Tour of California: Bennett moves into yellow after Big Bear time trial

George Bennett (LottoNL-Jumbo) rode his way into the yellow jersey at the Amgen Tour of California on Friday, beating overnight leader Rafal Majka (Bora-Hansgrohe) in the stage 6 Big Bear Lake time trial by 59 seconds to claim the race lead.

Team Sky's Jonathan Dibben took the stage win, covering the 24km route in 28:27, seven seconds better than runner-up Brent Bookwalter (BMC Racing), who moved into fourth overall with his performance. Cannondale-Drapac's Andrew Talansky finished third, 16 seconds behind Dibben and moved into third overall.

Bennett, who finished fourth on the day, now leads Majka by 35 seconds in the overall, with Talansky in third at 36 seconds and Bookwalter 45 seconds back.

Ian Boswell (Team Sky) finished 21st on the day and slipped off the overall podium to fifth, while Dimension Data's Lachlan Morton suffered an untimely mechanical and finished 49th, slipping from fifth to ninth.

While Bennett said in the post-race press conference that he was surprised that the day ended with himself in yellow, Dibben said he was even more shocked with his stage win.

"I think George said it was disbelief, and I can certainly tell you it’s certainly a bigger shock for me. At altitude you can’t really afford to go into the red too much, and so I didn’t bother with any sort of pacing there, I just sort of went out there and let the pain come to me. After a few K I was already screaming and I just kept digging in."

Bennett, meanwhile, had previously told Cyclingnews he thought he'd need at least 90 seconds on riders like Talansky and Bookwalter heading into the time trial if he wanted to keep his podium spot. He went into the day with less than a minute, but his performance carried him through. His effort on course even caught hm by surprise.

"I was riding and I didn’t hear much over the radio, then just about halfway my director suddenly lit up and just got super excited, yelling in my ear and I knew that something was happening," Bennett said. "It wasn’t really until a couple of K to go that I really stepped into it. I crossed the line and knew I had a good time. I was like third or fourth or something. I was waiting for the clock to tick down and it was a pretty nervous few minutes."

How it unfolded

The 24km time trial course in Big Bear Lake, a picturesque alpine pool about 169km due east from Los Angeles, had a perfectly flat profile and was not especially technical, but the elevation of more than 2,000 metres added an extra challenge.

Twenty-year-old Filippo Ganna (UAE Team Emirates), who started just 13 riders into the 123-rider field, set the best early time with a ride of 28:48, backing up previous results he achieved in the U23 ranks.

Ganna's early start time and quick result meant a long day in the hot seat for the young Italian, as rider after rider approached his time but could not match his effort.

Reigning US time trial champion Taylor Phinney (Cannondale-Drapac) was the first rider to come close with a mark of 29:03, but BMC's Martin Elmiger came in next with a time of 28:52 to slot into second. Elmiger's mark was also quickly eclipsed when Maciej Bodnar (Bora-Hansgrohe) came in at 28:50, just two seconds off the leader's time.

Ganna's mark eventually fell when Jonathan Dibben (Team Sky) crossed the line with an impressive 28:27, 21 seconds better than the previous fastest time. The 23-year-old Briton also had an impressive time trial palmares from his U23 racing.

Dibben's mark was briefly threatened by Peter Sagan as the world champion rolled over the, but Sagan slowed in the second half of the route and crossed the line at 28:50 to slot into third.

Dibben's mark held as the general classification contenders started, which saw Morton suffer a devastating blow with a mechanical issue as he rolled out of the start house. The rider who started the day fourth overall was quickly on a replacement race machine and back in the race.

Among the GC contenders, Bookwalter, starting fifth from last, came in with a time of that slotted him into second behind Dibben with just Morton, Talansky, Boswell, Bennett and Majka still on course.

Morton managed a time of 30:22, but Talansky finished just a handful of seconds later with the third-best time of the day at 28:43. Boswell finished next in 29:26 and slipped a few spots on the GC.

