California: Kittel conquers Sagan on stage 1

May 14, 2017

German sprinter Marcel Kittel picked up his eighth win of the season — 80th of pro career and first at the Amgen Tour of California — at the end of the 167.5km opening stage of the seven-day UCI WorldTour stage race in Sacramento on Sunday.

The recently turned 29-year-old (May 11), who is fresh off his fifth Scheldeprijs win, perfectly launched off the wheel of his Quick-Step Floors lead-out man Fabio Sabatini (ITA) inside the closing 300 meters to outsprint reigning two-time world champion Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Elia Viviani (Team Sky) at the stage capital finish.

Stage 1, top 10

1. Marcel KITTEL, QUICK-STEP FLOORS, in 3:45:35
2. Peter SAGAN, BORA-HANSGROHE, at :00
3. Elia VIVIANI, TEAM SKY, at :00
4. John DEGENKOLB, TREK-SEGAFREDO, at :00
5. Jean-Pierre DRUCKER, BMC RACING, at :00
6. Reinardt JANSE VAN RENSBURG, DIMENSION DATA, at :00
7. Martin VELITS, QUICK-STEP FLOORS, at :00
8. Marko KUMP, UAE TEAM EMIRATES, at :00
9. Wouter WIPPERT, CANNONDALE-DRAPAC, at :00
10. Travis MCCABE, UNITEDHEALTHCARE, at :00

General classification, top 10

1. Marcel KITTEL, QUICK-STEP FLOORS, in 3:45:25
2. Peter SAGAN, BORA-HANSGROHE, at :04
3. Elia VIVIANI, TEAM SKY, at :06
4. Floris GERFS, BMC RACING, at :09
5. John DEGENKOLB, TREK-SEGAFREDO, at :10
6. Jean-Pierre DRUCKER, BMC RACING, at :10
7. Reinardt JANSE VAN RENSBURG, DIMENSION DATA, at :10
8. Martin VELITS, QUICK-STEP FLOORS, at :10
9. Marko KUMP, UAE TEAM EMIRATES, at :10
10. Wouter WIPPERT, CANNONDALE-DRAPAC, at :10

“I’m happy with how intelligent and strong my team was in the end,” Kittel said. “It was really nice and also promising for the next week.”

The stage was flat with no KOMs, and featured three laps of a 3.5km finishing circuit to close the stage.

The day kicked off with a four-rider break shortly after the start. Floris Gerts (BMC Racing), Charles Planet (Team Novo Nordisk), Jonny Clarke (UnitedHealthcare) and Ben Wolfe (Jelly Belly-Maxxis) opened up 2-minute 30-second gap at its max before the field began to reel the quartet back.

The climber Clarke was a somewhat odd member of the breakaway on flat roads. The Australian said he hoped his finishes in the intermediate sprints secured a preferential spot for the UnitedHealthCare team car in the race caravan for stage 2.

“It’s a WorldTour race so we have to get out and show ourselves,” Clarke said. “We’re not a WorldTour team and we can’t hang back. We’ll of course give it a go with our top guys. The goal is to show our jersey.”

As the group rumbled back into Sacramento the peloton had pegged the gap back to a handful of seconds. Quick-Step, which had monitored the peloton for much of the day, took control of the pack with 5km to go and ramped up the pace. Jack Bauer, Quick Step’s time trial specialist from New Zealand, towed the group into the final kilometer, just before Quick Step’s sprint train launched Kittel to the win.

A fantastic @marcelkittel wins the opening stage of #AMGENTOC! #WayToRide #No27in2017 Photo: @TDWsport pic.twitter.com/IRcCLMnSUw
— Quick-Step Cycling (@quickstepteam) May 14, 2017

“The goal was to bring Marcel into pole position in the final, and that’s what we did,” Bauer said. “You put Marcel on a straight road and he knows what to do.”

Both Bauer and Kittel said the result bodes well for the team’s ambitions at the upcoming Tour de France. After the Amgen Tour, Quick-Step’s California squad will travel to Colorado to do some training at altitude before heading back to Europe.

“All of the riders you have here are all coming out of an easy period of training period after the Classics,” Kittel said. “Everyone is building up again for the Tour and being here it is the first moment where you can see how other teams are doing and you can see how other teams have some guys that will go to the tour. When I look to us, we can be happy that we worked so well together today.”

