Kristoff precede di un soffio Peter Sagan nella volata della settima tappa dell'Agmen Tour of California, è successo questa notte, ora italiana, mentre i ciclisti del Giro d'Italia riposavano dalle fatiche del tapponde dolomitico. Questione di fusi orari differenti, tra l'Italia e la California ci sono ben nove ore di sbalzo all'indietro con le lancette dell'orologio. Peccato per un calendario internazionale ormai strapieno di corse, perchè questo Giro di California, giusto per chiamarlo all'italiana, è davvero interessante. Meravigliosi i paesaggi, ogni giorno le tappe hanno offerto vedute uniche da cartolina, bella e combattuta la corsa.
Nella tappa che ha portato la carovana a Santa Rosa , il secondo in classifica, Rohan Dennis, ha tentato un coraggioso attacco a cento chilometri dall'arrivo, per colmare lo svantaggio di 16" tra lui e la maglia gialla di Julian Alaphilippe. Un'attacco sventato con un grandissimo lavoro da parte degli uomini della Etixx-Quick Step, i compagni di squadra del leader che si sono messi a tirare come forsennati. Grande ancora una volta il Campione Ceko Peter Vacok , determinante nel chiudere il gap che si era creato. Solo la tappa odierna, che finirà intorno alle due della notte tra oggi e lunedì, vedremo se Alaphilippe riuscirà a vincere la sua prima grande gara a tappe.
VERSION EN FRANCAISELa victoire finale se dessine pour Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx - Quick Step), toujours leader du 11e Amgen Tour of California à la veille de l'arrivée à Sacramento, dimanche. Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) a fait le show lors de la 7e étape mais Alexander Kristoff (Team Katusha) est venu lui souffler la victoire à Santa Rosa. Megan Guarnier (Boels-Dolmans) conserve la tête de la course féminine après la victoire de Marianne Vos (Rabo-Liv) sur l’étape du jour.
Le puncheur sait aussi y faire sur les courses à étapes. Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx - Quick Step) est à 24 heures de son premier succès sur une épreuve de plusieurs jours après avoir conservé le maillot jaune lors de la septième étape de l'Amgen Tour of California. Une nouvelle fois attaqué, le Français de 23 ans a évité les pièges tendus par ses concurrents directs, samedi sur 175,5 kilomètres autour de Santa Rosa. Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) est ensuite venu cueillir la victoire, dominant l'emballage final d'un rien devant Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) Vainqueur du contre-la-montre de Folsom et premier poursuivant d'Alaphilippe au général, Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing) a bien tenté de renverser la course en attaquant à une centaine de kilomètres de l'arrivée. Mais derrière, les équipiers du maillot jaune ont contrôlé. "Vakoc a fait un bon travail aujourd'hui en suivant Dennis", saluait Alaphilippe, attendu cet été sur le Critérium du Dauphiné et le Tour de France. "On ne s'est pas affolé derrière et nous sommes finalement revenus sur l’échappée avec toute l'équipe."
Dennis muselé, Sagan a assuré le show devant ses nombreux admirateurs californiens. Présent dès le début de l'étape dans une échappée de six coureurs, le porteur du maillot vert de leader du classement par points a longtemps poursuivi l'aventure en solo avant d'être repris dans les 20 derniers kilomètres. Et de trouver encore les ressources pour sprinter. Kristoff lui-même se disait "impressionné" : "On a eu du mal à le rattraper et j'étais surpris de le voir si fort sur le sprint". Avec 16 secondes d'avance pour la dernière étape dans les rues de Sacramento, Alaphilippe semble en mesure d'éviter sa mésaventure de 2015. Déjà vainqueur de l'étape-reine et leader du classement général, il avait cédé le maillot jaune pour quelques secondes de bonification empochées par Sagan dans le dernier sprint final. Cette fois, le Slovaque mise sur Alaphilippe : "J'avais dit dès jeudi dernier que Julian gagnerait le Tour de Californie"…
ENGLISH TEXT With thousands of fans lining the streets of Santa Rosa, Team KATUSHA’s star sprinter Alexander Kristoff (NOR) catapulted to a stage win, his eighth of the season, by a rim over all-time Amgen Tour of California stage win record holder Peter Sagan (SVK) of Tinkoff, who had spent much of the 109.1-mile day in a breakaway. The Amgen Women’s Race also spent the day in Santa Rosa, with cycling’s winningest woman Marianne Vos (NED) cinching the victory for Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team.