Bennett came in next, riding a 28:45 over the 24km to move into first place overall after Majka finished in 29:26.

Full Results

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#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Jonathan Dibben (GBr) Team Sky0:28:27
2Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team0:00:07
3Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale-Drapac0:00:16
4George Bennett (NZl) Team LottoNl-Jumbo0:00:18
5Filippo Ganna (Ita) UAE Team Emirates0:00:21
6Maximilian Schachmann (Ger) Quick-Step FloorsRow 5 - Cell 2
7Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe0:00:23
8Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Bora-HansgroheRow 7 - Cell 2
9Martin Elmiger (Swi) BMC Racing Team0:00:25
10Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin0:00:27
11Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) UAE Team Emirates0:00:28
12Tom Bohli (Swi) BMC Racing TeamRow 11 - Cell 2
13Taylor Phinney (USA) Cannondale-DrapacRow 12 - Cell 2
14Miles Scotson (Aus) BMC Racing Team0:00:37
15Mads Würtz Schmidt (Den) Katusha-Alpecin0:00:39
16Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team0:00:43
17Ben King (USA) Dimension Data0:00:44
18Marcel Kittel (Ger) Quick-Step Floors0:00:46
19Evan Huffman (USA) Rally Cycling0:00:54
20Serghei Tvetcov (Rom) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis0:00:57
21Ian Boswell (USA) Team Sky0:00:59
22Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-HansgroheRow 21 - Cell 2
23Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team Sky0:01:02
24Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Trek-SegafredoRow 23 - Cell 2
25Alexey Vermeulen (USA) Team LottoNl-Jumbo0:01:05
26Matteo Dal Cin (Can) Rally Cycling0:01:07
27Ben Wolfe (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis0:01:09
28Koen Bouwman (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo0:01:13
29Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo0:01:14
30Nathan Brown (USA) Cannondale-Drapac0:01:15
31Gavin Mannion (USA) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team0:01:16
32Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits0:01:17
33Enric Mas (Spa) Quick-Step Floors0:01:21
34Jack Bauer (NZl) Quick-Step Floors0:01:23
35Marco Mathis (Ger) Katusha-AlpecinRow 34 - Cell 2
36Daniel Eaton (USA) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling TeamRow 35 - Cell 2
37Daan Olivier (Ned) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 36 - Cell 2
38Sam Oomen (Ned) Team Sunweb0:01:25
39Daniil Fominykh (Kaz) Astana Pro Team0:01:27
40Peter Kennaugh (GBr) Team Sky0:01:28
41Luis Angel Mate (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits0:01:29
42Jhonatan Restrepo (Col) Katusha-Alpecin0:01:30
43Alberto Bettiol (Ita) Cannondale-Drapac0:01:32
44Danny Pate (USA) Rally Cycling0:01:36
45Truls Korsaeth (Nor) Astana Pro Team0:01:38
46Greg Henderson (NZl) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling TeamRow 45 - Cell 2
47Rob Britton (Can) Rally CyclingRow 46 - Cell 2
48Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo0:01:45
49Lachlan Morton (Aus) Dimension Data0:01:55
50Jay McCarthy (Aus) Bora-HansgroheRow 49 - Cell 2
51Samuel Sanchez (Spa) BMC Racing TeamRow 50 - Cell 2
52David Lopez (Spa) Team Sky0:01:56
53Markel Irizar (Spa) Trek-Segafredo0:01:57
54Janier Acevedo (Col) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling TeamRow 53 - Cell 2
55Koen De Kort (Ned) Trek-SegafredoRow 54 - Cell 2
56John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-SegafredoRow 55 - Cell 2
57Gregory Daniel (USA) Trek-Segafredo0:02:01
58Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing Team0:02:03
59Stéphane Rossetto (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits0:02:07
60Tiago Machado (Por) Katusha-Alpecin0:02:13
61Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe0:02:15
62Jordan Cheyne (Can) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis0:02:16
63Federico Zurlo (Ita) UAE Team Emirates0:02:19
64Floris Gerts (Ned) BMC Racing Team0:02:22
65Simone Consonni (Ita) UAE Team Emirates0:02:23
66Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Quick-Step Floors0:02:25
67Elia Viviani (Ita) Team SkyRow 66 - Cell 2