With the win, Kittel moves into yellow leaders jersey for what is expected to be a short reign with a mountainous 143km stage from Modesto to San Jose on Monday. Stage two offers six category climbs, the toughest up Mount Hamilton.

Stage five features a steep and long ascent to Mount Baldy among three category climbs.

Sprinters will have a penultimate sixth-stage 24km time trial Friday at Big Bear Lake to regain any lost ground ahead of the final 125km stage down to the finish.

Stage 1 results

1. Marcel KITTEL, QUICK-STEP FLOORS, in 3:45:35
2. Peter SAGAN, BORA-HANSGROHE, at :00
3. Elia VIVIANI, TEAM SKY, at :00
4. John DEGENKOLB, TREK-SEGAFREDO, at :00
5. Jean-Pierre DRUCKER, BMC RACING, at :00
6. Reinardt JANSE VAN RENSBURG, DIMENSION DATA, at :00
7. Jonas VAN GENECHTEN, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CRÉDITS, at :00
8. Marko KUMP, UAE TEAM EMIRATES, at :00
9. Wouter WIPPERT, CANNONDALE-DRAPAC, at :00
10. Travis MCCABE, UNITEDHEALTHCARE, at :00
11. Greg HENDERSON, UNITEDHEALTHCARE, at :00
12. Ramon SINKELDAM, TEAM SUNWEB, at :00
13. Alexander KRISTOFF, KATUSHA-ALPECIN, at :00
14. Colin JOYCE, RALLY CYCLING, at :00
15. Rick ZABEL, KATUSHA-ALPECIN, at :00
16. Fabio SABATINI, QUICK-STEP FLOORS, at :04
17. Robert GESINK, LOTTONL-JUMBO, at :04
18. Pawel POLJANSKI, BORA-HANSGROHE, at :04
19. Brent BOOKWALTER, BMC RACING, at :04
20. George BENNETT, LOTTONL-JUMBO, at :04
21. Rafal MAJKA, BORA-HANSGROHE, at :04
22. Robert BRITTON, RALLY CYCLING, at :04
23. Ulises Alfredo CASTILLO SOTO, JELLY BELLY p/b MAXXIS, at :04
24. Jay MCCARTHY, BORA-HANSGROHE, at :04
25. Michael MORKOV, KATUSHA-ALPECIN, at :04
26. Sam OOMEN, TEAM SUNWEB, at :04
27. Nathan BROWN, CANNONDALE-DRAPAC, at :04
28. Samuel SANCHEZ GONZALEZ, BMC RACING, at :04
29. Andrew TALANSKY, CANNONDALE-DRAPAC, at :04
30. Matteo DAL-CIN, RALLY CYCLING, at :04
31. Michael SCHÄR, BMC RACING, at :04
32. Tiago MACHADO, KATUSHA-ALPECIN, at :04
33. Daan OLIVIER, LOTTONL-JUMBO, at :04
34. Gavin MANION, UNITEDHEALTHCARE, at :04
35. Rúben GUERREIRO, TREK-SEGAFREDO, at :04
36. Laurens DE VREESE, ASTANA, at :04
37. Floris GERFS, BMC RACING, at :04
38. Maximilian SCHACHMANN, QUICK-STEP FLOORS, at :04
39. Alberto BETTIOL, CANNONDALE-DRAPAC, at :04
40. Koen DE KORT, TREK-SEGAFREDO, at :04
41. Kiel REIJNEN, TREK-SEGAFREDO, at :04
42. Arman KAMYSHEV, ASTANA, at :04
43. Vegard Stake LAENGEN, UAE TEAM EMIRATES, at :04
44. Lawson CRADDOCK, CANNONDALE-DRAPAC, at :04
45. Markel IRIZAR ARANBURU, TREK-SEGAFREDO, at :04
46. Matteo TRENTIN, QUICK-STEP FLOORS, at :04
47. Danny PATE, RALLY CYCLING, at :04
48. Adam DE VOS, RALLY CYCLING, at :04
49. Enric MAS NICOLAU, QUICK-STEP FLOORS, at :04
50. Andrea PERON, TEAM NOVO NORDISK, at :04
51. Luis Angel MATE MARDONES, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CRÉDITS, at :04
52. Benjamin KING, DIMENSION DATA, at :04
53. Tom BOHLI, BMC RACING, at :04
54. Haimar ZUBELDIA AGIRRE, TREK-SEGAFREDO, at :04
55. Serghei TVETCOV, JELLY BELLY p/b MAXXIS, at :04
56. Taylor PHINNEY, CANNONDALE-DRAPAC, at :04
57. Simone CONSONNI, UAE TEAM EMIRATES, at :04
58. Antwan TOLHOEK, LOTTONL-JUMBO, at :04
59. Martin ELMIGER, BMC RACING, at :04
60. Javier Alexis ACEVEDO COLLE, UNITEDHEALTHCARE, at :04
61. Daniel EATON, UNITEDHEALTHCARE, at :04
62. Tao GEOGHEGAN HART, TEAM SKY, at :04
63. Geoffrey SOUPE, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CRÉDITS, at :04
