Tour of California 2016: Stage 2

Hello and welcome to live coverage of the 2016 Tour of California's stage 2: South Pasadena to Santa Clarita, 148km

Tour of California Race Hub on Cyclingnews

2016 Tour of California start list

Tour of California stage 1 results

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Below you will find the stage 2 map of the route that the peloton will race, beginning in South Pasadena and finishing in Santa Clarita.

And here is the route profile of stage 2 at the Tour of California that includes four King of the Mountain climbs and two intermediate sprints.

If you missed the opening stage in San Diego yesterday, Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) won the day and took the event's first leader's jersey. You can read the full report, and view the full results, images and video content here.

Tour of California overall classification after stage 1:

1 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff Team 4:20:31
2 Wouter Wippert (Ned) Cannondale Pro Cycling
3 Michael Sheehan (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
4 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
5 Daniel Eaton (USA) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team
6 Joonas Henttala (Fin) Team Novo Nordisk
7 Bryan Coquard (Fra) Direct Energie
8 Martijn Verschoor (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk
9 Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
10 Ruben Guerreiro (Por) Axeon Hagens Berman

The riders are lining up on the start line and set to begin the race very shortly.

There is some overcast in South Pasadena today with a light breeze and temperatures of about 67F, but there is a little bit of humidity.

And the riders are off! They are riding a neutral start of 5.5km before the official start of the race.

The peloton will be thankful that today's exit from South Pasadena is much calmer than yesterday's hectic exit. The riders are rolling through beautiful hillside neighbourhoods, and they will pass the Rose Bowl on the way out.

Our Cyclingnews reporter Ted Burns spoke with Chris Jones of the UnitedHealthcare team this morning ahead of the race. Here is what he had to say,

"There are a lot of different options today, yesterday we had Daniel Eaton in the break and he almost took the best young rider jersey. So he's only a couple of seconds off of that.

"I think that's one of the goals today because he can make that front group, and also to win the stage we have Marco Canola our sprinter / climber. He's like a mini Peter Sagan.

"I think the clear favourite is Sagan today. He's climbing unbelievable, but if we can get Marco over to the finish I think we have a good shot at podium."

And the peloton has just passed the 0km mark, signifying the official start of the race, and the Rose Bowl, a notorious finishing location over the years.

A group of about 20 riders have a slight gap over the field.

That group is continuously reshuffling at the moment, as some riders are dropping back and others are bridging across. 

Today is the second rest day at the Giro d'Italia. If you have a few minutes, listen to our latest Giro d'Italia: Rest-day reflections - Podcast

It's by no means an easy stage today. The peloton have left South Pasadena and the riders must immediately climb toward the first King of the Mountain at Angeles Crest HWY summit, at the 22.5km mark.

Roughly 22 riders have cleared the field along this early stretch of the race with an advantage of about 30 seconds.

The 22 riders now have 35 seconds on the field and Direct Energie is leading the chase at the front of the peloton.

We will have the names of the breakaway riders for you shortly.

As promised, here is a list of the 22 riders with bib# in the current breakaway as the race heads up Angeles Crest HWY summit.

03 Adam Blythe (Tinkoff Team)
05 Michael Gogl (Tinkoff Team)
15 Max Richeze (Etixx-QuickStep)
21 Peter Kennaugh (Team Sky)
35 Nathan Haas (Dimension Data)
45 Tiago Machado (Katusha)
53 Jean-Pierre Drucker (BMC)
56 Michael Schar (BMC)
66 Daniel Patten (Team WIGGINS)
75 Ben King (Cannondale)
82 Julian Arredondo (Trek-Segafredo)
87 Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo)
105 Caleb Fairly (Giant-Alpecin)
116 Alexey Vermeulen (LottoNl-Jumbo)
124 Daniel Eaton (UnitedHealthcare)
132 William Barta (Axeon Hagens Berman)
133 Geoffrey Curran (Axeon Hagens Berman)
138 Neil Powless (Axeon Hagens Berman)
142 Jordan Cheyne (Jelly Belly)
157 Travis McCabe (Holowesko-Citadel)
171 Jesse Anthony (Rally Cycling)
173 Adam De Vos (Rally Cycling)
 

@Rally_Cycling Mon, 16th May 2016 19:40:22

Ben King of the Cannondale Pro Cycling team is in this early move. Cyclingnews' Ted Burns spoke with King after stage 1 yesterday about his comeback from a broken leg. He is hoping to put in a good ride at the Tour of California in order to secure a spot on the Tour de France team in July.