68Sepp Kuss (USA) Rally Cycling0:02:26
69Brendan Canty (Aus) Cannondale-Drapac0:02:28
70Floris De Tier (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo0:02:33
71Scott Thwaites (GBr) Dimension DataRow 70 - Cell 2
72Ruslan Tleubayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team0:02:36
73Owain Doull (GBr) Team Sky0:02:37
74Rúben Guerreiro (Por) Trek-Segafredo0:02:39
75Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team0:02:43
76Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits0:02:46
77Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 76 - Cell 2
78Adam De Vos (Can) Rally Cycling0:02:48
79Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha-Alpecin0:02:53
80Mathias Leturnier (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits0:02:54
81Jonathan Clarke (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team0:02:58
82Kristijan Durasek (Cro) UAE Team Emirates0:03:01
83Artyom Zakharov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team0:03:03
84Matteo Trentin (Ita) Quick-Step Floors0:03:04
85Javier Megias (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk0:03:06
86Sean Bennett (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis0:03:07
87Marko Kump (Slo) UAE Team EmiratesRow 86 - Cell 2
88Joshua Berry (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis0:03:09
89Ulises Alfredo Castillo Soto (Mex) Jelly Belly p/b MaxxisRow 88 - Cell 2
90Nick Dougall (RSA) Dimension DataRow 89 - Cell 2
91Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek-Segafredo0:03:10
92Travis Mccabe (USA) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team0:03:11
93Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Team Sunweb0:03:12
94Michal Kolár (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe0:03:13
95Joonas Henttala (Fin) Team Novo Nordisk0:03:15
96Matti Breschel (Den) Astana Pro TeamRow 95 - Cell 2
97Juraj Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe0:03:18
98Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Dimension DataRow 97 - Cell 2
99Michael Morkov (Den) Katusha-Alpecin0:03:19
100Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team SunwebRow 99 - Cell 2
101Charles Planet (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk0:03:20
102Lennard Hofstede (Ned) Team Sunweb0:03:21
103Tanner Putt (USA) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team0:03:22
104Jacob Rathe (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis0:03:26
105Rick Zabel (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin0:03:30
106Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Quick-Step Floors0:03:34
107Daniel Jaramillo (Col) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team0:03:40
108Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Sunweb0:03:48
109Colin Joyce (USA) Rally Cycling0:03:50
110Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension DataRow 109 - Cell 2
111Lawson Craddock (USA) Cannondale-Drapac0:03:53
112Christopher Williams (Aus) Team Novo Nordisk0:03:54
113Martin Velits (Svk) Quick-Step Floors0:04:06
114David Lozano (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk0:04:07
115Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Sunweb0:04:08
116Yousif Mirza Alhammadi (UAE) UAE Team Emirates0:04:09
117Wouter Wippert (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac0:04:18
118Guillaume Bonnafond (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits0:04:19
119Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits0:04:23
120Tyler Farrar (USA) Dimension Data0:04:57
121Arman Kamyshev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team0:04:59
122Romain Gioux (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk0:05:00
123Yoann Bagot (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits0:05:05
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Points
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Jonathan Dibben (GBr) Team Sky15pts
2Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team12Row 1 - Cell 3
3Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale-Drapac9Row 2 - Cell 3
4George Bennett (NZl) Team LottoNl-Jumbo7Row 3 - Cell 3
5Filippo Ganna (Ita) UAE Team Emirates6Row 4 - Cell 3
