Tour of California 2015 – Stage 1 [FULL STAGE]

May 10, 2015

Tour of California 2015 – Stage 1 – Sacramento – Sacramento : 204,3 km

In the tradition-rich world of cycling, where some of the oldest monuments reach back into history more than a hundred years, a single decade marks a race that hasn’t yet hit adolescence. But for the Amgen Tour of California, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, a decade has sometimes seemed like a liftetime. The race has witnessed monsoon-like conditions in the early years when it was on the calendar in February. It persevered through a snowed-out stage during a planned start at Lake Tahoe in 2011. It survived several invasions by Rock Racing and its flamboyant owner Michael Ball, who had three riders cover stage routes ahead of the 2008 race after being excluded by organisers. The race was the site of a showdown between an icon of the sport, Lance Armstrong and his dogged accuser Floyd Landis, and it was the unwilling host for headline-stealing revelations from the race’s first winner that would eventually prove true and rock the sport to its core. It all seems like an awful lot for one decade, but the UCI 2.HC race that started in the still-warm glow of Armstrong’s seven Tour de France wins, which have since been vacated by the UCI, continues to thrive and even expand this year. The eight-day race, an entity of Anschutz Entertainment Group, the world’s largest owner of sports teams and events, has grown into an important preparation race for the Tour de France in July. AEG invited 18 men’s teams to the race this year, more than ever before, and it has added a three-day women’s UCI race to the mix.

Mark Cavendish (Etixx-QuickStep) claimed the opening stage of the 2015 Tour of California Sunday in Sacramento with a trademark sprint after a perfect leadout from his teammate Mark Renshaw.

The Etixx rider beat all his rivals to the line to take his 10th win of the season ahead of Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Jempy Drucker (BMC Racing) to pull on the first leader’s jersey of the race.

“It was perfect,” Cavendish said of his leadout. “Being right behind Mark Renshaw a few places from the front with 300 meters to go is the perfect place to be. I don’t have to think. I can save all my energy just for the final sprint. I’m lucky I’ve got him and the rest of Etixx-QuickStep.”

Although Tinkoff-Saxo was there to put Sagan in with a chance, Cavendish said the biggest threat on Sunday was the plethora of experienced US criterium riders he had to contend with on the closing circuits.

“It was a bit nervous because there are a lot of criterium riders here, and it freaked me out in some corners,” he said. “They’d dive bomb like Freddie Rodriguez. That kind of makes you want stay near the front a bit more.”

Sunday’s win marks the third time Cavendish has won in Sacramento. He said the area’s terrain makes a sprint finish likely for any stage here, and the wide-open boulevards favour an experienced sprinter and team.

“It’s a nice big proper boulevard finish here, big, wide, straight road and it leads to an all-out sprint,” he said. “You have to get it tactically and physically right.”

In typical form, Cavendish also took an opportunity at the post-race press conference to take another dig at Sagan’s team, saying QuickStep and MTN-Qhubeka did most of the work to pull back the breakaway.

“I think one thing I’ve got is that my team commits,” Cavendish said. “We take the race on. We ride. When the TV came on Saxo came to the front, but they hadn’t been riding all day. Already the break had come from seven minutes to two minutes, so we had done all the work, along with MTN-Qhubeka.

“For me it definitely helps to have the pressure of my team riding for me and not just doing it to kind of look like they’re doing it.”

The day’s other big news came when Andrew Talansky (Cannondale-Garmin) was forced to pull out of the race, with his team citing health issues.

How it unfolded

Stage 1 started and finished in state capitol Sacramento with 203.1km of racing in between. The pancake flat course lent itself to a sprint finish, with the strong winds outside of town providing the day’s biggest obstacle.

After days of interviews, press conferences and appearances, the riders were champing at the bit to get underway, and a breakaway of four riders developed in the early kilometres.

Among the escapees were William Clarke of Drapac Pro Cycling, Steve Fisher of Jelly Belly-Maxxis, Rob Britton of Team SmartStop and his teammate Bobby Sweeting.

“Our strategy worked today,” Sweeting said.”We wanted to get Rob in the early break to get some time bonuses. The two of us were able to sneak in there. It ended up being a good day in the wind.”

The quartet built a gap of nearly seven minutes, but with Etixx-QuickStep taking control behind for Cavendish, the move’s chances of success were nil.

The gap started coming down precipitously in the second half of the stage after the leaders turned into a headwind. Britton suffered a mechanical with about 60km remaining and dropped out of the group, leaving Clarke, Fisher and Sweeting to go on without him.