Read more about his Tour of California ambitions here.

We have reports that Michael Schar and Caleb Fairly have been dropped from the breakaway.

The breakaway is about 5km away from the summit of the first King of the mountain in Angeles Crest HWY.

Axeon Hagens Berman have three riders in that front group including Powless, Barta and Curran.

Before the race, Greg Daniel (Axeon) told Cyclingnews that the stage "will be good, we have a strong team and a little bit harder finish so I think it will do the trick for us, so I hope it will be a good day. Logan Owen is a good sprinter, we have Ruben who was 7th yesterday, he's a climber and a sprinter so we have multiple cards to play so it will be good."

The 20 riders out front have been caught by a splintering main field as they race toward the summit of the first KOM. 

It has been reported that Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) is well off the back of the main field now.

But his teammate Nathan Haas is having a wonderful start to the stage. He has launched an attack, followed by Ben King (Cannondale), and the pair have a 10-second lead on the main field.

They are 1km to the top of the King of the Mountain.

123km remaining from 148km

The peloton has reached the top of the first King of the Mountain over Angeles Crest HWY and the field is all together.

The results of the first King of the Mountain over Angeles Crest HWY are:

1 - Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx-QuickStep)

2 - Daniel Jaramillo (UnitedHealthcare)

3 - Neilson Powless (Axeon Hagens Berman)

Alaphilippe was second overall at the Tour of California last year. He had taken the overall race lead from Peter Sagan on the stage that finished atop Mt. Baldy. That led to an exciting finale in Pasadena whereby Sagan's third-place stage finish lifted the Slovakian past Alaphilippe to win the overall title. 

You can view a gallery of last year's race here.

There is a lot of action at the front of the race and it looks like a group of roughly 10 riders is beginning to clear the field.

109km remaining from 148km

A new breakaway is beginning to stick with Pierrick Naud (Rally Cycling), Ben King (Cannondale), Sindre Skoestad Lunke (Giant-ALpecin) and William Barta (Axeon Hagens Berman).

Axeon Hagens Berman are certainly looking to make the breakaway today. Their rider, Nielson Powless, who was third in the first KOM, is a rider to watch for the overall classification this week.

Powless has had a stellar season so far with an overall victory at the Joe Martin Stage Race. He was also third in two stages at the recent Tour of the Gila.

Read more about this up-and-coming rider here.

Correction: It is not Pierrick Naud from Rally Cycling in the breakaway. It is his teammate Evan Huffman. He is with Ben King (Cannondale), William Barta (Axeon Hagens Berman) and Sindre Skjoestad Lunke (Giant-Alpecin).

The four riders have developed a gap of 2:45 on the main field.

Adam Blythe (Tinkoff) is predicting a very difficult stage today whereby a small group make it to the finish together.

He told Cyclingnews' reporter Ted Burns, "It will be hard... I think Pete will still be there but it will be quite a select group at the finish. It's a bit of a bugger but it should be fine."

98km remaining from 148km

The field hasn't finish climbing yet!

The riders are on their way toward the second King of the Mountain on Upper Big Tujunga Canyon Road. It's a 7.9km climb that has an average gradient of 4.5%, so not too steep. But with back to back climbs to start the stage, it is truly a leg burner.

The breakaway, which is now 3:30 minutes ahead of the field, are roughly 5km to the summit.

Jacob Rathe (Jelly Belly-Maxxis), who was the most aggressive rider on stage 1 and one point down in KOM at the start of today's stage noted that the first 60km of the day would be painful.