6Maximilian Schachmann (Ger) Quick-Step Floors5Row 5 - Cell 3
7Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe4Row 6 - Cell 3
8Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe3Row 7 - Cell 3
9Martin Elmiger (Swi) BMC Racing Team2Row 8 - Cell 3
10Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin1Row 9 - Cell 3
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Young riders
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Jonathan Dibben (GBr) Team Sky0:28:27
2Filippo Ganna (Ita) UAE Team Emirates0:00:21
3Maximilian Schachmann (Ger) Quick-Step FloorsRow 2 - Cell 2
4Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin0:00:27
5Tom Bohli (Swi) BMC Racing Team0:00:28
6Miles Scotson (Aus) BMC Racing Team0:00:37
7Mads Würtz Schmidt (Den) Katusha-Alpecin0:00:39
8Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team Sky0:01:02
9Alexey Vermeulen (USA) Team LottoNl-Jumbo0:01:05
10Ben Wolfe (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis0:01:09
11Koen Bouwman (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo0:01:13
12Enric Mas (Spa) Quick-Step Floors0:01:21
13Marco Mathis (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin0:01:23
14Daniel Eaton (USA) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling TeamRow 13 - Cell 2
15Daan Olivier (Ned) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 14 - Cell 2
16Sam Oomen (Ned) Team Sunweb0:01:25
17Jhonatan Restrepo (Col) Katusha-Alpecin0:01:30
18Alberto Bettiol (Ita) Cannondale-Drapac0:01:32
19Truls Korsaeth (Nor) Astana Pro Team0:01:38
20Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo0:01:45
21Lachlan Morton (Aus) Dimension Data0:01:55
22Jay McCarthy (Aus) Bora-HansgroheRow 21 - Cell 2
23Gregory Daniel (USA) Trek-Segafredo0:02:01
24Federico Zurlo (Ita) UAE Team Emirates0:02:19
25Floris Gerts (Ned) BMC Racing Team0:02:22
26Simone Consonni (Ita) UAE Team Emirates0:02:23
27Sepp Kuss (USA) Rally Cycling0:02:26
28Brendan Canty (Aus) Cannondale-Drapac0:02:28
29Floris De Tier (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo0:02:33
30Owain Doull (GBr) Team Sky0:02:37
31Rúben Guerreiro (Por) Trek-Segafredo0:02:39
32Adam De Vos (Can) Rally Cycling0:02:48
33Mathias Leturnier (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits0:02:54
34Sean Bennett (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis0:03:07
35Ulises Alfredo Castillo Soto (Mex) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis0:03:09
36Nick Dougall (RSA) Dimension DataRow 35 - Cell 2
37Michal Kolár (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe0:03:13
38Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team Sunweb0:03:19
39Charles Planet (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk0:03:20
40Lennard Hofstede (Ned) Team Sunweb0:03:21
41Tanner Putt (USA) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team0:03:22
42Rick Zabel (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin0:03:30
43Colin Joyce (USA) Rally Cycling0:03:50
44Lawson Craddock (USA) Cannondale-Drapac0:03:53
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Teams
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1BMC Racing Team1:26:21
2Bora-Hansgrohe0:00:45
3Team Sky0:01:01
4Cannondale-Drapac0:01:07
5Quick-Step Floors0:01:28
6Katusha-Alpecin0:01:29
7Team LottoNl-Jumbo0:01:36
8UAE Team Emirates0:02:08
9Rally Cycling0:02:37
10UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team0:03:17
11Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis0:03:22
12Cofidis, Solutions Credits0:03:53
13Trek-Segafredo0:03:56
14Dimension Data0:04:12
15Astana Pro Team0:04:41
16Team Sunweb0:06:56
17Team Novo Nordisk0:08:41
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General classification after stage 6
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1George Bennett (NZl) Team LottoNl-Jumbo20:16:48
2Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe0:00:35
3Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale-Drapac0:00:36
4Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team0:00:45
5Ian Boswell (USA) Team Sky0:01:00
6Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) UAE Team Emirates0:01:54
7Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team Sky0:02:12
