Mark Cavendish is below the threshold for being sick with Epstein-Barr, the virus the sprinter has been suffering from for the past two years. The Manxman revealed a blood test two weeks ago showed the result that he had beaten the illness, for the time being at least. Cavendish was speaking at the Tour of California press conference, which starts on Sunday May 12, and said he will now "be able to go and challenge for some race wins." The 30-time Tour de France stage winner said: "Normally I would have had a lot of racing by now, but the last couple of years I haven’t done much early in the year because I’ve been sick, but now I’m finally healthy again and I feel human after a couple of years. "My last blood test a couple of weeks ago was the first time for two years that I’ve been under the threshold for being sick, and so it’s a massive relief and hopefully I can get back to doing good things. I’m actually able to build on my form now." >>> Tour of California 2019 start list The 33-year-old was diagnosed with the Epstein-Barr virus in April 2017 after suffering from unexplained fatigue, returning to racing in 2018 but crashing at both Milan - San Remo and the Abu Dhabi Tour. After an uneventful start to his 2019 season, Cavendish took his first podium in almost a year on stage three of the Tour of Turkey. Cavendish raced the 2019 Tour de Yorkshire but the best result he could muster was eighth place on stage one. He will ride the Tour of California as he builds his form towards the 2019 Tour de France, where he will once again hope to overhaul Eddy Merckx's record 34 stage wins, which he trails by four.<doc-sep>Peter Sagan claimed his first win in almost four months as he proved the fastest on stage one of the Amgen Tour of California. Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) sprinted to victory on stage of the Tour of California in Sacramento The Bora-Hansgrohe man beat Travis McCabe (United States) and Max Walscheid (Team Sunweb) in a sprint in the state capital of Sacramento. Mark Cavendish (Dimension-Data) and Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) were some of the fancied sprinters who failed to contest the finish, the former 30 seconds down on Sagan. It is Sagan's 17th win in the race, but only his second of 2019. The last time he raised his hands in triumph was stage three of the Tour Down Under on January 17. The three-time world champion will be relieved to have returned to winning ways after coming close at Paris-Roubaix and Milan-San Remo. Victory for the Slovak means that he takes the leader's jersey but he is unlikely to be able to repeat his result from four years ago when he won topped the general classification after eight stages. Stage two of the 14th edition sees the riders gradually climb from sea level to 2,616m before finishing at South Lake Tahoe. An uphill finish will tempt the rouleurs. How it happened Starting in Sacramento, the peloton headed for the northern Central Valley. Almost immediately, four men swelled to form a breakaway: Laurens de Vreese (Astana), Tyler Stites (United States), Charles Planet (Novo-Nordisk) and Michael Schär (CCC Team). The quartet were never allowed to extend their lead to more than a few minutes, and perhaps aware of the inevitable, De Vreese sat up to be swamped by the peloton with 76km of the 143km stage still to race. A peloton hungry for a bunch sprint caught Plant, the last surviving member of the breakaway, with 19km still to race, setting up the finish. Deceuninck-Quick-Step set the pace initially as the sprinting teams organised ahead of two laps in the city's downtown which were watched by large crowds. Team Sunweb rode superbly at the front in the final few kilometres, Sagan noticeably sitting in the middle of their lead-out train that was intended for Walscheid. As they entered the final kilometre, both Deceuninck-Quick Step and Ineos were at the front of the race, the peloton behind splitting across the road leaving only a half-a-dozen riders to battle it out in the finale. Owain Doull hit the front, working for his teammate Kristoffer Halvorsen. But behind the Welshman was Sagan who was making the most of the slipstream. At 150m to go, Sagan darted into the vacant space to the right of Doull, with Michael Morkov of Deceuninck-Quick Step quick to follow. The Dane, however, couldn't match the speed of Sagan. Sagan powered to the line but McCabe put in a valiant effort to match Sagan and almost snatch victory on the line. Doull rolled home sixth, the rest of the peloton four seconds behind, led by John Degenkolb of Trek-Segafredo. Results Tour of California 2019, stage one: Sacramento > Sacramento (143km) 1. Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe, in 3-14-10 2. Trevor McCabe (USA) United States 3. Max Walscheid (Ger) Team Sunweb 4. Kristoffer Halvorsen (Nor) Team Ineos 5. Michael Morkov (Den) Deceuninck-Quick Step 6. Owain Doull (GBr) Team Ineos, all at same time 7. John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo, at 4 secs 8. Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain-Merida 9. Erik Baska (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe 10. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) UAE-Team Emirates, all at same time General classification after stage one 1. Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe in 3-14-10 2. Trevor McCabe (USA) United States, at 4 secs 3. Max Walscheid (Ger) Team Sunweb, at 6 secs 4. Kristoffer Halvorsen (Nor) Team Ineos, at 10 secs 5. Michael Morkov (Den) Deceuninck-Quick Step 6. Owain Doull (GBr) Team Ineos, all at same time 7. Tyler Stites (USA) United States, at 11 secs 8. George Bennett (NwZ) Team Jumbo-Visma, at 13 secs 9. John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo, at 14 secs 10. Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain-Merida, at same time<doc-sep>The 2019 Amgen Tour of California has something different in store for 19 teams of elite cyclists who line up at Sunday’s start in Sacramento. Over seven days, they will face high-altitude racing in South Lake Tahoe, a climb up Mount Hamilton in the San Francisco Bay Area and a brutal ascent of Mt. Baldy that could decide the overall winner. As New Zealand rider George Bennett put it: “I think it’s going to be a challenging week.” This edition of the Amgen Tour will cover about 778 miles and includes 68,000 feet of elevation gain and 25 King of the Mountain climbs, all of which make for the longest and most-difficult course in the event’s 14-year history. Advertisement The field will include several past winners, including Bennett, Tejay van Garderen and Peter Sagan, who also holds the tour career record with 16 stage wins. Sign up for our daily sports newsletter » Mark Cavendish, a British sprinter and fan favorite who has struggled with Epstein-Barr virus for much of the past two years, will return. “It’s one of the most important races on the calendar,” Cavendish said. “With that comes a bigger challenge to win.” The challenge begins with an 89-mile ride around the state capital on the sort of terrain that Sagan and Cavendish prefer. “We can warm up on the flats because after that, it’s going to be hard,” Sagan said. “A lot of climbs.” Stage 2 heads east into the Sierra Nevada, followed by Stage 3 and that mountain south of San Francisco. The ensuing, less-vertical days are noteworthy for what they don’t have. The lack of a time trial hurts van Garderen, who specializes in that type of stage. Advertisement “Everyone would want to build a course that is suited to their strengths,” he said. “You can’t dwell on it. You just have to play the hand you’re dealt.” After Stage 6 and the grueling Mt. Baldy climb, Saturday’s final stage traverses the San Gabriel Mountains before descending to the finish line outside the Rose Bowl. “It’s all going to come down to Baldy,” Bennett said. “And staying out of trouble the rest of the days.” The Amgen Tour also has a three-day, 178-mile women’s race beginning Thursday with 16 teams in contention. It, too, will feature a historically tough course. Advertisement Olympic and world champion Anna Van der Breggen will highlight a field that includes last year’s winner, Katie