photo credits @ Twitter
Mark Cavendish (Etixx-Quick-Step) continued his winning ways, after claiming stage 2 of this year’s Amgen Tour of California today, beating Peter Sagan by less than a wheel’s length with a final bike throw across the line.
Race Highlights
Today’s 120.4 mile stage from Nevada City to Lodi, saw an early breakaway group containing Robin Carpenter (Hincapie Racing), Luis Romero (Jamis-Hagens Berman), Markel Irizar (Trek Factory Racing), and Daniel Oss (BMC Racing), get clear of the peloton.
From there, the escapees went on to establish an advantage of more than 5 minutes over the peloton.
However, as the race entered into the final 50 miles, the peloton managed to bring the gap down to around 3 minutes, mostly under the auspices of Etixx-Quick-Step.
With 10 miles remaining, the breakaway group was still holding onto a 1:40 lead, as they approached the finishing circuit around Lodi.
At one point during the final miles 7, a crash plagued the peloton, claiming Giant-Alpecin’s Warren Barguil and Ben Jacques-Maynes (Jamis-Hagens Berman) as its victims, while also splitting the field.
Meanwhile, as the breakaway group made its way to the finishing straight during the final two laps, Romero was the first escapee to be discharged from the group, as the peloton continued to close in.
Indeed, with 3 miles remaining, the peloton finally succeeded in catching the rest of the breakaway group.
From there, Tinkoff-Saxo took to the front, once again, in hopes of setting up their man – Sagan.
Drapac was also in the mix as well, with Wouter Wippert poised for action too.
But, Cavendish had other plans for his rivals, as he leaped from Sagan’s wheel to seize the victory by mere inches over the Slovakian rider.
Stage 2 Results GBR 1 CAVENDISH, Mark (ETIXX – QUICK STEP) 4:47:02 SVK 2 SAGAN, Peter (TINKOFF – SAXO) NED 3 WIPPERT, Wouter (DRAPAC) USA 4 MURPHY, John (UNITEDHEALTHCARE) NED 5 VAN POPPEL, Danny (TREK FACTORY RACING) LUX 6 DRUCKER, Jean-Pierre (BMC RACING) ARG 7 HAEDO, Lucas Sebastian (JAMIS – HAGENS BERMAN) USA 8 FARRAR, Tyler (MTN – QHUBEKA) SLO 9 KOCJAN, Jure (TEAM SMARTSTOP) BEL 10 WAEYTENS, Zico (GIANT – ALPECIN)
General Classification after Stage 2 GBR 1 CAVENDISH, Mark (ETIXX – QUICK STEP) 0
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