GAVIRIA OUTSPRINTS THE PACK TO STAGE 1 VICTORY AS 2018 AMGEN TOUR OF CALIFORNIA GETS UNDERWAY IN LONG BEACH
Ewan and ‘King of California’ Sagan Round out Podium
after 83.6-mile Circuit Race
Climbers Primed for Tomorrow’s Anticipated Queen Stage from
Ventura to the Top of Gibraltar Road
LONG BEACH, Calif. (May 13, 2018) – It was an all-star dash to the finish as the 2018 Amgen Tour of California got underway in Long Beach, with Quick-Step Floors’ Fernando Gaviria (COL) outsprinting the world-class lineup that included World Champion BORA-hansgrohe’s Peter Sagan (SVK), Team KATUSHA ALPECIN’s Marcel Kittel (GER) and Team Dimension Data’s Mark Cavendish (GBR). Young Australian sprinter Caleb Ewan of Mitchelton-SCOTT claimed second place and Sagan, who took second place on last year’s opening stage, ended today in third.
Stage 1 presented by Breakaway from Cancer® featured 12 laps of a 7-mile circuit that showcased crowds lining downtown Long Beach iconic locations including the waterfront, Bixby Park and Retro Row. An early breakaway pulled away to a 2-minute lead at the midpoint of the stage, containing Holowesko|Citadel p/b Arapahoe Resources’ Andrei Krasilnikau (BLR) and United Healthcare Pro Cycling’s Tanner Putt (Utah native) (Boulder, Colo.) who was awarded the Breakaway from Cancer®Most Courageous Rider Jersey for his inspiring ride.
Photo gallery by Dave Richards, daverphoto.com:
Men's Stage One Podium in Long Beach - L-R Caleb Ewan ( Mitchelton-Scott) Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors) Peter Sagan (Bora Hansgrohe) 2018 Amgen Tour of California cycling race (Photo by Dave Richards, daverphoto.com)
“My legs felt really good during the race. I’m happy to do a good job for my team, and we’re happy to win the stage,” said Gaviria. He added, “I don’t know if I’m surprised [about the win] as I’ve been training in my house….I tried to come back really strong in the (Tour de) Romandie, which is more difficult for the finished race because it’s solid climbs. After that I went to Frankfurt and there the legs were better, and now I come back to the win, and I’m really happy for this.”
Putt commented, “First move of the day at kilometer zero. It was just me and a rider from [HoloweskoICitadel p/b Arapahoe Resources] and the plan was just to get myself in the break and try to take some of the sprint points, and just give the guys in the bunch a free ride for the day, so it was a long day. Once the field never gave us over two minutes, we knew that it was just a matter of time until they brought us back.”
In addition to claiming the stage win, 23-year-old Gaviria, who is making a comeback from a hand injury earlier this season also closed today with the TAG Heuer Best Young Rider Jersey and the Visit California Sprint Jersey. Rounding out the top five for the stage were KATUSHA ALPECIN’s Marcel Kittel (GER) in fourth, and UAE Team Emirates’ Alexander Kristoff (NOR) in fifth.
Stage 1 Podium
- Fernando Gaviria (COL), Quick-Step Floors (BEL) 3h02’23”
- Caleb Ewan (AUS), Mitchelton-SCOTT (AUS) s.t
- Peter Sagan (SVK), BORA-hansgrohe (GER) s.t
Stage 1 Jersey Winners:
Amgen Race Leader Jersey – Fernando Gaviria (COL), Quick-Step Floors (BEL)
Breakaway from Cancer® Most Courageous Rider Jersey – Tanner Putt (USA), UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team (USA)
Visit California Sprint Jersey – Fernando Gaviria (COL), Quick-Step Floors (BEL)
TAG Heuer Best Young Rider Jersey – Fernando Gaviria (COL), Quick-Step Floors (BEL)
The Queen Stage comes early this year with tomorrow’s Stage 2 presented by Lexus leading cyclists 96.3 miles from first-time host Ventura to a fan-favorite finish atop Gibraltar Road in Santa Barbara County. The stage features 7,700’ in elevation gain and a 3,100’ climb over the final eight miles.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled with today’s kick-off of the 2018 Amgen Tour of California,” said Kristin Klein, President, Amgen Tour of California and Executive Vice President, AEG Sports. “The incredible crowds, which were nine or ten deep along some parts of the course, were certainly treated to international cycling at its best. Between today’s sprint to the finish in Long Beach and tomorrow’s epic climb up to the top of Gibraltar Road, our fans this week are certainly going to see the most talented athletes in cycling today.”