Asked if he was going to try and make the day's breakaway this morning, he said. “We’ll see what happens. It’s an uphill start so it might sting a little bit.

"It might be easy to get into it like yesterday or it might be really hard. If it doesn’t happen, I have other objectives like maybe in the sprint or something. If I’m there I’ll be going for it.”

The four riders are really extending their lead, and it appears the peloton has let them go. 

The have pushed out their gap to four minutes and they have 1km to go to the top of the KOM.

The gap is now 5:50.

And the breakaway have crested the top of the second KOM.

Huffman took full points at the top, followed by King, Barta and then Lunke.

91km remaining from 148km

The gap has ballooned further out to 6:20.

We can expect to see more of Axel Merckx' young riders from the Axeon Hagens Berman team in breakaways all week. A notoriously aggressive bunch, they never hold back, even in big bike races like the Amgen Tour of California.

Will Barta, who is in the breakaway at the moment, is no exception. To find out more about him, you can read the bio and view photos from his team's website here.

"Like many other Americans on the Axeon Hagens Berman Cycling Team, Will Barta followed the pathway of racing for his national team to reach this program. Riding for Team USA in 2014, he found success in a pair of Nationa Cups events. He was third overall at Course de la Paix and won the opening stage at Trofeo Karlsberg on the way to sixth place overall. In his inaugural season with Axeon last year, he showed his potential as a climber and time trialist while proving to be a valuable teammate. He was fourth at a stage of Le Tour de Bretagne Cycliste trophée harmonie Mutuelle and sixth in the time trial at the Valley of the Sun stage race. When he is not racing, you can find the Boise, Idaho, native completing his college coursework online and enjoying Alpine and Nordic skiing." - from the Axeon Hagens Berman website.

@Rally_Cycling Mon, 16th May 2016 20:56:52

Sindre Skjostad Lunke is another young rider from the Giant-Alpecin team, only 23 years old. He's had a number of highlights from his career over the years including 5th overall at Giro Ciclistico della Valle d'Aosta Mont Blanc in 2014, 3rd in a stage and 8th overall at the same race last year. He was also 7th at the Tour de l'Avenir last year, all under-23 events.

We spoke with Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) at the start today to find out what he thought of the stage, and if he thought it might be a bunch sprint or a small group.

"Today is a very difficult day, so it can also be a breakaway going in because it’s a hard course. In the end it’s going downhill to the finish, but I think for me, if the speed is high, I will struggle. It depends really on how the race is going?”

@Etixx_QuickStep Mon, 16th May 2016 21:13:31

Kristoff is one of several strong sprinters at the Tour of California this week. He finished 16th in stage 1 yesterday.

Asked how is form was ahead of the race he told Cyclingnews,

“Yesterday the team was really good and brought me into really good spots, but I didn’t have the legs to finish the work. I was disappointed. I don’t know really what happened, but I was without power. I tried to look on the replay, and yeah, it looks strange. So I hope I am better today. The rest fo the race I was OK, so I don’t really know what happened.”

You can watch the video highlights from stage 1 here.

Direct Energie has a vested interest in a bunch sprint today, and the team made a strong statement of that when they tried to control the race over the first KOM earlier today by leading the field up the early slopes.

Their Canadian rider Antoine Duchesne told Cyclingnews this morning, 

"Today we will really focus around Bryan [Coquard]. These are climbs that he can go over. I think the major difficulties are at the beginning of the stage, so we’re going to try and keep around him and maybe pulling in the second half of the stage to try and bring a bunch sprint at the end.

"He’s shown that he can beat all of the sprinters here, and especially on a climb like that. He’s one of the best sprinter/climbers, like Peter Sagan or someone like that. So it’s all going to be around him today."

63km remaining from 148km

The leaders' gap is slowly being reduced by a blistering pace set by Tinkoff from the main field.

Gap is down to 5:15.

With the first two KOMs out of the way. The field will set up for the first intermediate sprint on Oro Vista Avenue, located at the 93.5km mark.

