Ben King Takes GC Lead of Amgen Tour

Ben King Takes GC Lead of Amgen Tour

Ben King of Cannondale Pro Cycling Team took the overall lead in the Amgen Tour of California after a surprising win in Stage 2. The 148.5 km race from South Pasadena to Santa Clarita had a total 3,444 meters of climbing, with three category 2 climbs, and one category 1 climb today. Today’s stage is a prelude to tomorrow’s Queen Stage with Gibraltar Road mountain top finish.

The stage started with a breakaway group of 22 riders, which the peloton pulled back all but four riders who stayed away for the bulk of the stage. Ben King (Cannondale Pro Cycling Team), Evan Huffman (Rally Cycling), Will Barta (Axeon Hagens Berman) and Sindre Lunke (Giant – Alpecin). The peloton reduced the 7-minute lead down to 3 minutes at the two climbs of Little Tujunga Canyon 36 km from the finish.
The breakaway was reduced to three on the second summit on the Little Tujunga Canyon climb at 30 km to go with the peloton e minutes behind the leaders. At 28 km, Will Barta suffered a flat tire but rejoined the other two leaders. However, Barta faded at the 8km mark, leaving King and Huffman to finish the run into the finish.
Ben King and Evan Huffman stayed 40 seconds ahead of the peloton as the two leaders raced into town with 3 km to go. With one kilometer to go, the two leaders increased their lead to 50 seconds. Evan Huffman began his sprint early with 300 meters to go. Ben King pulled alongside and then passed Huffman to take the victory.
Tomorrow’s Stage 3 has been widely anticipated by local cyclists in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties who tackle Gibraltar Road. The 12 km climb averages 8% with a section of 11 to 13% for a short section near the top. The third stage is a home stage of the Rally Cycling team, who have an annual training camp in nearby Oxnard in February.

Stage Results

1. Ben King, Cannondale Pro Cycling Team, in 3:52:09
2. Evan Huffman, Rally Cycling:00
3. Alexander Kristoff, Team Katusha:08
4. Peter Sagan, Tinkoff:08
5. Niccolo Bonifazio, Trek – Segafredo:08

General classification

1. Ben King, Cannondale Pro Cycling Team, in 8:12:34
2. Evan Huffman, Rally Cycling:08
3. Peter Sagan, Tinkoff:14
4. Alexander Kristoff, Team Katusha:20
5. Daniel Eaton, UnitedHealthCare Professional Cycling Team:21
6. William Barta, Axeon – Hagens Berman:21
7. Sindre Skjoestad Lunke, Team Giant – Alpecin:23
8. Niccolo Bonifazio, Trek – Segafredo:24
9. Bryan Coquard, Direct Energie:24
10. Danny Van Poppel, Team Sky:24


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