The 2018 edition of America’s premier cycling stage race will cover 645 miles of roadways, highways and coastlines during seven stages from Long Beach to Sacramento May 13-19, while the Amgen Tour of California Women’s Race empowered with SRAM, showcasing the world’s best women cyclists, will run concurrently May 17-19, covering upward of 187 miles over three stages. The annual professional cycling events are the only U.S. races on the UCI WorldTour calendar and continue to attract some of the most renowned cyclists and teams in the world.
Results:
STAGE CLASSIFICATION 1
LONG BEACH – LONG BEACH
SUNDAY, MAY 13, 2018
Pl Bib Name First Name Team Nat B P Split Pl Bib Name First Name Team Nat B P Split
1 31 *GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando QST COL B:10″ 00″
2 73 *EWAN Caleb MTS AUS B:06″ ‘ ‘
3 11 SAGAN Peter BOH SVK B:04″ ‘ ‘
4 51 KITTEL Marcel TKA GER ‘ ‘
5 141 KRISTOFF Alexander UAD NOR ‘ ‘
6 106 *PHILIPSEN Jasper HBA BEL ‘ ‘
7 125 REIJNEN Kiel TFS USA ‘ ‘
8 136 *WALSCHEID Maximilian Richard SUN GER ‘ ‘
9 65 MAGNER Tyler RLY USA ‘ ‘
10 41 CAVENDISH Mark DDD GBR B:01″ ‘ ‘
11 105 *OLIVEIRA Ivo HBA POR ‘ ‘
12 164 MCCABE Travis UHC USA ‘ ‘
13 22 BEVIN Patrick BMC NZL ‘ ‘
14 151 MURPHY John HCA USA ‘ ‘
15 87 WISNIOWSKI Lukasz SKY POL ‘ ‘
16 116 MCLAY Daniel EFD GBR ‘ ‘
17 37 RICHEZE Maximiliano Ariel QST ARG ‘ ‘
18 77 MEZGEC Luka MTS SLO ‘ ‘
19 1 *POWLESS Neilson TLJ USA ‘ ‘
20 5 *TOLHOEK Antwan TLJ NED ‘ ‘
21 71 YATES Adam MTS GBR ‘ ‘
22 84 ROWE Luke SKY GBR ‘ ‘
23 81 *BERNAL GOMEZ Egan Arley SKY COL ‘ ‘
24 63 CARPENTER Robin RLY USA ‘ ‘
25 111 PHINNEY Taylor EFD USA ‘ ‘
26 12 BODNAR Maciej BOH POL ‘ ‘
27 96 GAUTIER Cyril ALM FRA ‘ ‘
28 82 *GEOGHEGAN HART Tao SKY GBR ‘ ‘
29 104 *GARRISON Ian HBA USA ‘ ‘
30 2 DE TIER Floris TLJ BEL ‘ ‘
31 113 CRADDOCK G Lawson EFD USA ‘ ‘
32 45 SLAGTER Tom-Jelte DDD NED ‘ ‘
33 135 TEUNISSEN Mike SUN NED ‘ ‘
34 132 FRÖHLINGER Johannes SUN GER ‘ ‘
35 14 MAJKA Rafal BOH POL ‘ ‘
36 74 HAYMAN Mathew MTS AUS ‘ ‘
37 114 HOWES Alex EFD USA ‘ ‘
38 64 *DE VOS Adam RLY CAN ‘ ‘
39 6 WYNANTS Maarten TLJ BEL ‘ ‘
40 146 MIRZA AL-HAMMADI Yousif UAD UAE ‘ ‘
41 13 KOLÁR Michal BOH SVK ‘ ‘
42 94 FRANK Mathias ALM SUI ‘ ‘
43 72 BAUER Jack MTS NZL ‘ ‘
44 66 *MCNULTY Brandon RLY USA ‘ ‘
45 17 SAGAN Juraj BOH SVK ‘ ‘
46 131 ARNDT Nikias SUN GER ‘ ‘
47 25 SCHÄR Michael BMC SUI ‘ ‘
48 57 *ZABEL Rick TKA GER ‘ ‘