“Once we got out of that exposed section we could let Rob drop back to the field to recover,” Sweeting said. “I was just going to try and hang on and make it to the end.”

With only three riders in the group, the gap continued to plummet, and the leaders had 2:30 with about 48km to go. MTN-Qhubeka threw several riders into the chase to help QuickStep, and the leaders had just two minutes with 40km to go.

At the final intermediate sprint of the day, just 15.2km from the finish, the leaders’ advantage was under a minute, and the bunch sprint looked inevitable.

The escapees entered the circuits with a slight advantage, but they were quickly swallowed up as the peloton raged through town.

Cavendish’s lead out man Mark Renshaw led his sprinter into perfect position coming out of the last corner, and Cavendish took over soon after, taking the win by several bike lengths.

Results :
1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Etixx – Quick-Step 4:43:27
2 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo
3 Jempy Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing Team
4 John Murphy (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
5 Guillaume Boivin (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
6 Zico Waeytens (Bel) Team Giant-Alpecin
7 Wouter Wippert (Ned) Drapac Professional Cycling
8 Tyler Farrar (USA) MTN – Qhubeka
9 Koen de Kort (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
10 Danny van Poppel (Ned) Trek Factory Racing
11 Robin Carpenter (USA) Hincapie Racing Team
12 Martijn Verschoor (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk
13 Jure Kocjan (Slo) Team SmartStop
14 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Etixx – Quick-Step
15 Travis McCabe (USA) Team SmartStop
16 Ben Hermans (Bel) BMC Racing Team
17 Logan Owen (USA) Axeon Cycling Team
18 Lucas Sebastian Haedo (Arg) Jamis – Hagens Berman
19 Jay McCarthy (Aus) Tinkoff-Saxo
20 Dion Smith (NZl) Hincapie Racing Team
21 Marco Canola (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
22 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Sky
23 Jordan Kerby (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling
24 Luis Romero Amaran (Cub) Jamis – Hagens Berman
25 Dennis van Winden (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
26 Joey Rosskopf (USA) BMC Racing Team
27 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
28 Gavin Mannion (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
29 Andrea Peron (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk
30 Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) Trek Factory Racing
31 Lawson Craddock (USA) Team Giant-Alpecin
32 Peter Kennaugh (GBr) Team Sky
33 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Etixx – Quick-Step
34 Eric Marcotte (USA) Team SmartStop
35 Thomas Soladay (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
36 Theo Bos (Ned) MTN – Qhubeka
37 Kiel Reijnen (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
38 Rob Britton (Can) Team SmartStop
39 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin
40 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
41 Jacques Janse van Rensburg (RSA) MTN – Qhubeka
42 Tanner Putt (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
43 Tyler Magner (USA) Hincapie Racing Team
44 Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team
45 Ruben Zepuntke (Ger) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
46 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
47 Joseph Schmalz (USA) Hincapie Racing Team
48 Yves Lampaert (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step
49 Jos van Emden (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
50 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Tinkoff-Saxo
51 Alex Howes (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
52 Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
53 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo
54 Carter Jones (USA) Team Giant-Alpecin
55 Laurens ten Dam (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
56 Travis Meyer (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling
57 Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
58 Michael Woods (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
59 Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Team Sky
60 Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
61 Philip Deignan (Irl) Team Sky
62 Tom Zirbel (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
63 Toms Skujin_ (Lat) Hincapie Racing Team
64 Gregory Obando Brenes (Crc) Jamis – Hagens Berman
65 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Trek Factory Racing
