Tour of California 2015 – Stage 2 [FULL STAGE]

May 11, 2015

Tour of California 2015 – Stage 2 – Nevada City – Lodi : 193,1 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 his second consecutive stage of the Tour of California on Monday, topping Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) again in the bunch sprint in Lodi. Wouter Wippert (Drapac) hit out first but faded to third as the two world-class sprinters locked horns.

“[Sagan] came underneath me in the last corner, and it was perfect, Cavendish said. “With the pressure he’s under he would hit out early, so I was happy to come off his wheel. He actually did a good job of boxing me in so I had to really start the sprint late.”

Cavendish’s win further extended his race lead, now at eight seconds over Sagan, with breakaway rider Robin Carpenter (Hincapie Racing) moving into third thanks to his three time bonuses on the stage.

A massive crash with 10km to go disrupted the peloton. Warren Barguil (Giant-Alpecin), one of the pre-race favourites, lost major time, and Ben Jacques-Maynes (Jamis-Hagens Berman), who was riding in his last race after starting all 10 editions of the Tour of California, had to abandon with a dislocated shoulder and facial lacerations.

Carpenter’s breakaway, which also included Daniel Oss (BMC Racing) Markel Irizar (Trek Factory Racing) and Luis Amaran (Jamis-Hagens Berman) nearly stuck their escape all the way to the line, even after Amaran lost contact on the first of two 3.6km circuits in Lodi.

Cavendish said a lack of time checks in the last half of the stage added a level of confusion about how much of an advantage the breakaway had, forcing him to throw extra riders into the chase when they finally found out what the gap was.

“For about 70-80km we didn’t have a time check,” Cavendish said. “We thought it was coming down but it was still four minutes with 30km to go.

“I don’t know where the motorbike was with the time check. One of the big things about the debate about not having radios in the race we need to know the time checks, and we didn’t know and it was almost game over.”

The added horsepower in the chase left QuickStep with only Cavendish, Mark Renshaw, Matteo Trentin and Juilian Alaphilippe for the finale.

“That’s not easy on the finish circuits,” Cavendish said. “But they did a brilliant job, and then Tinkoff-Saxo came to take over in the last kilometre.”

How it unfolded

Monday’s 193.7km second stage started out lumpy and twisty on narrow rural roads. The riders contested three intermediate sprints and one KOM before the route flattened out for a slightly downhill run to the finish in Lodi.

As with the opening stage, a breakaway of four riders animated the day’s racing. The move started when Daniel Oss (BMC Racing) and Markel Irizar (Trek Factory Racing) sneaked away from the bunch first, with Luis Amaran (Jamis-Hagens Berman) and Robin Carpenter (Hincapie Racing) bridging up to the move 28km into the stage.

The quartet had a gap of four minutes at the first intermediate sprint of the day at 40km, where Carpenter took the win and the three-second time bonus.

The gap went up to 5:10 about 75km into the stage, and Etixx-QuickStep controlled the front. After doing much of the work to bring back the breakaway to get the stage 1 win, QuickStep no doubt was expecting some of the other teams to come forward on Monday.

As the gap began to come down, Cavendish called for a nature break when it was at three minutes, possibly signaling to the other sprinters’ teams that they wouldn’t be getting a free ride on stage 2.

The QuickStep sprinter had a conversation in the bunch with Sagan after taking a dig at the Tinkoff rider’s team in the stage 1 post-race press conference, but Cavendish said his team did the bulk of the chasing again today.

“Tinkoff did some at the end and MTN,” he said. “But it was already when the gap had come down a lot. It was almost touch and go whether we were get them.”

The gap came down below three minutes with 25km to go. The advantage was down to one minute with 12km remaining, and once again a bunch kick was inevitable.

