Velonews: Cavendish Wins By A Whisker In Amgen Tour Of California Stage 2



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<p>Mark Cavendish (Etixx-Quick-Step) did it again at the Amgen Tour of California on Monday, winning his second stage in a row, but this one was a squeaker.</p>
<p>At the end of a 120.4-mile stage from Nevada city to Lodi, it came down to a photo finish as Cavendish jumped off Peter Sagan’s (Tinkoff-Saxo) wheel in a headwind sprint to win by a bike throw.</p>
<p>The early breakaway included Robin Carpenter (Hincapie Racing), Luis Romero (Jamis-Hagens Berman), Markel Irizar (Trek Factory Racing), and Daniel Oss (BMC Racing).</p>
<p>At one point, the four leaders had an advantage of more than five minutes.</p>
<p>Inside of 50 miles to go, Etixx-Quick-Step took to the front to bring the gap down to a reasonable three minutes, which is where it stood for the next 30 miles of racing.</p>
<p>With 10 miles left, the gap was 1:40 as the leaders approached the finishing circuit around Lodi.</p>
<p>The gap was down to an even minute with eight miles left, nearing the city limits.</p>
<p>In the final 7 miles of racing, a crash split the field, and Giant-Alpecin’s GC leader, Warren Barguil, came to grief. Jamis-Hagens Berman’s Ben Jacques-Maynes was also caught in the crash and was reportedly taken to a hospital with injuries.</p>
<p>Barguil was clearly in difficulty, off the back, only able to pedal with his left leg.</p>
<p>As the break rode through the finish straight with two laps left, Romero had been dropped and the peloton had the leaders in sight.</p>
<p>The peloton made the catch with three miles remaining.</p>
<p>Tinkoff-Saxo got down to business, setting up the sprint for Sagan.</p>
<p>Drapac also got involved in the action at the front, dropping off Wippert early in the finish stretch.</p>
<p>Sagan sat second wheel, and Cavendish was close behind. At first it looked like the Etixx-Quick-Step leader went a bit to soon in the headwind sprint. Sagan was next to jump, but Cavendish took his second consecutive win with a bike throw.</p>
<p>Sagan was second, and Wippert finished third.</p>
<p>Cavendish extended his overall race lead to eight seconds with a time bonus earned with the stage win.</p>
<p>The race continues tomorrow with a 105.6-mile stage starting and finishing in San Jose.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/05/race-report/cavendish-wins-by-a-whisker-in-amgen-tour-of-california-stage-2_369741">Cavendishwins by a whisker in Amgen Tour of California stage 2</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="http://velonews.competitor.com">VeloNews.com</a>.</p>

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