SKUJINS ESCAPES TO THIRD CAREER AMGEN TOUR OF CALIFORNIA VICTORY ON MONTEREY COUNTY RACEWAY KNOWN FOR SPEED
SALINAS, Calif. (May 15, 2018) – Closing out day three at the 2018 Amgen Tour of California, and rebounding one year later at the race where his team pulled him after suffering a concussion and broken collarbone, Trek-Segafredo’s Toms Skujins (LAT) made a late race move that paid off, along with Hagens Berman Axeon Cycling Team’s Sean Bennett (El Cerrito, Calif.) – one of the youngest in the race at 22 – together creating a gap that held all the way through the Laguna Seca Recreation Area’s speedway finish line.
The pair pounced on the final big climb of the day with the peloton trailing by less than 10 seconds when they turned onto the Laguna Seca raceway. The remaining sprinters in the chase group including World Champion Peter Sagan (SVK), who won the stage the last time it finished at the speedway in 2016, jockeyed for position as they tried to chase down the duo, but the gap held with Skujins crossing the finish solo followed by Bennett three seconds later, and Mitchelton-SCOTT’s Caleb Ewan (AUS), who is prepping for his first Tour de France appearance this summer, rounding out third.
Photo Gallery by Dave Richards:
Team Trek Segafredo. Men's Stage Three from King City to Laguna Seca Race Track, 2018 Amgen Tour of California cycling race (Photo by Dave Richards, daverphoto.com)
“The only time I actually dreamed about it [the stage win] was in the last 300… I expected someone to come from the back full throttle but I guess it had been a hard day for everyone with the wind and just the hard pace. And the breakaway was really strong that went in the beginning. And that all played into my advantage,” said Skujins, whose prior victories in California include 2016 (Stage 5) and 2015 (Stage 3). “It’s definitely not the easiest run into the final… I’ve raced on Laguna Seca before and that definitely helped me… I knew how to play it.”
Stage 3 presented by Lexus was the race’s longest with a 122.4-mile stretch featuring five KOMs and 8,300’ of elevation gain from first-time host King City, where the cyclists were cheered on by 2,000 local schoolchildren, to Laguna Seca Recreation Area in Monterey County, where the field met a fast, technical sprint finish.
The break of the day included a trio of U.S. riders: Hagens Berman Axeon Cycling Team’s
Ian Garrison (Decatur, Georgia) and Rally Cycling’s Robin Carpenter (San Diego, Calif.) and Evan Huffman (El Dorado Hills, Calif.), who won two stages last year. Garrison was the last man standing as the others were picked up by the peloton on the Laureless Grade climb and was awarded with the Breakaway from Cancer® Most Courageous Rider Jersey.
The day of tough climbs shattered the peloton with many of the field’s sprinters losing contact with the main group and riders still trailing in minutes after the leaders finished. Quick-Step Floors’ Stage 1 winner Fernando Gaviria (COL) had a mechanical on the downhill from Laureless Grade that took him out of contention for the final sprint.
Team Sky’s 21-year-old Egan Bernal (COL) retains the Amgen Race Leader Jersey, the Visit California Sprint Jersey, the Lexus King of the Mountain Jersey and the TAG Heuer Best Young Rider Jersey.
Utah riders TJ Eisenhart and Tanner Putt are in 21st overall and 84th overall respectively.
Tomorrow’s individual time trial event in San Jose / Morgan Hill will feature cyclists racing the clock one by one. With Bernal having gained significant time over other time trail specialists and GC contenders with his epic Gibraltar Road climb Tuesday, the stakes are high for this stage as riders with race champion ambitions will seek to make up time and pull closer to him in the overall standings. In addition to Bernal, Yousif Mirza (UAE) of UAE Team Emirates is the other current National Time Trial Champion in the peloton.
Stage 3 Podium:
- Toms Skujins (LAT), Trek-Segafredo (USA) 4h52’47”
- Sean Bennett (USA), Hagens Berman Axeon Cycling Team (USA) (+.03)
- Caleb Ewan (AUS), Mitchelton-SCOTT (AUS) (+.08)
Jersey Winners After Stage 3:
Amgen Race Leader Jersey – Egan Bernal (COL), Team Sky (GBR
Breakaway from Cancer® Most Courageous Rider Jersey – Ian Garrison (USA), Hagens Berman Axeon Cycling Team (USA)
Lexus King of the Mountain (KOM) Jersey – Egan Bernal (COL), Team Sky (GBR)
Visit California Sprint Jersey – Egan Bernal (COL), Team Sky (GBR)
TAG Heuer Best Young Rider Jersey – Egan Bernal (COL), Team Sky (GBR)
The 2018 edition of America’s premier cycling stage race will cover 645 miles of roadways, highways and coastlines during seven stages from Long Beach to Sacramento May 13-19, while the Amgen Tour of California Women’s Race empowered with SRAM, showcasing the world’s best women cyclists, will run concurrently May 17-19, covering upward of 187 miles over three stages. The annual professional cycling events are the only U.S. races on the UCI WorldTour calendar and continue to attract some of the most renowned cyclists and teams in the world.
About the Amgen Tour of California
The Amgen Tour of California and the Amgen Tour of California Women’s Race empowered with SRAM are Tour de France-style cycling road races created and presented by AEG. Running concurrently, the races challenges the world’s top professional cycling teams to compete along demanding courses that traverse hundreds of miles of California’s iconic highways, byways and coastlines each spring. The teams chosen to participate have included Olympic medalists, Tour de France contenders and World Champions, and award important, world-ranking points to the top finishers. More information is available at amgentourofcalifornia.com.
Stage 3 Results:
STAGE CLASSIFICATION 3
KING CITY – LAGUNA SECA
TUESDAY, MAY 15, 2018
Pl Bib Name First Name Team Nat B P Split Pl Bib Name First Name Team Nat B P Split
1 126 SKUJINS Toms TFS LAT B:10″ 00″
2 103 *BENNETT Sean HBA USA B:06″ 03″
3 73 *EWAN Caleb MTS AUS B:04″ 08″
4 11 SAGAN Peter BOH SVK ‘ ‘
5 81 *BERNAL GOMEZ Egan Arley SKY COL ‘ ‘
6 71 YATES Adam MTS GBR ‘ ‘
7 114 HOWES Alex EFD USA ‘ ‘
8 45 SLAGTER Tom-Jelte DDD NED ‘ ‘
9 21 BOOKWALTER Brent BMC USA ‘ ‘
10 102 *BARTA William HBA USA ‘ ‘
11 93 DILLIER Silvan ALM SUI ‘ ‘
12 66 *MCNULTY Brandon RLY USA ‘ ‘
13 96 GAUTIER Cyril ALM FRA ‘ ‘
14 161 MANNION Gavin UHC USA ‘ ‘
15 123 *GUERREIRO Rúben TFS POR ‘ ‘
16 33 *DE PLUS Laurens QST BEL ‘ ‘
17 1 *POWLESS Neilson TLJ USA ‘ ‘
18 5 *TOLHOEK Antwan TLJ NED ‘ ‘
19 94 FRANK Mathias ALM SUI ‘ ‘
20 82 *GEOGHEGAN HART Tao SKY GBR ‘ ‘
21 115 *MARTINEZ POVEDA Daniel FelipeEFD COL ‘ ‘
22 14 MAJKA Rafal BOH POL ‘ ‘
23 23 VAN GARDEREN Tejay BMC USA ‘ ‘
24 53 *FABBRO Matteo TKA ITA ‘ ‘
25 167 TVETCOV Serghei UHC ROU ‘ ‘
26 133 *HINDLEY Jai SUN AUS ‘ ‘
27 144 DURASEK Kristijan UAD CRO ‘ ‘
28 121 STETINA Peter TFS USA ‘ ‘
29 85 *SIVAKOV Pavel SKY RUS ‘ ‘
30 154 *EISENHART Taylor (T.J.) HCA USA ‘ ‘
31 52 BOSWELL Ian TKA USA ‘ ‘
32 2 DE TIER Floris TLJ BEL ‘ ‘
33 122 *CONCI Nicola TFS ITA ‘ ‘
34 54 HAAS Nathan TKA AUS 41″
35 125 REIJNEN Kiel TFS USA ‘ ‘
36 25 SCHÄR Michael BMC SUI ‘ ‘
37 62 BRITTON Robert RLY CAN ‘ ‘
38 164 MCCABE Travis UHC USA ‘ ‘
39 142 *AIT EL ABDIA Anass UAD MAR ‘ ‘
40 36 *NARVAEZ Jhonnatan QST ECU ‘ ‘
41 147 *RAVASI Edward UAD ITA ‘ ‘
42 77 MEZGEC Luka MTS SLO ‘ ‘
43 72 BAUER Jack MTS NZL ‘ ‘
44 27 WYSS Danilo BMC SUI ‘ ‘
45 105 *OLIVEIRA Ivo HBA POR 45″
46 32 *ASGREEN Kasper QST DEN 01’12”
47 141 KRISTOFF Alexander UAD NOR ‘ ‘
48 127 STUYVEN Jasper TFS BEL ‘ ‘
49 56 *POLITT Nils TKA GER ‘ ‘
50 24 ROSSKOPF Joseph BMC USA ‘ ‘
51 106 *PHILIPSEN Jasper HBA BEL ‘ ‘
52 91 NAESEN Oliver ALM BEL ‘ ‘
53 95 GASTAUER Ben ALM LUX ‘ ‘
54 156 *LIENHARD Fabian HCA SUI ‘ ‘
55 155 KRASILNIKAU Andrei HCA BLR 01’41”
56 83 *HENAO GOMEZ Sebastian SKY COL 01’51”
57 6 WYNANTS Maarten TLJ BEL 02’35”
58 112 CLARKE Simon EFD AUS ‘ ‘
59 3 *KUSS Sepp TLJ USA ‘ ‘
60 131 ARNDT Nikias SUN GER ‘ ‘
61 84 ROWE Luke SKY GBR 03’03”
62 47 VERMOTE Julien DDD BEL ‘ ‘
63 55 HOLLENSTEIN Reto TKA SUI ‘ ‘
64 16 POLJANSKI Pawel BOH POL ‘ ‘
65 163 HAEDO Lucas Sebastian UHC ARG 03’41”
66 37 RICHEZE Maximiliano Ariel QST ARG ‘ ‘
67 74 HAYMAN Mathew MTS AUS 04’39”
68 75 HEPBURN Michael MTS AUS ‘ ‘
69 97 VANDENBERGH Stijn ALM BEL ‘ ‘
70 107 *RICE Michael HBA AUS ‘ ‘
71 31 *GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando QST COL ‘ ‘
72 46 THOMSON Jay Robert DDD RSA 05’57”
73 143 BYSTRĮM Sven Erik UAD NOR ‘ ‘
74 165 NORRIS Lachlan UHC AUS ‘ ‘
75 87 WISNIOWSKI Lukasz SKY POL 06’31”
76 132 FRÖHLINGER Johannes SUN GER 07’02”
77 135 TEUNISSEN Mike SUN NED ‘ ‘
78 22 BEVIN Patrick BMC NZL ‘ ‘
79 146 MIRZA AL-HAMMADI Yousif UAD UAE ‘ ‘
80 151 MURPHY John HCA USA ‘ ‘
81 64 *DE VOS Adam RLY CAN ‘ ‘
82 124 RAST Gregory TFS SUI ‘ ‘
83 166 PUTT Tanner UHC USA ‘ ‘
84 4 LEEZER Thomas TLJ NED ‘ ‘
85 86 STANNARD Ian SKY GBR ‘ ‘
86 43 MORTON Lachlan DDD AUS ‘ ‘
87 104 *GARRISON Ian HBA USA B:04″ 09’11”
88 76 KLUGE Roger MTS GER 09’26”
89 35 KEISSE Iljo QST BEL 11’01”
90 41 CAVENDISH Mark DDD GBR ‘ ‘
91 101 *BJERG Mikkel HBA DEN ‘ ‘
92 111 PHINNEY Taylor EFD USA ‘ ‘
93 117 *OWEN Logan EFD USA ‘ ‘
94 116 MCLAY Daniel EFD GBR ‘ ‘
95 51 KITTEL Marcel TKA GER ‘ ‘
96 136 *WALSCHEID Maximilian Richard SUN GER ‘ ‘
97 57 *ZABEL Rick TKA GER ‘ ‘
98 145 *GANNA Filippo UAD ITA ‘ ‘
99 65 MAGNER Tyler RLY USA ‘ ‘
100 34 *HODEG CHAGUI Alvaro Jose QST COL ‘ ‘
101 67 PATE Danny RLY USA ‘ ‘
102 42 *DAVIES Scott DDD GBR ‘ ‘
103 26 *VAN HOOYDONCK Nathan BMC BEL ‘ ‘
104 63 CARPENTER Robin RLY USA B:04″ ‘ ‘
105 12 BODNAR Maciej BOH POL ‘ ‘
106 134 STAMSNIJDER Tom SUN NED ‘ ‘
107 113 CRADDOCK G Lawson EFD USA ‘ ‘
108 61 HUFFMAN Evan RLY USA B:04″ ‘ ‘
109 152 *BRYON Miguel HCA USA ‘ ‘
110 44 RENSHAW Mark DDD AUS ‘ ‘
111 162 CLARKE Jonathan UHC AUS ‘ ‘
112 92 *COSNEFROY Benoit ALM FRA ‘ ‘
113 15 OSS Daniel BOH ITA ‘ ‘
114 153 COMPANIONI Ruben HCA CUB 13’26”
115 13 KOLÁR Michal BOH SVK 19’18”
116 17 SAGAN Juraj BOH SVK 24’22”
Did not start
157 *RHIM Brendan HCA USA
1 rider(s).