64. Peter KENNAUGH, TEAM SKY, at :04
65. Federico ZURLO, UAE TEAM EMIRATES, at :04
66. Lennard HOFSTEDE, TEAM SUNWEB, at :04
67. Floris DE TIER, LOTTONL-JUMBO, at :04
68. Martijn VERSCHOOR, TEAM NOVO NORDISK, at :04
69. Stéphane ROSSETTO, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CRÉDITS, at :04
70. Chris HAMILTON, TEAM SUNWEB, at :04
71. Lachlan MORTON, DIMENSION DATA, at :04
72. Erik BASKA, BORA-HANSGROHE, at :04
73. Joshua BERRY, JELLY BELLY p/b MAXXIS, at :04
74. Javier MEGIAS LEAL, TEAM NOVO NORDISK, at :04
75. Scott THWAITES, DIMENSION DATA, at :04
76. Michal KOLÁR, BORA-HANSGROHE, at :04
77. Johannes FRÖHLINGER, TEAM SUNWEB, at :04
78. Matti BRESCHEL, ASTANA, at :04
79. Bert-Jan LINDEMAN, LOTTONL-JUMBO, at :04
80. Nicolas EDET, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CRÉDITS, at :04
81. David LOPEZ GARCIA, TEAM SKY, at :04
82. Nick DOUGALL, DIMENSION DATA, at :04
83. Miles SCOTSON, BMC RACING, at :04
84. Evan HUFFMAN, RALLY CYCLING, at :04
85. Jhonatan RESTREPO VALENCIA, KATUSHA-ALPECIN, at :04
86. Kristijan ÐURASEK, UAE TEAM EMIRATES, at :04
87. Tanner PUTT, UNITEDHEALTHCARE, at :04
88. Yoann BAGOT, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CRÉDITS, at :04
89. Ian BOSWELL, TEAM SKY, at :04
90. Toms SKUJINS, CANNONDALE-DRAPAC, at :04
91. Zdenek ŠTYBAR, QUICK-STEP FLOORS, at :04
92. Daniel Alexander JARAMILLO DIEZ, UNITEDHEALTHCARE, at :04
93. Jonathan CLARKE, UNITEDHEALTHCARE, at :04
94. Taylor SHELDEN, JELLY BELLY p/b MAXXIS, at :04
95. Alexey VERMEULEN, LOTTONL-JUMBO, at :04
96. Jordan CHEYNE, JELLY BELLY p/b MAXXIS, at :04
97. GREGORY DANIEL, TREK-SEGAFREDO, at :04
98. Koen BOUWMAN, LOTTONL-JUMBO, at :04
99. Joonas HENTTALA, TEAM NOVO NORDISK, at :04
100. Sean BENNETT, JELLY BELLY p/b MAXXIS, at :04
101. Marco MATHIS, KATUSHA-ALPECIN, at :04
102. Artyom ZAKHAROV, ASTANA, at :04
103. Sepp KUSS, RALLY CYCLING, at :04
104. David LOZANO RIBA, TEAM NOVO NORDISK, at :04
105. Jacob RATHE, JELLY BELLY p/b MAXXIS, at :04
106. Yousef MIRZA BANIHAMMAD, UAE TEAM EMIRATES, at :04
107. Truls KORSÆTH, ASTANA, at :04
108. Roy CURVERS, TEAM SUNWEB, at :04
109. Mathias LE TURNIER, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CRÉDITS, at :24
110. Filippo GANNA, UAE TEAM EMIRATES, at :26
111. Maciej BODNAR, BORA-HANSGROHE, at :26
112. Nils POLITT, KATUSHA-ALPECIN, at :28
113. Riccardo MINALI, ASTANA, at :30
114. Ben WOLFE, JELLY BELLY p/b MAXXIS, at :34
115. Juraj SAGAN, BORA-HANSGROHE, at :35
116. Eric YOUNG, RALLY CYCLING, at :35
117. Jack BAUER, QUICK-STEP FLOORS, at :50
118. Owain DOULL, TEAM SKY, at :55
119. Christopher WILLIAMS, TEAM NOVO NORDISK, at :59
120. Daniil FOMINYKH, ASTANA, at :59
121. Tyler FARRAR, DIMENSION DATA, at 1:02
122. Mike TEUNISSEN, TEAM SUNWEB, at 1:05
123. Ruslan TLEUBAYEV, ASTANA, at 1:12
124. Andrea GUARDINI, UAE TEAM EMIRATES, at 1:12
125. Jonathan DIEBBEN, TEAM SKY, at 1:14
126. Mads Würtz SCHMIDT, KATUSHA-ALPECIN, at 1:19
127. Martin VELITS, QUICK-STEP FLOORS, at 1:19
128. Mark RENSHAW, DIMENSION DATA, at 1:23
129. Bernhard EISEL, DIMENSION DATA, at 2:05
130. Danny VAN POPPEL, TEAM SKY, at 2:05
131. Charles PLANET, TEAM NOVO NORDISK, at 2:24
132. Romain GIOUX, TEAM NOVO NORDISK, at 2:30
133. Søren Kragh ANDERSEN, TEAM SUNWEB, at 3:17
134. Brendan CANTY, CANNONDALE-DRAPAC, at 3:17
135. Guillaume BONNAFOND, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CRÉDITS, at 3:57
DNS Marco COLEDAN, TREK-SEGAFREDO