66 Daniel Teklehaimanot (Eri) MTN – Qhubeka
67 Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Jamis – Hagens Berman
68 Javier Megias Leal (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk
69 Joseph Lewis (Aus) Hincapie Racing Team
70 Daniel Summerhill (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
71 Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Axeon Cycling Team
72 Justin Oien (USA) Axeon Cycling Team
73 Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
74 Kristoffer Skjerping (Nor) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
75 Phillip Gaimon (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
76 Matteo Trentin (Ita) Etixx – Quick-Step
77 Manuel Senni (Ita) BMC Racing Team
78 Haimar Zubeldia Aguirre (Spa) Trek Factory Racing
79 Daniel Eaton (USA) Axeon Cycling Team
80 James Oram (NZl) Axeon Cycling Team
81 Lasse Norman Hansen (Den) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
82 Edward King (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
83 Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team
84 Laurent Didier (Lux) Trek Factory Racing
85 Riccardo Zoidl (Aut) Trek Factory Racing
86 Danny Pate (USA) Team Sky
87 Jesse Anthony (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
88 Ian Boswell (USA) Team Sky
89 Ben King (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
90 Ruben Guerreiro (Por) Axeon Cycling Team
91 Daniele Ratto (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
92 Nathan Earle (Aus) Team Sky
93 Alexandr Braico (Mda) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
94 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek Factory Racing
95 Gregory Daniel (USA) Axeon Cycling Team
96 Chris Butler (USA) Team SmartStop
97 Charles Planet (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk
98 Travis Livermon (USA) Team SmartStop
99 Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
100 Johann Van Zyl (RSA) MTN – Qhubeka
101 Joonas Henttala (Fin) Team Novo Nordisk
102 Jonathan Clarke (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
103 Matthew Busche (USA) Trek Factory Racing
104 Thierry Hupond (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin
105 Lachlan Norris (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling
106 Daniel Alexander Jaramillo Diez (Col) Jamis – Hagens Berman
107 Stephen Leece (USA) Jamis – Hagens Berman
108 Evan Huffman (USA) Team SmartStop
109 Andzs Flaksis (Lat) Hincapie Racing Team
110 Jesus Hernandez Blazquez (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo
111 Oscar Clark (USA) Hincapie Racing Team
112 Martin Velits (Svk) Etixx – Quick-Step
113 Martin Kohler (Swi) Drapac Professional Cycling
114 David Lozano Riba (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk
115 William Clarke (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling
116 Nicolae Tanovitchii (Mda) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
117 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) MTN – Qhubeka
118 Campbell Flakemore (Aus) BMC Racing Team
119 Xabier Zandio Echaide (Spa) Team Sky
120 Geoffrey Curran (USA) Axeon Cycling Team
121 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
122 Robert Sweeting (USA) Team SmartStop 0:00:21
123 Angus Morton (Aus) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
124 Jacob Rathe (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
125 Michael Mørkøv (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo
126 Carson Miller (USA) Jamis – Hagens Berman 0:00:24
127 David Williams (USA) Jamis – Hagens Berman 0:00:27
128 Eric Young (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 0:00:29
129 Michal Kolár (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo
130 Scott Ambrose (NZl) Team Novo Nordisk
131 Will Routley (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 0:00:33
132 Matthew Brammeier (Irl) MTN – Qhubeka
133 Daniel Oss (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:00:37
134 Joshua Berry (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis 0:00:46
135 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step 0:00:52
136 Kevin De Mesmaeker (Bel) Team Novo Nordisk
137 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) MTN – Qhubeka 0:01:38
138 Steve Fisher (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis 0:03:31
139 Matti Breschel (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:04:47
140 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step
141 Graeme Brown (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling 0:05:23
142 Darren Lapthorne (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling
DNF Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team