Results :
1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Etixx – Quick-Step 4:47:02
2 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo
3 Wouter Wippert (Ned) Drapac Professional Cycling
4 John Murphy (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
5 Danny van Poppel (Ned) Trek Factory Racing
6 Jempy Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing Team
7 Lucas Sebastian Haedo (Arg) Jamis – Hagens Berman
8 Tyler Farrar (USA) MTN – Qhubeka
9 Jure Kocjan (Slo) Team SmartStop
10 Zico Waeytens (Bel) Team Giant-Alpecin
11 Martijn Verschoor (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk
12 Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
13 Guillaume Boivin (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
14 Dion Smith (NZl) Hincapie Racing Team
15 Eric Marcotte (USA) Team SmartStop
16 Eric Young (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
17 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
18 Lawson Craddock (USA) Team Giant-Alpecin
19 Jay McCarthy (Aus) Tinkoff-Saxo
20 Dennis van Winden (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
21 Alex Howes (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
22 Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
23 Marco Canola (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
24 Robin Carpenter (USA) Hincapie Racing Team
25 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Etixx – Quick-Step
26 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Tinkoff-Saxo
27 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Sky
28 Peter Kennaugh (GBr) Team Sky
29 Ben Hermans (Bel) BMC Racing Team
30 Gregory Obando Brenes (Crc) Jamis – Hagens Berman
31 Joseph Lewis (Aus) Hincapie Racing Team
32 Jesse Anthony (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
33 Travis McCabe (USA) Team SmartStop
34 Andrea Peron (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk
35 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
36 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Trek Factory Racing
37 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek Factory Racing
38 Michael Woods (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
39 Alexandr Braico (Mda) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
40 Javier Megias Leal (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk
41 Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team
42 Laurent Didier (Lux) Trek Factory Racing
43 Joshua Berry (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
44 Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Team Sky
45 Koen de Kort (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
46 Phillip Gaimon (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
47 Rob Britton (Can) Team SmartStop
48 Laurens ten Dam (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
49 Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team
50 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Etixx – Quick-Step
51 Daniel Summerhill (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
52 Manuel Senni (Ita) BMC Racing Team
53 Haimar Zubeldia Aguirre (Spa) Trek Factory Racing
54 Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
55 Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
56 Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) Trek Factory Racing
57 Daniel Alexander Jaramillo Diez (Col) Jamis – Hagens Berman
58 Charles Planet (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk
59 Philip Deignan (Irl) Team Sky
60 Robert Sweeting (USA) Team SmartStop
61 Logan Owen (USA) Axeon Cycling Team
62 Kiel Reijnen (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
63 Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Axeon Cycling Team
64 Travis Meyer (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling
65 Danny Pate (USA) Team Sky
66 Joey Rosskopf (USA) BMC Racing Team
67 Martin Kohler (Swi) Drapac Professional Cycling
68 Daniel Teklehaimanot (Eri) MTN – Qhubeka
69 Matteo Trentin (Ita) Etixx – Quick-Step
70 Gavin Mannion (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
71 Daniel Eaton (USA) Axeon Cycling Team
72 Edward King (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
73 Oscar Clark (USA) Hincapie Racing Team
74 Justin Oien (USA) Axeon Cycling Team
75 Matthew Busche (USA) Trek Factory Racing
76 Ruben Guerreiro (Por) Axeon Cycling Team
77 Ian Boswell (USA) Team Sky
78 Carter Jones (USA) Team Giant-Alpecin
79 Joonas Henttala (Fin) Team Novo Nordisk
80 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo
81 David Lozano Riba (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk
82 Ben King (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
83 Riccardo Zoidl (Aut) Trek Factory Racing
84 Steve Fisher (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
85 Thierry Hupond (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin
86 Lachlan Norris (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling
87 Lasse Norman Hansen (Den) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
88 Jordan Kerby (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling
89 Andzs Flaksis (Lat) Hincapie Racing Team
90 William Clarke (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling
91 Nicolae Tanovitchii (Mda) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
92 Geoffrey Curran (USA) Axeon Cycling Team
93 Theo Bos (Ned) MTN – Qhubeka
94 Darren Lapthorne (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling
95 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) MTN – Qhubeka
96 Michal Kolár (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo
97 Tanner Putt (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
98 Kristoffer Skjerping (Nor) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 0:00:22
99 Gregory Daniel (USA) Axeon Cycling Team
100 Jacques Janse van Rensburg (RSA) MTN – Qhubeka
101 Ruben Zepuntke (Ger) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
102 Jonathan Clarke (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
103 Toms Skujin_ (Lat) Hincapie Racing Team
104 Travis Livermon (USA) Team SmartStop
105 James Oram (NZl) Axeon Cycling Team 0:00:42
106 Graeme Brown (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling
107 Michael Mørkøv (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:00:47
108 Luis Romero Amaran (Cub) Jamis – Hagens Berman 0:00:50
109 Joseph Schmalz (USA) Hincapie Racing Team 0:00:56
110 Daniel Oss (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:01:04
111 Angus Morton (Aus) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis 0:01:30
112 Thomas Soladay (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 0:02:09
113 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step 0:02:31
114 Yves Lampaert (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step
115 Matthew Brammeier (Irl) MTN – Qhubeka
116 Johann Van Zyl (RSA) MTN – Qhubeka
117 Matti Breschel (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo
118 Evan Huffman (USA) Team SmartStop
119 Will Routley (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
120 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
121 Jacob Rathe (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis 0:03:56
122 Scott Ambrose (NZl) Team Novo Nordisk 0:04:01
123 Campbell Flakemore (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:04:11
124 Nathan Earle (Aus) Team Sky
125 Xabier Zandio Echaide (Spa) Team Sky
126 Chris Butler (USA) Team SmartStop 0:04:54
127 Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:05:44
128 Daniele Ratto (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 0:06:24
129 Tyler Magner (USA) Hincapie Racing Team
130 Tom Zirbel (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
131 Kevin De Mesmaeker (Bel) Team Novo Nordisk
132 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
133 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step
134 Martin Velits (Svk) Etixx – Quick-Step
135 Jesus Hernandez Blazquez (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo
136 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) MTN – Qhubeka
137 Stephen Leece (USA) Jamis – Hagens Berman
138 Carson Miller (USA) Jamis – Hagens Berman
139 David Williams (USA) Jamis – Hagens Berman 0:10:50
140 Jos van Emden (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:11:40
141 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin 0:15:05
DNF Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Jamis – Hagens Berman

General Classification after Stage 2 :
1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Etixx – Quick-Step 9:30:09
2 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:00:08
3 Robin Carpenter (USA) Hincapie Racing Team 0:00:11
4 William Clarke (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling
5 Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) Trek Factory Racing 0:00:14
6 Jempy Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing Team 0:00:16
7 Wouter Wippert (Ned) Drapac Professional Cycling
8 Rob Britton (Can) Team SmartStop
9 John Murphy (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 0:00:20
10 Danny van Poppel (Ned) Trek Factory Racing
11 Tyler Farrar (USA) MTN – Qhubeka
12 Zico Waeytens (Bel) Team Giant-Alpecin
13 Guillaume Boivin (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
14 Jure Kocjan (Slo) Team SmartStop
15 Martijn Verschoor (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk
16 Lucas Sebastian Haedo (Arg) Jamis – Hagens Berman
17 Dion Smith (NZl) Hincapie Racing Team
18 Jay McCarthy (Aus) Tinkoff-Saxo
19 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
20 Marco Canola (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
21 Dennis van Winden (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
22 Ben Hermans (Bel) BMC Racing Team
23 Travis McCabe (USA) Team SmartStop
24 Eric Marcotte (USA) Team SmartStop
25 Lawson Craddock (USA) Team Giant-Alpecin
26 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Sky
27 Koen de Kort (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
28 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Etixx – Quick-Step
29 Peter Kennaugh (GBr) Team Sky
30 Andrea Peron (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk
31 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Etixx – Quick-Step
32 Alex Howes (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
33 Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
34 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Tinkoff-Saxo
35 Logan Owen (USA) Axeon Cycling Team
36 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
37 Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team
38 Joey Rosskopf (USA) BMC Racing Team
39 Gregory Obando Brenes (Crc) Jamis – Hagens Berman
40 Michael Woods (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
41 Gavin Mannion (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
42 Kiel Reijnen (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
43 Joseph Lewis (Aus) Hincapie Racing Team
44 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Trek Factory Racing
45 Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Team Sky
46 Laurens ten Dam (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
47 Javier Megias Leal (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk
48 Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
49 Jordan Kerby (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling
50 Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
51 Jesse Anthony (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
52 Philip Deignan (Irl) Team Sky
53 Travis Meyer (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling
54 Phillip Gaimon (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
55 Daniel Summerhill (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
56 Laurent Didier (Lux) Trek Factory Racing
57 Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
58 Manuel Senni (Ita) BMC Racing Team
59 Theo Bos (Ned) MTN – Qhubeka
60 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek Factory Racing
61 Haimar Zubeldia Aguirre (Spa) Trek Factory Racing
62 Alexandr Braico (Mda) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
63 Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team
64 Carter Jones (USA) Team Giant-Alpecin
65 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo
66 Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Axeon Cycling Team
67 Daniel Teklehaimanot (Eri) MTN – Qhubeka
68 Tanner Putt (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
69 Matteo Trentin (Ita) Etixx – Quick-Step
70 Justin Oien (USA) Axeon Cycling Team
71 Daniel Eaton (USA) Axeon Cycling Team
72 Danny Pate (USA) Team Sky
73 Edward King (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
74 Charles Planet (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk
75 Daniel Alexander Jaramillo Diez (Col) Jamis – Hagens Berman
76 Ian Boswell (USA) Team Sky
77 Ruben Guerreiro (Por) Axeon Cycling Team
78 Riccardo Zoidl (Aut) Trek Factory Racing
79 Lasse Norman Hansen (Den) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
80 Ben King (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
81 Matthew Busche (USA) Trek Factory Racing
82 Martin Kohler (Swi) Drapac Professional Cycling
83 Joonas Henttala (Fin) Team Novo Nordisk
84 Oscar Clark (USA) Hincapie Racing Team
85 Thierry Hupond (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin
86 Lachlan Norris (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling
87 David Lozano Riba (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk
88 Andzs Flaksis (Lat) Hincapie Racing Team
89 Nicolae Tanovitchii (Mda) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
90 Geoffrey Curran (USA) Axeon Cycling Team
91 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) MTN – Qhubeka
92 Robert Sweeting (USA) Team SmartStop 0:00:38
93 Jacques Janse van Rensburg (RSA) MTN – Qhubeka 0:00:42
94 Ruben Zepuntke (Ger) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
95 Toms Skujin_ (Lat) Hincapie Racing Team
96 Kristoffer Skjerping (Nor) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
97 Gregory Daniel (USA) Axeon Cycling Team
98 Travis Livermon (USA) Team SmartStop
99 Jonathan Clarke (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
100 Eric Young (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 0:00:49
101 Michal Kolár (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo
102 James Oram (NZl) Axeon Cycling Team 0:01:02
103 Joshua Berry (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis 0:01:06
104 Luis Romero Amaran (Cub) Jamis – Hagens Berman 0:01:09
105 Joseph Schmalz (USA) Hincapie Racing Team 0:01:16
106 Michael Mørkøv (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:01:28
107 Daniel Oss (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:01:59
108 Angus Morton (Aus) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis 0:02:11
109 Thomas Soladay (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 0:02:29
110 Yves Lampaert (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step 0:02:51
111 Johann Van Zyl (RSA) MTN – Qhubeka
112 Evan Huffman (USA) Team SmartStop
113 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
114 Matthew Brammeier (Irl) MTN – Qhubeka 0:03:24
115 Will Routley (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
116 Steve Fisher (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis 0:03:49
117 Nathan Earle (Aus) Team Sky 0:04:31
118 Campbell Flakemore (Aus) BMC Racing Team
119 Xabier Zandio Echaide (Spa) Team Sky
120 Jacob Rathe (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis 0:04:37
121 Scott Ambrose (NZl) Team Novo Nordisk 0:04:50
122 Chris Butler (USA) Team SmartStop 0:05:14
123 Darren Lapthorne (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling 0:05:43
124 Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:06:04
125 Graeme Brown (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling 0:06:25
126 Tyler Magner (USA) Hincapie Racing Team 0:06:44
127 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
128 Tom Zirbel (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
129 Daniele Ratto (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
130 Stephen Leece (USA) Jamis – Hagens Berman
131 Jesus Hernandez Blazquez (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo
132 Martin Velits (Svk) Etixx – Quick-Step
133 Carson Miller (USA) Jamis – Hagens Berman 0:07:08
134 Kevin De Mesmaeker (Bel) Team Novo Nordisk 0:07:36
135 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step
136 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step 0:07:38
137 Matti Breschel (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo
138 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) MTN – Qhubeka 0:08:22
139 David Williams (USA) Jamis – Hagens Berman 0:11:37
140 Jos van Emden (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:12:00
141 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin 0:15:25