General classification

1. Marcel KITTEL, QUICK-STEP FLOORS, in 3:45:25
2. Peter SAGAN, BORA-HANSGROHE, at :04
3. Elia VIVIANI, TEAM SKY, at :06
4. Floris GERFS, BMC RACING, at :09
5. Jonathan CLARKE, UNITEDHEALTHCARE, at :09
6. John DEGENKOLB, TREK-SEGAFREDO, at :10
7. Jean-Pierre DRUCKER, BMC RACING, at :10
8. Reinardt JANSE VAN RENSBURG, DIMENSION DATA, at :10
9. Jonas VAN GENECHTEN, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CRÉDITS, at :10
10. Marko KUMP, UAE TEAM EMIRATES, at :10
11. Wouter WIPPERT, CANNONDALE-DRAPAC, at :10
12. Travis MCCABE, UNITEDHEALTHCARE, at :10
13. Greg HENDERSON, UNITEDHEALTHCARE, at :10
14. Ramon SINKELDAM, TEAM SUNWEB, at :10
15. Alexander KRISTOFF, KATUSHA-ALPECIN, at :10
16. Colin JOYCE, RALLY CYCLING, at :10
17. Rick ZABEL, KATUSHA-ALPECIN, at :10
18. Fabio SABATINI, QUICK-STEP FLOORS, at :14
19. Robert GESINK, LOTTONL-JUMBO, at :14
20. Pawel POLJANSKI, BORA-HANSGROHE, at :14
21. Brent BOOKWALTER, BMC RACING, at :14
22. George BENNETT, LOTTONL-JUMBO, at :14
23. Rafal MAJKA, BORA-HANSGROHE, at :14
24. Robert BRITTON, RALLY CYCLING, at :14
25. Ulises Alfredo CASTILLO SOTO, JELLY BELLY p/b MAXXIS, at :14
26. Jay MCCARTHY, BORA-HANSGROHE, at :14
27. Michael MORKOV, KATUSHA-ALPECIN, at :14
28. Sam OOMEN, TEAM SUNWEB, at :14
29. Nathan BROWN, CANNONDALE-DRAPAC, at :14
30. Samuel SANCHEZ GONZALEZ, BMC RACING, at :14
31. Andrew TALANSKY, CANNONDALE-DRAPAC, at :14
32. Matteo DAL-CIN, RALLY CYCLING, at :14
33. Michael SCHÄR, BMC RACING, at :14
34. Tiago MACHADO, KATUSHA-ALPECIN, at :14
35. Daan OLIVIER, LOTTONL-JUMBO, at :14
36. Gavin MANION, UNITEDHEALTHCARE, at :14
37. Rúben GUERREIRO, TREK-SEGAFREDO, at :14
38. Laurens DE VREESE, ASTANA, at :14
39. Maximilian SCHACHMANN, QUICK-STEP FLOORS, at :14
40. Alberto BETTIOL, CANNONDALE-DRAPAC, at :14
41. Koen DE KORT, TREK-SEGAFREDO, at :14
42. Kiel REIJNEN, TREK-SEGAFREDO, at :14
43. Arman KAMYSHEV, ASTANA, at :14
44. Vegard Stake LAENGEN, UAE TEAM EMIRATES, at :14
45. Lawson CRADDOCK, CANNONDALE-DRAPAC, at :14
46. Markel IRIZAR ARANBURU, TREK-SEGAFREDO, at :14
47. Matteo TRENTIN, QUICK-STEP FLOORS, at :14
