Escape group: Maxime Boulet (AG2r), Jeff Louder (UnitedHealthcare), David Boily (Spidertech-C10), Andrew Dahlheim, Ben Jacques-Maynes (Bissell), Sebastian Salas (Optum pro Cycling-Kelly Benefit Strategies), Josh Atkins (Bontrager-Livestrong), Sam Johnson (Exergy)
(Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
Ben Jacques-Maynes (Bissell) launches an attack as the road gets steeper.
(Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
Ben Jacques-Maynes (Bissell) gets back to racing after healing from a past race injury.
(Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
Ben Jacques-Maynes (Bissell) must have known he was going to have a good day before the start
(Image credit: Jon Devich)
It's been a hard year for Ben Jacques-Maynes of Bissell, but one year on from a crash at the Amgen Tour of California that left him with a simple broken collarbone that turned into a month ordeal, he was back in the race and on the attack, claiming the most aggressive rider's jersey at the end of the opening stage in Santa Rosa.
Fractured clavicles are the most common injury for bike racers, but Jacques-Maynes's break last year was complicated first by a serious bone infection and then took extra measures to get it to heal properly. But now after a big push to regain his previous fitness in time for the Tour and 179 kilometres in the breakaway, Jacques-Maynes which carry the most aggressive rider's jersey when the race visits his home training grounds in the Santa Cruz mountains tomorrow.
"It feels really good to start off the race this way," he told Cyclingnews. "My Bissell teammate backed me up, I had Andrew Dahlheim in the break with me and the team was spectacular. We made sure we were represented and to get the jersey out of it was spectacular."
In addition to his medical issues, while he was away racing earlier this month his house was broken into and several electronic items stolen. "Life happens, we just try to persevere through the hard times. I had a lot of knocks in the last year. We gotta jump this hurdle in the Tour of California, and move on. It was a great first day."
The team had a special edge since their team's base is in Santa Rosa, and their training camp was held here after the route was announced. "We did the entire loop in camp in February, and I knew every inch of the road. I was pretty comfortable the whole day. I was surprised we had such a gap, up to 11 minutes, but I was feeling good all the way through so I felt it was a good time to attack and try to ride it to the finish. No luck, but I got something out of it."
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Laura Weislo is a Cyclingnews veteran of 20 years. Having joined in 2006, Laura extensively covered the Operacion Puerto doping scandal, the years-long conflict between the UCI and the Tour de France organisers ASO over the creation of the WorldTour, and the downfall of Lance Armstrong and his lifetime ban for doping. As Managing Editor, Laura coordinates coverage for North American events and global news.