“It was a hard stage…I was really struggling on the climbs… at the end, Peter was in front alone, and he had two minutes, and we had to chase hard. And at the end he almost beat me also, so it was an impressive ride by him but I just managed to hold him off, and I’m really happy to win here in California,” said Kristoff who earned a bronze road race medal at the 2012 Olympic Games. With the men’s main peloton heading together into three downtown Santa Rosa circuits after 8,600 feet of climbing around the veteran Host City, no one gained time over race leader Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) of Etixx – Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team, putting the 23 year-old in good position to defend his Amgen Race Leader Jersey earned on the Gibraltar Road Queen Stage (3), with hopes of becoming the race’s youngest champion when the race concludes tomorrow in Sacramento.
“Today I think for me it was the hardest stage of the week, because I really felt the pressure on my shoulders…I had a lot of enemies today. But I finally stay in yellow for tomorrow, and it’s not finished yet but I’m really, really happy to keep my yellow jersey again today after a really hard stage…It’s not finished, so we will see tomorrow,” said Alaphilippe, who came in second overall in last year’s Amgen Tour of California, just three seconds behind Sagan. Sagan (SVK) rode as part of a breakaway of six until he struck out solo with around 30 miles left to ride, increasing the gap to +1:30” over the chase and two minutes over the peloton at the 20 mile mark. Sagan, sporting the Visit California Sprint Jersey which he’s held for the entire race, kept a +1:10” advantage over the peloton with 14 miles left to ride, and also picked up the Most Courageous Rider Jersey today. Sagan holds the all-time record for stage wins (15) at the Amgen Tour of California, with Mark Cavendish (GBR) next with nine. The Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka rider celebrated his 31st birthday today out on the roads of Santa Rosa.
Team KATUSHA drove the peloton forward, catching the chase group with 18 miles left to ride, which had included George Bennett (NZL) of Team Lotto NL – Jumbo, Greg Van Avermaet (BEL) of BMC Racing Team and later on, Cannondale Pro Cycling’s Lawson Craddock (USA). They went on to sweep up Sagan just inside of 12 miles to the finish. Back together, the group approached downtown Santa Rosa and three 2.5-mile circuits, with the cyclists riding at about 35 mph and the sprinters moving forward in anticipation of a bunch sprint at the end. During the second lap, Team Lotto NL – Jumbo’s Mike Teunissen (NED) launched an attack, but could not hold off the thundering peloton, though he held on to his position toward the front to take fourth place today. In the final mile of the final circuit, two Team KATHUSA members led out Kristoff, flanked by Sagan, with Team Giant-Alpecin’s John Degenkolb (GER) nearby as well. The young team of Axeon Hagens Berman continued their week of aggressive riding with a couple of riders up front, including Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBR).
On the finishing straight, Kristoff took off toward the line; Sagan came close to overtaking him in the final meters as he launched his bike over the finish, but ended the stage in second by a tire rim. Team Sky’s Danny Van Poppel (NED) took third. Degenkolb pierced the top-10, ending the stage in eighth place as he finds his form following a severe injury. The leader board stays in tact today with Alaphilippe maintaining his16-second lead over BMC Racing Team’s Rohan Dennis (AUS) and his teammate Brent Bookwalter (Albuquerque, New Mexico) at +:38”. Cannondale Pro Cycling Team’s U.S. National Time Trial Champion Andrew Talansky (New York, New York) remains in fourth (+:47) with Roseville, Calif. native, Neilson Powless (USA) of the Axeon Hagens Berman Cycling Team in fifth (+1:08”).
ALEXANDER KRISTOFF WIN 7TH STAGE AMGEN TOUR OF CALIFORNIA PHOTOGALLERY Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images Ezra Shaw/Getty Images – Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images Brian Hodes/Velo Images
