me it’s a mystery. I just don’t know. Lately I have had some good days, and I’ve had some bad days. Hopefully this week I’ll have some good days.”

Gesink struck a similar tone. “I did pretty well in the Tour of Romandie,” he said of his recent 15th overall finish in Switzerland. “It’s a bit of question where I’ll be at this race. I might be good enough to be there in front. I’m pretty confident I’m headed in the right direction.”

The race is so open that various GC options for the top ten were not invited to the press conference as it wouldn’t have been possible to fit them all in, such as Sergio Henao, Peter Kennaugh or Ian Boswell (Sky), Joe Dombrowski (Cannondale-Garmin) Jani Brajkovic (UnitedHealthcare, Warren Barguil (Giant-Alpecin), Phil Gaimon or Mike Woods (Optum-Kelly Benefit Strategies), Lachlan Morton (Jelly Belly), or Rob Britton ¬(SmartStop).

The race and the GC, while it may have been shaken up in the opening five stages, will be decided on the stage six ITT around Big Bear Lake and the next day’s summit finish at Mount Baldy.

As for the sprints, Mark Cavendish is favourite for the bunch gallops and Peter Sagan for any other group dash that Cavendish isn’t able to climb into contention for.

“A lot of teams bring sprinters and they don’t ride for the sprint,” Cavendish said. “If I was on a team and they didn’t want to ride for the sprint, I’d ask ‘what did you bring me here for?’ That’s how it is, in the last years, the breakaway could go up to 10 or 15 minutes, and everyone plays games. I don’t know, maybe the team directors don’t want to put their balls on the line. But we have teams of eight riders for a reason, so that some people can pull. I guess that’s how it goes … I know I like having my team commit. It puts pressure on me to win, and more often that not, we come out on top.”

The race is certainly open, and that could make it the most exciting of the ten editions so far.