{"id":36539,"date":"2013-05-14T21:56:48","date_gmt":"2013-05-15T04:56:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theavtimes.com\/?p=36539"},"modified":"2013-05-14T22:00:03","modified_gmt":"2013-05-15T05:00:03","slug":"sagan-sprints-to-victory-in-the-final-seconds-of-stage-3-at-the-2013-amgen-tour-of-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/2013\/05\/14\/sagan-sprints-to-victory-in-the-final-seconds-of-stage-3-at-the-2013-amgen-tour-of-california\/","title":{"rendered":"Sagan sprints to victory in the final seconds of Stage 3 at the 2013 Amgen Tour of California"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Peter<\/a>
Peter Sagan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SANTA CLARITA \u2013 On a course favoring the sprinters, Cannondale Pro Cycling\u2019s Peter Sagan<\/strong> (SVK) blasted past ORICA GreenEDGE\u2019s Michael Matthews<\/strong> (AUS) to the front of the pack to claim Stage 3 of the 2013 Amgen Tour of California the length of half a tire.\u00a0 Matthews held on to take second place today after his team led him to the front of the peloton-leaders riders in the last 500 meters.<\/p>\n

Sagan broke three-time Champion Levi Leipheimer\u2019s<\/strong>\u00a0 Amgen Tour of California stage win record of seven last year when he took five stage wins. His stage wins at America\u2019s largest cycling race now total nine, including today\u2019s dramatic victory.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last three kilometers were crazy with all the sprinters who wanted to win,\u201d said Sagan of today\u2019s finish. \u201cWhen I won I knew it was a good stage for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

After several breakaways on the windy 110-mile course, the peloton came back together in the final 10 kilometers culminating in a tightly packed bunch sprint over the line after several leader changes. Team Garmin-Sharp\u2019s Tyler Farrar<\/strong> (Wenatchee, Wash.) claimed third place in the fast finish. There was no change to the overall standings after Tuesday\u2019s stage with Team Jamis-Hagens Berman\u2019s Janier Alexis Acevedo<\/strong> (COL) continuing on in the Amgen Race Leader Jersey on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt very tired today after yesterday. The legs never felt good, I just tried to stay in the group, eat, and drink, and recover,\u201d said Acevedo.<\/p>\n

Sprint points leader Lieuwe Westra<\/strong> (NED) of Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team was part of the early breakaway that also included RADIOSHACK LEOPARD TREK\u2019S Andy Schleck<\/strong> (LUX) and Chad Beyer<\/strong> (USA) riding with Champion System Pro Cycling in their debut Amgen Tour of California appearance. Beyer\u2019s role in the breakaway and hold on the lead earned him the Amgen Breakaway from Cancer\u00ae Most Courageous Rider Jersey following the stage.<\/p>\n

The peloton caught up to the breakaway with less than 20 kilometers to go, and the final 8 kilometers saw attempts by several teams to bring their sprinters to the front, including Team Saxo-Tinkoff, 5-hour ENERGY presented by Kenda Racing Team, BMC Racing Team and UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team.<\/p>\n

In the final 5 kilometers, RADIOSHACK LEOPARD TREK\u2019s Markel Irizar Aranburu (<\/strong>ESP) made a move to the front, with Team Garmin-Sharp and a formidable line of Cannondale Pro Cycling Team members on his heels. Cannondale Pro Cycling Team ultimately succeeded in propelling their team leader the top of the podium.<\/p>\n

BISSELL Pro Cycling\u2019s Carter Jones<\/strong> (Boulder, Colo.) continues to hold onto the Nissan King of the Mountain Jersey for the third day, with Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team\u2019s Lieuwe Westra<\/strong> (NED) also donning the Visit California Sprint Jersey again tomorrow. The Crunchies Best Young Rider Jersey will continue to be worn by Bontrager Cycling Team\u2019s 21-year-old cyclist Lawson Craddock<\/strong> (Austin, Texas).<\/p>\n

Now in its eighth year, the 2013 Amgen Tour of California is running south to north for the first time, covering nearly 750 miles of California\u2019s most scenic highways, roadways and coastlines over eight days, concluding in Santa Rosa, Calif., May 19. With one of the most difficult courses in race history, 115 elite cyclists (127 riders began the race, though several have been eliminated or abandoned due to time cuts, injury or illness) will compete through 12 Host Cities and 60,000 feet of climbing, a record for the race, including a first-time summit finish at Mt. Diablo in the Bay Area.<\/p>\n

There are plenty of ways to take in the racing action through May 19, whether in person on the race course or by downloading the free Tour Tracker app, which features live race updates, rider background and full race results. More information on all of the ways to watch is available at www.amgentourofcalifornia.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Stage 3 Top \u2013 3<\/strong><\/h4>\n
    \n
  • FIRST\u2014 Peter Sagan (SVK), Cannondale Pro Cycling (ITA)<\/li>\n
  • SECOND\u2014Michael Matthews (AUS), ORICA GreenEDGE (AUS)<\/li>\n
  • THIRD\u2014Tyler Farrar (USA), Team Garmin-Sharp (USA)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Jersey Winners<\/strong><\/h4>\n
      \n
    • Amgen Leader Jersey \u2013 Peter Sagan (SVK), Cannondale Pro Cycling (ITA)<\/li>\n
    • Nissan King of the Mountain Jersey \u2013 Carter Jones (USA), BISSELL Pro Cycling (USA)<\/li>\n
    • Visit California Sprint Jersey \u2013 Lieuwe Westra (NED), Vacansoleil – DCM Pro Cycling Team (NED)<\/li>\n
    • Crunchies Best Young Rider Jersey \u2013 Lawson Craddock (USA), Bontrager Cycling Team (USA)<\/li>\n
    • Amgen\u2019s Breakaway from Cancer\u00ae Most Courageous Rider Jersey \u2013 Chad Beyer (USA), Champion System Pro Cycling Team (CHN)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      (Information via press release from the Amgen Tour of California.)<\/em><\/p>\n

      –<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      SANTA CLARITA \u2013 On a course favoring the sprinters, Cannondale Pro Cycling\u2019s Peter Sagan (SVK) blasted past ORICA GreenEDGE\u2019s Michael Matthews (AUS) to the front of the pack to claim Stage 3 of the 2013 Amgen Tour of California the length of half a tire.\u00a0 Matthews held on to take second place today after his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36539"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36539\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}