Hall. :: Tour of California route overview Men Advertisement Stage 1, Sunday: 88.9 miles, in and around Sacramento Stage 2, Monday: 133.3 miles, Rancho Cordova to South Lake Tahoe Stage 3, Tuesday: 129.2 miles, Stockton to Morgan Hill Stage 4, Wednesday: 133.3 miles, Laguna Seca to Morro Bay Advertisement Stage 5, Thursday: 136.4 miles, Pismo Beach to Ventura Stage 6, Friday: 79.2 miles, Ontario to Mt.Baldy Stage 7, Saturday: 78.3 miles, Santa Clarita to Pasadena (Rose Bowl) Women Advertisement Stage 1, Thursday: 60 miles, in and out of Ventura Fairgrounds Stage 2, Friday: 45 miles, Ontario to Mt. Baldy Stage 3, Saturday: 78.3 miles, Santa Clarita to Pasadena (Rose Bowl) david.wharton@latimes.com Advertisement Follow @LAtimesWharton on Twitter<doc-sep>
Hide Transcript Show Transcript STATEHOUSE. BRIAN: YOU CAN EXPECT A LOT OF EXCITEMENT HERE ON WALL STREET. THE SEVEN DAY STAGE RACE STARTS SUNDAY RIGHT HERE. IT RETURNS TO THE STATE CAPITAL FOR THE 10TH TIME. THE RACE FEATURES THE TOP THREE WORLD TOUR TEAMS, NATIONAL CHAMPIONS, TOUR DE FRANCE VETERANS. THE KING OF CALIFORNIA IS HOPING TO RETURN TO HIS WHEN RECORD. THERE ARE SOME N NAMES, THE NATIONAL TEAM WILL BE COMPETING THE SHARE. THE UNDER 23 ATHLETES ARE HERE TO MAKE A NAME FOR THEMSELVES. >> THEY ARE REALLY MOTIVATED. THEY WILL TRY TO PUT THE BEST SHOW ON THEY CAN. THEY WILL REPRESENT US VERY WELL I HAVE NO DOUBT. BRIAN: THIS STARTS ON SUNDAY. IT’S AND 88 LOOP OUT THROUGH YOLO COUNTY AND BACK WITH A THREE LAP FINISH AROUND THE STATE CAPITAL. THE LEAD WILL FINISH AT 5:40 P.M. ON TUESDAY, FROM STOCKTON TO MORGAN HILL. Advertisement Amgen Tour of California starts in Sacramento Sunday Sacramento native coaching Team USA Share Shares Copy Link Copy The Amgen Tour of California will roll out of Sacramento on Sunday for the start of the seven-day stage race across the Golden State.For the 10th time in the race's 13-year history, riders will come through Sacramento with the overall start in front of the Capitol on Sunday afternoon.The biggest race hosted in the United States will feature the current top-three World Tour teams, national champions and veterans of the Olympics and Tour de France.Peter Sagan will be at the start line for his 10th Amgen Tour of California where he's hoping to add to his 16-stage win record.Marcel Kittel, Mark Cavendish and Tejay Van Garderen are among top pros and past champions returning to the Tour de France-style stage race.New this year will be a group of under 23 riders from USA Cycling.As the young riders prepare for the 2020 Olympics, they will start in what will be the biggest race-to-date in their young careers.Veteran pro rider and Sacramento resident Michael Sayers is the head coach for the young team.He says the Tour of California is almost like a rolling job interview for the cyclists hoping to join a pro team. "There is a long list of success stories coming out of American riders who were on smaller teams, had good performances here at the Tour of California and then the very next year, were able to move to a world tour or first division team," Sayers said.He said it's hard to predict what will happen with the team as the young riders start against the stars of the sport, but he expects them to stand out. "The five under-23 riders we have here, you really at this level, with this kind of motivation you really have no idea what is going to happen. I would not be surprised if a couple of those guys are floating up in the results on a day-to-day basis," Sayers said.The race starts on Sunday at 2:15 p.m. on L Street in front of the state Capitol.After an 88.9-mile ride from Sacramento to Winters and back, the winner is expected to cross the finish line around 5:40 p.m.The free fan festival will be open from 12 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on 10th Street.Stage 2 of the race takes the event from Rancho Cordova to South Lake Tahoe.On Tuesday, Stage 3 of the race starts in Stockton and ends in Morgan Hill.The race will end on May 18 in Pasadena.For more detailed team, route and fan information check out the Amgen Tour of California web page.