Thousand Oaks, Santa Barbara and Morro Bay will be part of the 2016 Tour of California professional bicycle race.

Organizers announced the route at a news conference Oct. 22 in San Diego. The 2016 race will run 800 miles from San Diego to Sacramento from May 15 to May 22. This year will also be just the second time out of 11 previous races that the route runs south to north.

Stage 3 will run from Thousand Oaks to Santa Barbara on May 17. That stage will finish on Gibraltar Road and mark the first finish of a stage on a mountain in the race’s history. Organizers said improved road conditions made the finish on Gibraltar Road possible.

Stage 4 on May 18 will run from Morro Bay to Monterey County along the Pacific Coast Highway.

“As athletes we enjoy this event. It’s actually one of the highlights of the year,” said retired professional cyclist Fred Rodriguez at the news conference. “When you go into Santa Barbara they’re not long climbs, but it’s hilly and it’s fast. Santa Barbara has always been a beautiful city to start from, so to finish there it’s going to be gorgeous.”

• Contact Philip Joens at pjoens@pacbiztimes.com.