Amgen Tour of California 2014 Stage 8

Bradley Wiggins triumphed in this year’s Amgen Tour of California, after securing the overall title following today’s final 122.4 kilometer stage ending in Thousand Oaks. 

Meanwhile, Mark Cavendish claimed the stage victory, after narrowly beating John Dengenkolb and Peter Sagan in a hotly contested sprint finish. 

Earlier Race Highlights

A late breakaway group containing Lucas Euser (UnitedHealthcare), Jack Bobridge (Belkin), Eloy Teruel (Jamis-Hagens Berman) and Jens Keukeleire (Orica-GreenEdge), held a 24 second lead over the chase – heading into the final two laps of the finishing circuit. 

In the meantime, a second chase group containing Cavendish, Wiggins, Sagan and John Degenkolb continued  closing in. 

Indeed, entering into the final lap, the escapees were caught, with Tereul being the last rider to be reeled in. 

From there, an ambitious Bissell Development Team was the first to take the front. However, an equally determined BMC quickly took over- with their man Thor Hushovd taking the lead. 

With 1 kilometer remaining, Degenkolb and his Giant-Shimano team came to the fore, but not without Sagan and Cavendish on their heels to contest the sprint as well.  

In the end, it was the "Manx Missile" who crossed the line first, edging out Degenkolb – with Sagan finishing third.

“I’m in the form of my life,” said Cavendish, who admitted celebrating a bit early and nearly giving Degenkolb the chance to scoot past for the win. The Manxster applauded the sacrifices made by his teammates to keep him in the hunt, and even tipped his hat to the man who finished third on the day, saying, “Sagan’s not a sprinter — he’s Peter Sagan, which is something special.”

In the final tally, Wiggins claimed the overall title by 30 seconds over Rohan Dennis, with Lawson Craddock securing a position on the podium in third – at 1:48 back.

Wiggins praised his teammates for their hard work and support during this year’s Tour of California with the following remarks.

“It’s an incredible team of people around me, really,” said Wiggins. “The team have taken the strain all week.

“It’s always an honor to wear a yellow jersey. At 34 … it’s nice to still be winning at this age.”

Stage 8 Results
GBR 1 CAVENDISH, Mark (OMEGA PHARMA – QUICK-STEP) 2:53:50
GER 2 DEGENKOLB, John (GIANT-SHIMANO)
SVK 3 SAGAN, Peter (CANNONDALE)
AUS 4 GOSS, Matthew Harley (ORICA GreenEDGE)
NED 5 VAN POPPEL, Danny (TREK FACTORY RACING)
NOR 6 HUSHOVD, Thor (BMC RACING)
NED 7 BOOM, Lars (BELKIN)
AUS 8 DEMPSTER, Zakkari (NETAPP – ENDURA)
USA 9 HOWES, Alex (GARMIN SHARP)
USA 10 REIJNEN, Kiel (UNITEDHEALTHCARE)
USA 11 RATHE, Jacob (JELLY BELLY P/B MAXXIS)
GER 12 ZEPUNTKE, Ruben (BISSELL DEVELOPMENT TEAM)
COL 13 JARAMILLO DIEZ, Daniel Alexander (JAMIS – HAGENS BERMAN)
NZL 14 SERGENT, Jesse (TREK FACTORY RACING)
NED 15 DE KORT, Koen (GIANT-SHIMANO)
USA 16 JONES, Carter (OPTUM P/B KELLY BENEFIT STRATEGIES)
SLO 17 KOREN, Kristijan (CANNONDALE)
COL 18 ACEVEDO COLLE, Janier Alexis (GARMIN SHARP)
BEL 19 STUYVEN, Jasper (TREK FACTORY RACING)
GBR 20 WIGGINS, Bradley (SKY)

Final General Classification
GBR 1 WIGGINS, Bradley (SKY) 28:22:05
AUS 2 DENNIS, Rohan (GARMIN SHARP) + 30
USA 3 CRADDOCK, Lawson (GIANT-SHIMANO) + 1:48
POR 4 MACHADO, Tiago (NETAPP – ENDURA) + 2:02
GBR 5 YATES, Adam (ORICA GreenEDGE) + 2:14
USA 6 STETINA, Peter (BMC RACING) + 2:30
COL 7 CHAVES RUBIO, Jhoan Esteban (ORICA GreenEDGE) + 2:39
NED 8 TEN DAM, Laurens (BELKIN) + 3:01
COL 9 ACEVEDO COLLE, Janier Alexis (GARMIN SHARP) + 3:05
ESP 10 DE LA CRUZ MELGAREJO, David (NETAPP – ENDURA) + 3:06
USA 11 JONES, Carter (OPTUM P/B KELLY BENEFIT STRATEGIES) + 3:19
ESP 12 ZUBELDIA AGIRRE, Haimar (TREK FACTORY RACING) + 3:45
USA 13 BUSCHE, Matthew (TREK FACTORY RACING) + 3:57
USA 14 DANIELSON, Thomas (GARMIN SHARP) + 4:27
NED 15 OLIVIER, Daan (GIANT-SHIMANO) + 4:51
CRC 16 OBANDO BRENES, Gregory (JAMIS – HAGENS BERMAN) + 7:30
SLO 17 KOREN, Kristijan (CANNONDALE) + 8:00
FRA 18 DAMUSEAU, Thomas (GIANT-SHIMANO) + 8:23
COL 19 JARAMILLO DIEZ, Daniel Alexander (JAMIS – HAGENS BERMAN) + 9:28
USA 20 EUSER, Lucas (UNITEDHEALTHCARE) + 9:59

Amgen Tour of California 2014 Stage 8 jerseys

Jersey Winner

 Leader Bradley Wiggins

Sprint Peter Sagan

KOM Will Routley

  Young Rider Lawson Craddock

Courageous Jack Bobridge