<p>Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx-Quick-Step) took his first victory of the year atop Mt. Baldy in stage 7 of the Amgen Tour of California, and in doing so he rode into the race leader’s jersey. Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) started the day with a 45-second lead over Alaphilippe in the general classification, and crossed the 47 seconds behind the 22-year-old French all-rounder, giving up his lead by just two seconds with only one stage remaining in the race.</p>
<p>After the morning breakaway was swept up on the lower slopes of the final incline towards the finish, Alaphilippe and Sergio Henao (Sky) attacked out of a small group that included Sagan and managed to open up a gap. The two riders traded attacks for a few hundred meters before Alaphilippe put in a powerful dig that left Henao behind.</p>
<p>Alaphilippe maintained his advantage over Henao and those behind through the steep gradients of the upper slopes of Mt. Baldy, but Sagan tapped out a steady rhythm in pursuit of the riders up the road to limit the damage. After laboring into the final kilometer, Alaphilippe got out of the saddle and powered to the line for the stage victory, with Henao and Henao’s Sky teammate Ian Boswell 23 seconds behind to take second and third, but Sagan was not far off. Joe Dombrowski (Cannondale-Garmin) and Riccardo Zoidl (Trek Factory Racing) nabbed the fourth and fifth spots before Sagan pushed himself across the line for sixth—although he lost his hold on the GC lead, Sagan was able to stay within just two seconds of the top spot on the leaderboard.</p>
<p>Tomorrow’s eighth and final stage from L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena will offer bonus seconds at the finish line that could decide the general classification of the race.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/05/news/road/alaphilippe-takes-stage-7-win-gc-lead-in-amgen-tour_370515">Alaphilippetakes stage 7 win, GC lead in Amgen Tour</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="http://velonews.competitor.com">VeloNews.com</a>.</p>
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<p>After the morning breakaway was swept up on the lower slopes of the final incline towards the finish, Alaphilippe and Sergio Henao (Sky) attacked out of a small group that included Sagan and managed to open up a gap. The two riders traded attacks for a few hundred meters before Alaphilippe put in a powerful dig that left Henao behind.</p>
<p>Alaphilippe maintained his advantage over Henao and those behind through the steep gradients of the upper slopes of Mt. Baldy, but Sagan tapped out a steady rhythm in pursuit of the riders up the road to limit the damage. After laboring into the final kilometer, Alaphilippe got out of the saddle and powered to the line for the stage victory, with Henao and Henao’s Sky teammate Ian Boswell 23 seconds behind to take second and third, but Sagan was not far off. Joe Dombrowski (Cannondale-Garmin) and Riccardo Zoidl (Trek Factory Racing) nabbed the fourth and fifth spots before Sagan pushed himself across the line for sixth—although he lost his hold on the GC lead, Sagan was able to stay within just two seconds of the top spot on the leaderboard.</p>
<p>Tomorrow’s eighth and final stage from L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena will offer bonus seconds at the finish line that could decide the general classification of the race.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/05/news/road/alaphilippe-takes-stage-7-win-gc-lead-in-amgen-tour_370515">Alaphilippetakes stage 7 win, GC lead in Amgen Tour</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="http://velonews.competitor.com">VeloNews.com</a>.</p>
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