General Classification after Stage 1 :
1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Etixx – Quick-Step 4:43:17
2 William Clarke (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling 0:00:01
3 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:00:04
4 Jempy Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing Team 0:00:06
5 Rob Britton (Can) Team SmartStop
6 John Murphy (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 0:00:10
7 Guillaume Boivin (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
8 Zico Waeytens (Bel) Team Giant-Alpecin
9 Wouter Wippert (Ned) Drapac Professional Cycling
10 Tyler Farrar (USA) MTN – Qhubeka
11 Koen de Kort (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
12 Danny van Poppel (Ned) Trek Factory Racing
13 Robin Carpenter (USA) Hincapie Racing Team
14 Martijn Verschoor (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk
15 Jure Kocjan (Slo) Team SmartStop
16 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Etixx – Quick-Step
17 Travis McCabe (USA) Team SmartStop
18 Ben Hermans (Bel) BMC Racing Team
19 Logan Owen (USA) Axeon Cycling Team
20 Lucas Sebastian Haedo (Arg) Jamis – Hagens Berman
21 Jay McCarthy (Aus) Tinkoff-Saxo
22 Dion Smith (NZl) Hincapie Racing Team
23 Marco Canola (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
24 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Sky
25 Jordan Kerby (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling
26 Luis Romero Amaran (Cub) Jamis – Hagens Berman
27 Dennis van Winden (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
28 Joey Rosskopf (USA) BMC Racing Team
29 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
30 Gavin Mannion (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
31 Andrea Peron (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk
32 Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) Trek Factory Racing
33 Lawson Craddock (USA) Team Giant-Alpecin
34 Peter Kennaugh (GBr) Team Sky
35 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Etixx – Quick-Step
36 Eric Marcotte (USA) Team SmartStop
37 Thomas Soladay (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
38 Theo Bos (Ned) MTN – Qhubeka
39 Kiel Reijnen (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
40 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin
41 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
42 Jacques Janse van Rensburg (RSA) MTN – Qhubeka
43 Tanner Putt (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
44 Tyler Magner (USA) Hincapie Racing Team
45 Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team
46 Ruben Zepuntke (Ger) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
47 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
48 Joseph Schmalz (USA) Hincapie Racing Team
49 Yves Lampaert (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step
50 Jos van Emden (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
51 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Tinkoff-Saxo
52 Alex Howes (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
53 Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
54 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo
55 Carter Jones (USA) Team Giant-Alpecin
56 Laurens ten Dam (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
57 Travis Meyer (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling
58 Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
59 Michael Woods (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
60 Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Team Sky
61 Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
62 Philip Deignan (Irl) Team Sky
63 Tom Zirbel (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
64 Toms Skujin_ (Lat) Hincapie Racing Team
65 Gregory Obando Brenes (Crc) Jamis – Hagens Berman
66 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Trek Factory Racing
67 Daniel Teklehaimanot (Eri) MTN – Qhubeka
68 Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Jamis – Hagens Berman
69 Javier Megias Leal (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk
70 Joseph Lewis (Aus) Hincapie Racing Team
71 Daniel Summerhill (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
72 Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Axeon Cycling Team
73 Justin Oien (USA) Axeon Cycling Team
74 Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
75 Kristoffer Skjerping (Nor) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
76 Phillip Gaimon (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
77 Matteo Trentin (Ita) Etixx – Quick-Step
78 Manuel Senni (Ita) BMC Racing Team
79 Haimar Zubeldia Aguirre (Spa) Trek Factory Racing
80 Daniel Eaton (USA) Axeon Cycling Team
81 James Oram (NZl) Axeon Cycling Team
82 Lasse Norman Hansen (Den) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
83 Edward King (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
84 Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team
85 Laurent Didier (Lux) Trek Factory Racing
86 Riccardo Zoidl (Aut) Trek Factory Racing
87 Danny Pate (USA) Team Sky
88 Jesse Anthony (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
89 Ian Boswell (USA) Team Sky
90 Ben King (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
91 Ruben Guerreiro (Por) Axeon Cycling Team
92 Daniele Ratto (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
93 Nathan Earle (Aus) Team Sky
94 Alexandr Braico (Mda) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
95 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek Factory Racing
96 Gregory Daniel (USA) Axeon Cycling Team
97 Chris Butler (USA) Team SmartStop
98 Charles Planet (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk
99 Travis Livermon (USA) Team SmartStop
100 Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
101 Johann Van Zyl (RSA) MTN – Qhubeka
102 Joonas Henttala (Fin) Team Novo Nordisk
103 Jonathan Clarke (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
104 Matthew Busche (USA) Trek Factory Racing
105 Thierry Hupond (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin
106 Lachlan Norris (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling
107 Daniel Alexander Jaramillo Diez (Col) Jamis – Hagens Berman
108 Stephen Leece (USA) Jamis – Hagens Berman
109 Evan Huffman (USA) Team SmartStop
110 Andzs Flaksis (Lat) Hincapie Racing Team
111 Jesus Hernandez Blazquez (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo
112 Oscar Clark (USA) Hincapie Racing Team
113 Martin Velits (Svk) Etixx – Quick-Step
114 Martin Kohler (Swi) Drapac Professional Cycling
115 David Lozano Riba (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk
116 Nicolae Tanovitchii (Mda) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
117 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) MTN – Qhubeka
118 Campbell Flakemore (Aus) BMC Racing Team
119 Xabier Zandio Echaide (Spa) Team Sky
120 Geoffrey Curran (USA) Axeon Cycling Team
121 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
122 Robert Sweeting (USA) Team SmartStop 0:00:28
123 Angus Morton (Aus) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis 0:00:31
124 Jacob Rathe (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
125 Michael Mørkøv (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo
126 Carson Miller (USA) Jamis – Hagens Berman 0:00:34
127 David Williams (USA) Jamis – Hagens Berman 0:00:37
128 Eric Young (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 0:00:39
129 Michal Kolár (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo
130 Scott Ambrose (NZl) Team Novo Nordisk
131 Will Routley (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 0:00:43
132 Matthew Brammeier (Irl) MTN – Qhubeka
133 Daniel Oss (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:00:47
134 Joshua Berry (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis 0:00:56
135 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step 0:01:02
136 Kevin De Mesmaeker (Bel) Team Novo Nordisk
137 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) MTN – Qhubeka 0:01:48
138 Steve Fisher (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis 0:03:39
139 Matti Breschel (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:04:57
140 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step
141 Graeme Brown (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling 0:05:33
142 Darren Lapthorne (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling