May 17/17 18:49 pm - Tour of California: Stage 4, Britton 2nd

Posted by Editoress on 05/17/17
 

Evan Huffman Wins Stage Four of Amgen Tour of California
Rally Cycling Claims First Ever WorldTour Win, Rob Britton Finishes Second

Evan Huffman powered into the history books with a stunning turn of speed in the closing meters of stage four at the Amgen Tour of California. He won from a five-man breakaway that included teammate Rob Britton, who crossed the line in second, to give Rally Cycling a 1-2 finish in its first-ever WorldTour event. Huffman’s win is also the first victory ever by a Continental rider at the top-tier level of the sport. Huffman’s aggressive riding and bold move in the closing metres also earned him the Most Courageous Rider jersey and helped Rally Cycling to the top of the day’s Team Classification standings.

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"I can't believe that we did it, I don’t think it has sunk in yet," said Huffman. "It's surreal and amazing! The team suffered some setbacks in stage two, so we needed to come out and race our bikes hard. The initial plan was to try to get the King of the Mountains points, but Gavin (Mannion) was picking up the points, so we scrapped that and tried to go for the stage win. In the finale, I knew the peloton was closing in, but that the line was coming faster. I know that I am pretty fast after a long hard day and was hoping the other guys were more tired than I was. I gave it everything I had, and to have Rob finish second adds to the meaning of this win. He is an unbelievable teammate."

The foundation for Huffman’s victory was laid early in the day when after only 2km of racing, he, along with Britton, Lennard Hofstede (Sunweb), Mathias Le Turnier (Cofidis), Gavin Mannion (UnitedHealthcare) and Martin Elmiger (BMC) rode clear. Elmiger was eventually distanced over the final categorized climb, leaving five out front. At the halfway point, the five riders held a nine-minute lead, but pressure from the peloton increased after the final climb, and the gap began to fall. On the long run into Santa Clarita, it was touch and go whether the breakaway would survive as Quick-Step and Sky drove the pace in the hopes of delivering their sprinters to the line. With only three kilometers left, the peloton was still a minute back, and the victory would be fought out between the breakaway riders. As the line approached, Huffman powered clear with Hofstede giving chase. The Dutch rider failed to gain ground on Huffman, and seizing the opportunity, Britton came past to give Rally Cycling the first two spots on the podium.

“The plan for the day was just to get as many guys in the break as we could,” said Britton. "Evan and I forced it at the start of the stage, and we were able to establish a gap with a strong group of four other riders. In the finale, we knew we couldn’t mess it up. We have been racing together for three years, and I know how Evan races and vice versa, so we had an advantage. Evan pinned it with 500 meters to go, and I sat on Hofstede.  He started to fade, and I was able to come around in the closing meters.”
Rally Cycling

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Results from the fourth stage in California

Previous stages

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

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