Talansky Prevails on the Queen Stage

Andrew Talansky wins the Queen Stage 5 of Amgen Tour

Andrew Talansky of Cannondale-Drapac outdueled Rafal Majka (Bora-Hansgrohe) in the final turn toward the finish of Stage 5 of the Amgen Tour of California on Mount Baldy. It was Talansky’s first stage victory in the Tour and the first World Tour victory for Cannondale in two years. Talansky, Majka, George Bennet (Team Lotto NL – Jumbo) and Ian Boswell (Team Sky) climbed toward the finish in the last two kilometers of the 125.5 km (78 mile) mountainous stage. Majka kept his overall lead in the Tour by six seconds over Bennet. Talansky fought his way into the lead on the final corner on rough pavement in the final kilometer as he and Majka battled it out. With Bennett and Boswell slightly behind.

This 125.5 km stage (78 mile) was the Queen stage of the Amgen Tour with 12,000 ft of climbing over a route that starts in Ontario and ends, after a circuitous route, at Mount Baldy. The route initially went up to the Village of Baldy, then onto Glendora Mountain Road (GMR), and back down to Azusa and Glendora and then, finally, back up to Mount Baldy.

A breakaway group of 24 riders formed early, which included Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe). The group eventually split, leaving 13 in the breakaway. They included: Matteo Trentin and Jack Bauer (Quick-Step Floors), Greg Henderson and Daniel Jaramillo (UnitedHealthcare), Evan Huffman and Rob Britton (Rally Cycling, for their second long stage breakaway of the Tour), Peter Kennaugh (Team Sky), Lennard Hofstede (Team Sunweb), Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (Dimension Data), Bert-Jan Lindeman (LottoNL-Jumbo), Yoann Bagot (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) and Artyom Zakharov (Astana Pro Team). All but Britton drifted back to the peloton as Team Lotto NL-Jumbo, trying to keep Bennett at the front, kept up a furious chase. The peloton caught Britton in the early part of the final Mount Baldy climb, setting up the four-rider battle to the finish line.

Stage 5 Results

#	Rider	Time
1	Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale-Drapac	3:43:15
2	Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe
3	George Bennett (NZl) Team Lotto NL-Jumbo	0:00:02
4	Ian Boswell (USA) Team Sky	0:00:05
5	Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team	0:00:08
6	Sam Oomen (Ned) Team Sunweb	0:00:20
7	Lachlan Morton (Aus) Dimension Data	0:00:27
8	Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team Sky	0:00:40
9	Robert Gesink (Ned) Team Lotto NL-Jumbo
10	Sepp Kuss (USA) Rally Cycling	0:00:56

Overall Standings

#	Rider	Time
1	Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe	19:47:57
2	George Bennett (NZl) Team LottoNl-Jumbo	0:00:06
3	Ian Boswell (USA) Team Sky	0:00:25
4	Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale-Drapac	0:00:44
5	Lachlan Morton (Aus) Dimension Data	0:00:49
6	Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team	0:01:02
7	Sam Oomen (Ned) Team Sunweb	0:01:14
8	Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo	0:01:31
9	Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team Sky	0:01:34
10	Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) UAE Team Emirates	0:01:50