But the climbing isn't over yet as they still have two more KOMs over Little Tujunga Canyon Road (111.5km) and again over Little Tujunga Canyon Road (118.5km).

After the two climbs, the field will then descent toward Santa Clarita. On the way to the finish city, they will have one more intermediate sprint at Placerita Canyon Road (124km).

Tinkoff is putting in a massive chase to bring the gap down, as overall race leader and current world champion Peter Sagan sits comfortably behind his teammates, protected from the wind and safe at the front of the field.

BMC Racing have lined up their riders behind Tinkoff, and the Dimension Data is sitting in third position.

King picked up the full points at the intermediate sprint on Oro Vista Avenue.

51km remaining from 148km

The four breakaway riders have regrouped following the sprint and are back in working order, however, their gap has dropped to 4:20

Direct Energie have sent a couple of riders to the front to help Tinkoff in the chase. Their respective sprinters, Bryan Coquard and Peter Sagan, likely won't have any trouble getting over the smaller climbs that are left in the race.

Trek-Segafredo have also sent a couple of riders to help set the pace of the field. They are going to be working for Kiel Reijnen today. 

Reijnen is one of the team's priorities the week in the sprints, the other is Peter Stetina for the GC. 

You can read about the team's Tour of California strategy in Stetina's latest blog here.

The gap is down to 3:25 as the breakaway approaches the next two KOMs over Little Tujunga Canyon Road (111.5km and 118.5km).

Cyclingnews interviewed Lawson Craddock (Cannondale) after stage 1. He says his team has come to the Tour of California to take the top step on the podium; whether that goal is aimed at Craddock or his teammate Andrew Talansky, remains to be seen.

Watch out latest video with Craddock from the Tour of California here. 

Mark Renshaw (Dimension Data) spoke with Cyclingnews about the possibility of a sprint today in Santa Clarita, he said he is not expecting there to be a sprint at all.

“No, not at all. We will race in the first hour, and if we come back to the bunch we’ll be happy, if not it will be a long day. All the sprinters will be in the same boat, I think, so we’ll just see how it pans out. But as I said, if we come back to the bunch it will be a bonus. But I think there are some hard climbs in the final that will decide the race."

Trek-Segafredo's Niccolo Bonifazio said he hopes he can make it over the climbs today, and if so, that he has enough left in the tank to sprint. All-in-all, he says he is in good shape.

“I hope I’m going to hang on in the climbs. It’s going to come to a small group, and I hope to be in that small group.

“My shape is good. I got some good results in Romandie, but there is a very strong guy here in Sagan. We’ll have to see how the climbs go. If they go full gas it will be hard for me to stay in the group, but probably for him, too. But I am in good shape right now."

The team will also be focused on Kiel Reijnen and Peter Stetina for stage wins this week. And in Stetina's case, a top place in the GC.

37km remaining from 148km

The gap to the four riders up front has dropped to 2:40 as they begin to climb up Little Tujunga Canyon Road.

The first time up Little Tujunga Canyon Road is 5km with an average gradient of 6.9%.

Ben King picked up the pace on the lower slopes of the climb, and it was enough to drop Sindre Skjostad Lunke.

Bradley WIggins (Team WIGGINS) is losing ground on the climb, and so is Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data).

There are several splits coming off of the back of the peloton as the ride up the climb.

A running Pope is making a quick pace alongside Ben King up the climb. He's officially been blessed in his bid for the KOM points! 

200metres to the top of the KOM

Huffman is leading into the KOM line with King on his wheel

But King did not have the strength to come around Huffman, who took the inside line around the bend, in the sprint to the top of the climb.

Huffman takes full points, King in second and Barta third.

The race is headed toward the second climb over Little Tujunga Canyon Road, which is the fourth KOM and the final climb of the day.

The second time up is shorter at 2.3km but steeper at 7.6%.