GC after Stage 3:
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION 3
KING CITY – LAGUNA SECA
TUESDAY, MAY 15, 2018
Distance: 488.500 km
Time of the first: 12h09’08”
Average: 40.189 km/h
Pl Bib Name First Name Team Nat Time Split Pl Bib Name First Name Team Nat Time Split
1 81 *BERNAL GOMEZ Egan Arley SKY COL 12h09’08” 00″
2 14 MAJKA Rafal BOH POL 12h09’33” 25″
3 71 YATES Adam MTS GBR 12h09’39” 31″
4 5 *TOLHOEK Antwan TLJ NED 12h09’48” 40″
5 144 DURASEK Kristijan UAD CRO ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
6 115 *MARTINEZ POVEDA Daniel FeElipFeD COL ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
7 94 FRANK Mathias ALM SUI 12h09’58” 50″
8 23 VAN GARDEREN Tejay BMC USA 12h10’08” 01’00”
9 123 *GUERREIRO Rúben TFS POR 12h10’19” 01’11”
10 33 *DE PLUS Laurens QST BEL 12h10’22” 01’14”
11 82 *GEOGHEGAN HART Tao SKY GBR 12h10’28” 01’20”
12 66 *MCNULTY Brandon RLY USA 12h10’33” 01’25”
13 147 *RAVASI Edward UAD ITA 12h10’50” 01’42”
14 122 *CONCI Nicola TFS ITA 12h11’15” 02’07”
15 121 STETINA Peter TFS USA 12h11’29” 02’21”
16 102 *BARTA William HBA USA 12h11’36” 02’28”
17 21 BOOKWALTER Brent BMC USA 12h11’43” 02’35”
18 103 *BENNETT Sean HBA USA 12h11’50” 02’42”
19 161 MANNION Gavin UHC USA 12h12’13” 03’05”
20 52 BOSWELL Ian TKA USA ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
21 154 *EISENHART Taylor (T.J.) HCA USA 12h12’16” 03’08”
22 62 BRITTON Robert RLY CAN ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
23 126 SKUJINS Toms TFS LAT 12h12’39” 03’31”
24 1 *POWLESS Neilson TLJ USA 12h12’57” 03’49”
25 53 *FABBRO Matteo TKA ITA 12h13’20” 04’12”
26 24 ROSSKOPF Joseph BMC USA 12h14’01” 04’53”
27 167 TVETCOV Serghei UHC ROU 12h14’34” 05’26”
28 96 GAUTIER Cyril ALM FRA 12h15’30” 06’22”
29 85 *SIVAKOV Pavel SKY RUS ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
30 36 *NARVAEZ Jhonnatan QST ECU 12h16’03” 06’55”
31 105 *OLIVEIRA Ivo HBA POR 12h16’07” 06’59”
32 2 DE TIER Floris TLJ BEL 12h16’31” 07’23”
33 32 *ASGREEN Kasper QST DEN 12h16’34” 07’26”
34 142 *AIT EL ABDIA Anass UAD MAR 12h16’42” 07’34”
35 72 BAUER Jack MTS NZL 12h17’01” 07’53”
36 155 KRASILNIKAU Andrei HCA BLR 12h17’38” 08’30”
37 25 SCHÄR Michael BMC SUI 12h17’39” 08’31”
38 45 SLAGTER Tom-Jelte DDD NED 12h17’46” 08’38”
39 83 *HENAO GOMEZ Sebastian SKY COL 12h17’58” 08’50”
40 91 NAESEN Oliver ALM BEL 12h18’10” 09’02”
41 27 WYSS Danilo BMC SUI 12h18’37” 09’29”
42 133 *HINDLEY Jai SUN AUS 12h18’49” 09’41”
43 43 MORTON Lachlan DDD AUS 12h18’57” 09’49”
44 16 POLJANSKI Pawel BOH POL 12h19’04” 09’56”
45 22 BEVIN Patrick BMC NZL 12h19’51” 10’43”
46 95 GASTAUER Ben ALM LUX 12h19’53” 10’45”
47 56 *POLITT Nils TKA GER 12h21’07” 11’59”
48 3 *KUSS Sepp TLJ USA 12h21’16” 12’08”
49 97 VANDENBERGH Stijn ALM BEL 12h23’20” 14’12”
50 131 ARNDT Nikias SUN GER 12h23’35” 14’27”
51 114 HOWES Alex EFD USA 12h23’42” 14’34”
52 125 REIJNEN Kiel TFS USA 12h24’15” 15’07”
53 47 VERMOTE Julien DDD BEL 12h24’55” 15’47”
54 46 THOMSON Jay Robert DDD RSA 12h25’48” 16’40”
55 112 CLARKE Simon EFD AUS 12h26’09” 17’01”
56 84 ROWE Luke SKY GBR 12h26’37” 17’29”
57 73 *EWAN Caleb MTS AUS 12h27’38” 18’30”
58 11 SAGAN Peter BOH SVK 12h27’44” 18’36”
59 93 DILLIER Silvan ALM SUI 12h27’48” 18’40”
60 77 MEZGEC Luka MTS SLO 12h28’21” 19’13”
61 164 MCCABE Travis UHC USA ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
62 106 *PHILIPSEN Jasper HBA BEL 12h28’52” 19’44”
63 141 KRISTOFF Alexander UAD NOR ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
64 127 STUYVEN Jasper TFS BEL ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
65 156 *LIENHARD Fabian HCA SUI ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
66 6 WYNANTS Maarten TLJ BEL 12h28’53” 19’45”
67 143 BYSTRĮM Sven Erik UAD NOR 12h29’31” 20’23”
68 165 NORRIS Lachlan UHC AUS ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
69 113 CRADDOCK G Lawson EFD USA 12h30’23” 21’15”
70 135 TEUNISSEN Mike SUN NED 12h30’36” 21’28”
71 55 HOLLENSTEIN Reto TKA SUI 12h30’43” 21’35”
72 54 HAAS Nathan TKA AUS 12h30’58” 21’50”
73 37 RICHEZE Maximiliano Ariel QST ARG 12h31’21” 22’13”
74 163 HAEDO Lucas Sebastian UHC ARG ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
75 31 *GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando QST COL 12h32’09” 23’01”
76 74 HAYMAN Mathew MTS AUS 12h32’19” 23’11”
77 75 HEPBURN Michael MTS AUS ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
78 107 *RICE Michael HBA AUS ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
79 87 WISNIOWSKI Lukasz SKY POL 12h34’11” 25’03”
80 61 HUFFMAN Evan RLY USA 12h34’31” 25’23”
81 145 *GANNA Filippo UAD ITA 12h34’35” 25’27”
82 42 *DAVIES Scott DDD GBR ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
83 64 *DE VOS Adam RLY CAN 12h34’36” 25’28”
84 166 PUTT Tanner UHC USA ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
85 151 MURPHY John HCA USA 12h34’42” 25’34”
86 132 FRÖHLINGER Johannes SUN GER ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
87 146 MIRZA AL-HAMMADI Yousif UAD UAE ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
88 124 RAST Gregory TFS SUI ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
89 4 LEEZER Thomas TLJ NED ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
90 86 STANNARD Ian SKY GBR ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
91 92 *COSNEFROY Benoit ALM FRA 12h36’01” 26’53”
92 104 *GARRISON Ian HBA USA 12h36’47” 27’39”
93 63 CARPENTER Robin RLY USA 12h38’37” 29’29”
94 162 CLARKE Jonathan UHC AUS 12h38’39” 29’31”
95 34 *HODEG CHAGUI Alvaro Jose QST COL 12h38’40” 29’32”
96 136 *WALSCHEID Maximilian RichaSrdUN GER 12h38’41” 29’33”
97 116 MCLAY Daniel EFD GBR ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
98 65 MAGNER Tyler RLY USA ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
99 111 PHINNEY Taylor EFD USA ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
100 117 *OWEN Logan EFD USA ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
101 57 *ZABEL Rick TKA GER ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
102 12 BODNAR Maciej BOH POL ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
103 26 *VAN HOOYDONCK Nathan BMC BEL ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
104 101 *BJERG Mikkel HBA DEN ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
105 152 *BRYON Miguel HCA USA ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
106 67 PATE Danny RLY USA ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
107 15 OSS Daniel BOH ITA ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
108 76 KLUGE Roger MTS GER 12h38’57” 29’49”
109 35 KEISSE Iljo QST BEL 12h39’12” 30’04”
110 44 RENSHAW Mark DDD AUS 12h39’38” 30’30”
111 41 CAVENDISH Mark DDD GBR 12h39’51” 30’43”
112 134 STAMSNIJDER Tom SUN NED 12h39’53” 30’45”
113 51 KITTEL Marcel TKA GER 12h40’32” 31’24”
114 153 COMPANIONI Ruben HCA CUB 12h41’02” 31’54”
115 13 KOLÁR Michal BOH SVK 12h48’38” 39’30”
116 17 SAGAN Juraj BOH SVK 12h52’02” 42’54”
