Tour of California stage 3: Cavagna wins from daylong breakaway

MORGAN HILL, California (VN) — The fiercest battle during Tuesday’s third stage of the Amgen Tour of California pitted Rémi Cavagna against the twisting mountain descents of the Bay Area.

Cavagna, 23, skidded and bumped his way down the dangerous descents of Mt. Hamilton and Quimby Road, riding a solo breakaway more than seven minutes ahead of the peloton. Crowds at the finish line in Morgan Hill gasped as cameras caught the young French rider nearly riding off the road.

Finally, Cavagna hit the flat road at the base of the descent and pedaled to the finish line alone, 7:11 ahead of his nearest chaser, American Ben King (Dimension Data). The victory marked Cavagna’s first win at the WorldTour level.

“I’m not the best guy in the downhill for sure because last year I crashed two times in two weeks so I lost a little bit of confidence,” Cavagna said. “But it was a long long day, and I’m finally really happy.”

Overnight leader Tejay van Garderen finished in the pack to preserve his lead, bringing his EF Education First team one step closer to its first overall victory at the Tour of California.

Cavagna’s victory answered a pressing question about this year’s Amgen Tour of California: Could a solo breakaway actually survive to the line? On paper, the hilly third stage was perhaps the best opportunity for such a move to survive. The route featured the category 2 ascent of Patterson Pass, followed by the steep category 3 climb up Mines Rd. The HC climb of Mt. Hamilton came after 139km, and the final 70km included plenty of uphills.

The peloton was also licking its wounds after a brutal battle on Monday’s climbing stage to South Lake Tahoe. Race leaders EF Education First patrolled the front of the peloton for the opening kilometers, and shut down an early breakaway containing danger man Rohan Dennis.

Cavagna attacked alongside American Alex Hoehn on the slopes of Patterson Pass, and the move proved to be the defining one of the day. Riding for USA Cycling’s national team, Hoehn said he wanted to prove himself against the WorldTour peloton.

USA Cycling riders have attacked into breakaways during all three stages thus far at the Tour of California. Hoehn’s efforts placed him into the Best Climber jersey.

“We just want to show everyone that we can compete against the best riders in the world,” Hoehn said. “We’re riding with a chip on our shoulder knowing that guys might be looking down on us because this is a put-together team.”

The two quickly built a five-minute gap on the field, and stretched that advantage as they began to climb up Mt. Hamilton. Near the top Hoehn lost contact with Cavagna, who bolted away with a swift acceleration.

Cavagna’s problems started after he crested the summit. He struggled through the descending-radius turns that twist along the mountain’s long descent. At one point, Cavanga looked in danger of riding off of the road entirely.

Still, he grew his advantage over Hoehn, who was eventually caught and passed by King and Simon Geschke (CCC Team), both of whom attacked out of the field.

After the win, Deceuninck-Quick Step boss Patrick Lefevere tweeted his support for Cavagna. “Finally, the reward for @remicav,” Lefevere tweeted.

Cavagna said the win marks a major milestone for him. He is often a domestique for Deceuninck at stage races and hilly classics.

“I can say finally, because I was waiting for this victory. Last year I won one race in Belgium and I was happy. I’m really happy.

“Sometimes you have to take your chance and give your best, and sometimes it works,” he said.