49 4 LEEZER Thomas TLJ NED ‘ ‘
50 47 VERMOTE Julien DDD BEL ‘ ‘
51 147 *RAVASI Edward UAD ITA ‘ ‘
52 123 *GUERREIRO Rúben TFS POR ‘ ‘
53 117 *OWEN Logan EFD USA ‘ ‘
54 167 TVETCOV Serghei UHC ROU ‘ ‘
55 21 BOOKWALTER Brent BMC USA ‘ ‘
56 144 ‹URASEK Kristijan UAD CRO ‘ ‘
57 23 VAN GARDEREN Tejay BMC USA ‘ ‘
58 85 *SIVAKOV Pavel SKY RUS ‘ ‘
59 33 *DE PLUS Laurens QST BEL ‘ ‘
60 103 *BENNETT Sean HBA USA ‘ ‘
61 127 STUYVEN Jasper TFS BEL ‘ ‘
62 161 MANNION Gavin UHC USA ‘ ‘
63 163 HAEDO Lucas Sebastian UHC ARG ‘ ‘
64 97 VANDENBERGH Stijn ALM BEL ‘ ‘
65 3 *KUSS Sepp TLJ USA ‘ ‘
66 83 *HENAO GOMEZ Sebastian SKY COL ‘ ‘
67 102 *BARTA William HBA USA ‘ ‘
68 152 *BRYON Miguel HCA USA ‘ ‘
69 154 *EISENHART Taylor (T.J.) HCA USA ‘ ‘
70 121 STETINA Peter TFS USA ‘ ‘
71 26 *VAN HOOYDONCK Nathan BMC BEL ‘ ‘
72 143 BYSTRĮM Sven Erik UAD NOR ‘ ‘
73 32 *ASGREEN Kasper QST DEN ‘ ‘
74 16 POLJANSKI Pawel BOH POL ‘ ‘
75 67 PATE Danny RLY USA ‘ ‘
76 95 GASTAUER Ben ALM LUX ‘ ‘
77 112 CLARKE Simon EFD AUS ‘ ‘
78 124 RAST Gregory TFS SUI ‘ ‘
79 53 *FABBRO Matteo TKA ITA ‘ ‘
80 52 BOSWELL Ian TKA USA ‘ ‘
81 76 KLUGE Roger MTS GER ‘ ‘
82 24 ROSSKOPF Joseph BMC USA ‘ ‘
83 36 *NARVAEZ Jhonnatan QST ECU ‘ ‘
84 145 *GANNA Filippo UAD ITA ‘ ‘
85 162 CLARKE Jonathan UHC AUS ‘ ‘
86 62 BRITTON Robert RLY CAN ‘ ‘
87 115 *MARTINEZ POVEDA Daniel FelipeEFD COL ‘ ‘
88 166 PUTT Tanner UHC USA B:06″ ‘ ‘
89 133 *HINDLEY Jai SUN AUS ‘ ‘
90 61 HUFFMAN Evan RLY USA ‘ ‘
91 142 *AIT EL ABDIA Anass UAD MAR ‘ ‘
92 15 OSS Daniel BOH ITA ‘ ‘
93 75 HEPBURN Michael MTS AUS ‘ ‘
94 43 MORTON Lachlan DDD AUS ‘ ‘
95 34 *HODEG CHAGUI Alvaro Jose QST COL B:01″ ‘ ‘
96 42 *DAVIES Scott DDD GBR ‘ ‘
97 27 WYSS Danilo BMC SUI ‘ ‘
98 46 THOMSON Jay Robert DDD RSA ‘ ‘
99 91 NAESEN Oliver ALM BEL ‘ ‘
100 126 SKUJINS Toms TFS LAT ‘ ‘
101 156 *LIENHARD Fabian HCA SUI ‘ ‘
102 86 STANNARD Ian SKY GBR ‘ ‘
103 101 *BJERG Mikkel HBA DEN ‘ ‘
104 153 COMPANIONI Ruben HCA CUB ‘ ‘
105 165 NORRIS Lachlan UHC AUS ‘ ‘
106 55 HOLLENSTEIN Reto TKA SUI ‘ ‘
107 122 *CONCI Nicola TFS ITA ‘ ‘
108 93 DILLIER Silvan ALM SUI ‘ ‘
109 155 KRASILNIKAU Andrei HCA BLR B:04″ ‘ ‘
110 157 *RHIM Brendan HCA USA ‘ ‘
111 107 *RICE Michael HBA AUS ‘ ‘
112 92 *COSNEFROY Benoit ALM FRA ‘ ‘
113 56 *POLITT Nils TKA GER 21″
114 35 KEISSE Iljo QST BEL 31″
115 54 HAAS Nathan TKA AUS 46″
116 44 RENSHAW Mark DDD AUS 57″
117 134 STAMSNIJDER Tom SUN NED 01’12”