@Rally_Cycling Mon, 16th May 2016 22:18:18

@yu_kie Mon, 16th May 2016 22:17:44

King, Huffman and Barta have increased their lead to 3:15.

Juraj Sagan is leading his brother and overall race leader Peter Sagan down the descent. The pair are stretching the field out into single file as they try to pick up some speed into the final climb.

King is setting a quick pace on the climb as they approach the summit. The stakes are high for these points. The mountain jersey is on the line here and it could go either way; toward Huffman or King.

It was Hufman who picked up the points, barely contested by King once they reached the line. 

King was second and Barta third.

Huffman now leads the early King of the Mountain competition.

Rohan Dennis (BMC) is at the front of the field working for his teammate Brent Bookwalter this week at the Tour of California. 

The field is on the descent with most of the BMC riders at the front.

Unfortunately, Will Barta has had a mechanical and is out of the breakaway.

Time trial world champion Vasil Kiryienka (Team Sky) has crashed on the descent. He waited patiently at the side of the road for his team to provide him with a spare bike. He has gotten back on his bike and is chasing to catch back up to the field.

24km remaining from 148km

Barta has managed to bridge back up to Huffman and King, but the gap has been reduced to 2:35.

BMC has taken complete control of the peloton with 22km to go. 

Aike Visbeek (Giant-Alpecin coach) spoke to Cyclingnews at the start about the day's hilly stage to Santa Clarita.

“I think there are two scenarios. There could be a GC shake-up with big breaks going up the road and teams chasing trying to save GC. I think that will be important in the first part.

"In the second part, if team manage to control it there could be a decimated bunch sprint, then especially guys like Coquard will be one of the favourites for that one, or Van Avermaet from BMC.

"But BMC also has other riders for GC. If they put a guy like Samuel Sanchez in the early break they will say, ‘We don’t do anything.’ So we’re prepared for both. Those are the two scenarios we’re focusing on.”

Asked how John Degenkolb is feeling his week, he said,

“We tried to sprint with him yesterday, but we were a bit unlucky with him with the positioning. We lost one rider due to puncture, so we were one man short and we had to go a bit early. We lost him on the 2k corner but got back. But he was empty with form with many metres to go.

But I think the biggest victory for him was he wasn’t able to contest, to be in the nervous bunch and follow the guys, so big step for us. Not a result, but just getting into the routines and getting into the race again."

Aike Visbeek (Giant-Alpecin coach) spoke to Cyclingnews at the start about the day's hilly stage to Santa Clarita.

“I think there are two scenarios. There could be a GC shake-up with big breaks going up the road and teams chasing trying to save GC. I think that will be important in the first part.

"In the second part, if team manage to control it there could be a decimated bunch sprint, then especially guys like Coquard will be one of the favourites for that one, or Van Avermaet from BMC.

"But BMC also has other riders for GC. If they put a guy like Samuel Sanchez in the early break they will say, ‘We don’t do anything.’ So we’re prepared for both. Those are the two scenarios we’re focusing on.”

Asked how John Degenkolb is feeling this week, he said,

“We tried to sprint with him yesterday, but we were a bit unlucky with him with the positioning. We lost one rider due to puncture, so we were one man short and we had to go a bit early. We lost him on the 2k corner but got back. But he was empty with form with many metres to go.

But I think the biggest victory for him was he wasn’t able to contest, to be in the nervous bunch and follow the guys, so big step for us. Not a result, but just getting into the routines and getting into the race again."

Katusha is now chasing at the front of the field. If Alexander Kristoff is still in the field, he will surly want to try again for a stage win.

Katusha is now chasing at the front of the field. If Alexander Kristoff is still in the field, he will surly want to try again for a stage win.

BMC and Katusha have a grip on the front of the field, while King, Huffman and Barta desperately try and hold their gap at 1:40 with 14km to go.

@alex_howes Mon, 16th May 2016 22:48:24

@DreVorak Mon, 16th May 2016 22:45:53

Ben King has a lot of Twitter fans that want to see him hang on to his lead. Unfortunately, it doesn't look promising as the gap is coming down fast.