8Sam Oomen (Ned) Team Sunweb0:02:15
9Lachlan Morton (Aus) Dimension Data0:02:20
10Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Trek-Segafredo0:03:14
11Luis Angel Mate (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits0:03:38
12Enric Mas (Spa) Quick-Step Floors0:03:50
13Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo0:03:53
14Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits0:04:07
15Maximilian Schachmann (Ger) Quick-Step Floors0:04:19
16Samuel Sanchez (Spa) BMC Racing Team0:05:15
17Janier Acevedo (Col) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team0:06:09
18Serghei Tvetcov (Rom) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis0:06:34
19David Lopez (Spa) Team Sky0:06:46
20Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team0:07:46
21Ben King (USA) Dimension Data0:08:52
22Adam De Vos (Can) Rally Cycling0:11:43
23Nathan Brown (USA) Cannondale-Drapac0:11:44
24Tiago Machado (Por) Katusha-Alpecin0:12:19
25Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe0:12:51
26Greg Henderson (NZl) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team0:13:25
27Sepp Kuss (USA) Rally Cycling0:15:40
28Stéphane Rossetto (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits0:17:07
29Rob Britton (Can) Rally Cycling0:17:29
30Javier Megias (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk0:17:32
31Jhonatan Restrepo (Col) Katusha-Alpecin0:18:49
32Scott Thwaites (GBr) Dimension Data0:19:33
33Gavin Mannion (USA) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team0:20:45
34Peter Kennaugh (GBr) Team Sky0:21:32
35Floris De Tier (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo0:23:27
36Daan Olivier (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo0:23:47
37Jay McCarthy (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe0:24:11
38Brendan Canty (Aus) Cannondale-Drapac0:24:55
39Mathias Leturnier (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits0:25:13
40Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe0:28:08
41Lennard Hofstede (Ned) Team Sunweb0:30:06
42Alberto Bettiol (Ita) Cannondale-Drapac0:30:38
43Evan Huffman (USA) Rally Cycling0:31:09
44Matteo Trentin (Ita) Quick-Step Floors0:31:15
45Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin0:31:47
46Guillaume Bonnafond (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits0:34:27
47Jack Bauer (NZl) Quick-Step Floors0:38:22
48Matteo Dal Cin (Can) Rally Cycling0:38:59
49Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits0:39:05
50Alexey Vermeulen (USA) Team LottoNl-Jumbo0:40:58
51Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data0:41:13
52Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo0:42:12
53Yoann Bagot (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits0:42:39
54Jonathan Dibben (GBr) Team Sky0:42:53
55Nick Dougall (RSA) Dimension Data0:43:45
56Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team Sunweb0:44:05
57Matti Breschel (Den) Astana Pro Team0:44:20
58Charles Planet (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk0:44:33
59Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Sunweb0:44:44
60Jordan Cheyne (Can) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis0:44:45
61Artyom Zakharov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team0:44:50
62Tom Bohli (Swi) BMC Racing Team0:45:01
63Kristijan Durasek (Cro) UAE Team Emirates0:45:03
64Simone Consonni (Ita) UAE Team Emirates0:45:19
65Owain Doull (GBr) Team Sky0:45:37
66Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Team Sunweb0:45:39
67Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha-Alpecin0:45:49
68Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo0:45:52
69Daniel Jaramillo (Col) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team0:45:53
70Rick Zabel (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin0:46:20
71Markel Irizar (Spa) Trek-Segafredo0:46:29
72Marcel Kittel (Ger) Quick-Step Floors0:46:33
73Joonas Henttala (Fin) Team Novo Nordisk0:46:40
74Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing Team0:47:33
75Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Quick-Step Floors0:47:34
76Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe