Tour of California 2015 – Stage 5 [FULL STAGE]

May 14, 2015

Tour of California 2015 – Stage 5 – Santa Barbara – Santa Clarita : 157,7 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 third win of the 2015 Tour of California Thursday, topping a rainy stage into Santa Clarita over Zico Waeytens (Giant-Alpecin) and Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo).

Toms Skujins (Hincapie Racing) avoided a late-race crash to keep his yellow leader’s jersey going into Friday’s 10.6km revised time trial, which had to be moved from Big Bear Lake to Santa Clarita due to forecasts for inclement weather in the mountains.

Cavendish claimed his third win of the week and his eighth career win in California by sweeping past a Drapac rider and using his high-end speed to hold off the challengers.

In the post-race press conference, a still-shivering Cavendish thanked his teammates for the hard work they’ve put in all week, and he also complimented the Hincapie team for the ay they’ve defended Skujins’ yellow jersey.

“To be fair, today I can’t say that we’re the only team that did it,” Cavendish said of the chase to bring back the breakaway. “The past couple of days the Hincapie team have been pretty phenomenal controlling the race.

“They really have been so strong the last few days that the peloton’s been lined out the whole day. So we’ve just had to swap guys from day to day. We used Yves Lampaert and Martin Velits yesterday, and today and Today Stijn [Vanedbergh]. Stijn is big and he’s strong, and he can just go all day. Superb teammate. Committed, as were all of them.”

How it unfolded

Friday’s 154km stage from the beach front town of Santa Barbara inland to Santa Clarita included two intermediate sprints and four categorised climbs.

Danilo Wyss (BMC Racing), Alex Howes (Cannondale-Garmin), Javier Megias Leal (Novo Nordisk), Lachlan Morton (Jelly Belly-Maxxis) and Geoffrey Curran (Axeon Cycling) sneaked away from the group in the early, undulating kilometres and started building their advantage.

The quintet worked well together and had a gap of just over two minutes when Chris Butler (team SmartStop) jumped out of the group with about 70km remaining and started to bridge.

With 52km remaining, Butler was just a minute behind the breakaway, but the field was still just 30 seconds behind him. Butler defied the odds and use his climbing prowess to make it into the break, adding one more engine to the escapee’s train.

In the field, Etixx-QuickStep lent a hand to HIncapie, and the advantage up front slowly started to come back down, making another bunch gallop look inevitable. Wyss sensed the catch with about 5km remaining and attacked the group, but his move was short lived as Team Sky’s Danny Pate drove the pace, and the peloton flew into Santa Clarita together.

A crash with about 6km to go interrupted the run in to the finish, and a group of about 40 approached the line together. Drapac came to the front in the final kilometres, no doubt hoping to get Wouter Wippert the win after he finished second to Sagan the day before.

But Cavendish sling-shotted off the Drapac leadout with Sagan on his wheel waiting to pounce. The Solovakian didn’t have the speed to get by Cavendish in the long finishing straight, however, and Cavendish took his third win of the week. Waeytens also slipped past Sagan into the runner-up spot.

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

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