Tom Boonen (Etixx-QuickStep) is also in the field and could surprise everyone with a stage win today.

John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin) is also in the field still and will no doubt try and go for the win.

Bryan Coquard (Direct Energie) has determined teammates, who have been coming to the front to set pace frequently throughout the stage in an effort to give their sprinter the best possible chance of success today.

Meanwhile, King, Huffman and Barta are hanging on by only 50 seconds.

Juraj Sagan is ushering his brother Peter around at the front of the field, keeping him in a safe position. There are several other Tinkoff riders sitting slightly further back in the field ready to come to the fore ahead of a bunch sprint.

@TrekSegafredo Mon, 16th May 2016 22:56:30

8km remaining from 148km

Barta has fallen off pace as King and Huffman continue on with a 40-second lead with 8km to go.

@LottoJumbo_road Mon, 16th May 2016 22:57:00

There are only 5km left of his race and King and Huffman are still pushing to hold their gap of 40 seconds.

There is still a small chance that they could stay away.

With 3km to go, Katush has come to the front of the field with a full lead-out train for Alexander Kristoff.

They are followed by Direct Energie, who are pursuing a bunch sprint for Bryan Coquard.

King is taking turn on the front, as Huffman sits on his wheel.

The pair cross under the 1km to go banner.

Huffman handily won the last two KOM sprints and may have the better sprint of the two riders.

But after being of the front for so long, it could be all about who has enough power left in the tank.

Huffman is sprinting, King chasing.

But it is Ben King who takes the stage win!

The peloton sprinted in for third place only seconds behind the King and Huffman.

King is getting hugs and high fives from all of his Cannondale teammates.

King may not have taken the last two KOM sprints but he got the best prize of the day - the stage win.

Kristoff finished third, Sagan fourth.

Tour of California stage 2 - Brief Results
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult 1Ben King (USA) Cannondale   2Evan Huffman (USA) Rally Cycling   3Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha   4Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff Team   5Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Trek-Segafredo   6Danny Van Poppel (Ned) Team Sky   7Patrick Bevin (NZl) Cannondale Pro Cycling   8Nathan Haas (Aus) Dimension Data   9Bryan Coquard (Fra) Direct Energie   10Marco Canola (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team  

King told Cyclingnews yesterday that he wanted to make a strong comeback at the Tour of California, and he did exactly that!

Read the full story here

And it's official. Ben King has also taken over the race lead.

@Shop_Argyle Mon, 16th May 2016 23:13:07

Tour of California stage 2 - brief results

1 Ben King (USA) Cannondale 03:52:09
2 Evan Huffman (USA) Rally Cycling 00:00:00
3 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha 00:00:08
4 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff Team 00:00:00
5 Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 00:00:00
6 Danny Van Poppel (Ned) Team Sky 00:00:00
7 Patrick Bevin (NZl) Cannondale Pro Cycling 00:00:00
8 Nathan Haas (Aus) Dimension Data 00:00:00
9 Bryan Coquard (Fra) Direct Energie 00:00:00
10 Marco Canola (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team 00:00:00

General classification after stage 2

1 Ben King (USA) Cannondale 08:12:34
2 Evan Huffman (USA) Rally Cycling 00:00:08
3 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff Team 00:00:14
4 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha 00:00:20
5 Daniel Eaton (USA) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team 00:00:21
6 William Barta (USA) Axeon Hagens Berman 00:00:00
7 Sindre Skjostad Lunke (Nor) Team Giant-Alpecin 00:00:23
8 Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 00:00:24
9 Bryan Coquard (Fra) Direct Energie 00:00:00
10 Danny Van Poppel (Ned) Team Sky 00:00:00

Thanks for following our live coverage of stage 2 of the Tour of California. We hope you join us again tomorrow for the live coverage of stage 3.

Stage 3 will be a stage that you won't want to miss. It is 167.5km from Thousand Oaks the summit finish of Gibraltar Road.

See you tomorrow!