Tour of California: Phinney wins stage 5 with late attack

BMC Racing’s Taylor Phinney got the win he wanted at the Tour of California when he soloed to the Stage 5 finish line in Santa Barbara on Thursday. The American time trial specialist attacked on the descent off of San Marcos Pass and won the race with few seconds to spare ahead of a dwindled bunch sprint led by Peter Sagan (Cannondale) and Matt Goss (Orica-GreenEdge).

"It's huge to win at home, in front of a home crowd," Phinney said. "I'm from Colorado but I spend a lot of time in Santa Barbara, and I've done that descent many times. It's always special to win, but to win like that is the best way.

"I was never 100 per cent confident, but I knew that with 5km to go I had 30 seconds ... but that road along the coast took a long time. I just went for it, and once I could feel the energy of the crowd - we live for that magic of the moment - it was very special."

There was no change to the overall classification with Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) leading the race by 28 seconds ahead of Rohan Dennis (Garmin-Sharp) and 1:09 minutes ahead of Tiago Machado.

"Everyone felt the heat today," Wiggins said. "That was the hottest day I’ve ever experienced on my bike. Some guys will suffer for it, but it’s the same for everyone. I rode Mountain High and know what to expect. They are predicting cooler temperatures tomorrow, so that will be good for everyone."

The peloton lined up on the historic Pismo Beach Pier for the start of the fifth stage of the Tour of California. The warm weather continued with temperatures in the high 90s Fahrenheit. The 173.8km stage was rolling and included a late-race climb over San Marcos Pass before descending into Santa Barbara.

An early move went that included Michael Schär (BMC Racing), Danny van Poppel (Trek Factory Racing), Maarten Wynants (Belkin), Isaac Bolivar (UnitedHealthcare), Iker Camano (NetApp-Endura) and Serghei Tvetcov (Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis).

Van Poppel took full points at the first intermediate sprint in Arroyo Grande, 25km into the race, and Camano picked them up at the second sprint in Nipomo, 35.5km into the race.

Wynants was the highest placed on GC, sitting 9:44 minutes behind Wiggins, however, Team Sky, with some help from Cannondale, kept the breakaway at a safe two-minute lead and reduced the gap to under a minute near the base of San Marcos Pass.

Jens Voigt (Trek Factory Racing) made a move out of the peloton at the base of San Marcos Pass. The attack was rather expected, a typical Voigt move, and a smiliar moved that he made before winning in Avila Beach last year. This time he wasn’t as successful and was brought back a few minutes later.

Wynants was the last of the breakaway riders to make an attack but he was reabsorbed into the field partway up the climb. The field was together in a long sraight line with Team Sky and Cannondale setting a quick pace.

Sagan, who was still in the group toward the top of the climb, sent more of his Cannondale teammate George Bennett to the front to increase the speeds, just enough for him to stay with the main group while also getting rid of other potential sprint threats.

The first attack came from Daniel Jaramillo (Jamis-Hagens Berman), a rider who showed his climbing potential after winning atop Mogollon at the Tour of the Gila. early this season. The Colombia gained a few meters on the field before being caught.

Will Routely (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) jumped out of the field near the top of the climb to pick up full points in the King of the Mountain competition. The Canadian won previous day’s fourth stage in Cambria and was leading both the KOM and the Sprint competitions heading into the fifth stage.

“I think some of the other guys who had point weren’t in the group anymore,” Routley said. “I felt good on that last climb and thought that if I could sprint for it then I’d be secure with the point I have now.”

Routley was planning on contesting the potential bunch spring aswell, however, his GC teammate Carter Jones flatted on the climb and he stopped to give him a wheel.

Phinney snuck off the front of the field in a tuck position on the descent, gaining 25 seconds. The time trial specialist was a threat to the other team’s sprinters left in the main field, all except for Greg van Avermaet, who sat in the field protected from the wind on the descent with 20km to go.

When asked why he decided to attack on the descent, Phinney said, “"Stupidity maybe? Sometimes you just have a voice inside that says go. I know I can go downhill faster than everyone else, mainly because I weigh more than everyone else. Something inside me said to go for it. I got to the bottom with a gap and said, 'well, I'm committed now.' I kept getting splits from the moto and it was looking good. The more I went the more painful it got, but I knew it would be worth it if I made it. It's the best way to win, like that."

Cannondale rallied their leadout to help set up Sagan for the final sprint followed by Orica-GreenEdge for its sprinter, Goss. Phinney, however, was completely committed to his solo move and increased his lead to 40 seconds as he raced into Santa Barbara.

Results