48. Danny PATE, RALLY CYCLING, at :14
49. Adam DE VOS, RALLY CYCLING, at :14
50. Enric MAS NICOLAU, QUICK-STEP FLOORS, at :14
51. Andrea PERON, TEAM NOVO NORDISK, at :14
52. Luis Angel MATE MARDONES, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CRÉDITS, at :14
53. Benjamin KING, DIMENSION DATA, at :14
54. Tom BOHLI, BMC RACING, at :14
55. Haimar ZUBELDIA AGIRRE, TREK-SEGAFREDO, at :14
56. Serghei TVETCOV, JELLY BELLY p/b MAXXIS, at :14
57. Taylor PHINNEY, CANNONDALE-DRAPAC, at :14
58. Simone CONSONNI, UAE TEAM EMIRATES, at :14
59. Antwan TOLHOEK, LOTTONL-JUMBO, at :14
60. Martin ELMIGER, BMC RACING, at :14
61. Javier Alexis ACEVEDO COLLE, UNITEDHEALTHCARE, at :14
62. Daniel EATON, UNITEDHEALTHCARE, at :14
63. Tao GEOGHEGAN HART, TEAM SKY, at :14
64. Geoffrey SOUPE, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CRÉDITS, at :14
65. Peter KENNAUGH, TEAM SKY, at :14
66. Federico ZURLO, UAE TEAM EMIRATES, at :14
67. Lennard HOFSTEDE, TEAM SUNWEB, at :14
68. Floris DE TIER, LOTTONL-JUMBO, at :14
69. Martijn VERSCHOOR, TEAM NOVO NORDISK, at :14
70. Stéphane ROSSETTO, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CRÉDITS, at :14
71. Chris HAMILTON, TEAM SUNWEB, at :14
72. Lachlan MORTON, DIMENSION DATA, at :14
73. Erik BASKA, BORA-HANSGROHE, at :14
74. Joshua BERRY, JELLY BELLY p/b MAXXIS, at :14
75. Javier MEGIAS LEAL, TEAM NOVO NORDISK, at :14
76. Scott THWAITES, DIMENSION DATA, at :14
77. Michal KOLÁR, BORA-HANSGROHE, at :14
78. Johannes FRÖHLINGER, TEAM SUNWEB, at :14
79. Matti BRESCHEL, ASTANA, at :14
80. Bert-Jan LINDEMAN, LOTTONL-JUMBO, at :14
81. Nicolas EDET, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CRÉDITS, at :14
82. David LOPEZ GARCIA, TEAM SKY, at :14
83. Nick DOUGALL, DIMENSION DATA, at :14
84. Miles SCOTSON, BMC RACING, at :14
85. Evan HUFFMAN, RALLY CYCLING, at :14
86. Jhonatan RESTREPO VALENCIA, KATUSHA-ALPECIN, at :14
87. Kristijan ÐURASEK, UAE TEAM EMIRATES, at :14
88. Tanner PUTT, UNITEDHEALTHCARE, at :14
89. Yoann BAGOT, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CRÉDITS, at :14
90. Ian BOSWELL, TEAM SKY, at :14
91. Toms SKUJINS, CANNONDALE-DRAPAC, at :14
92. Zdenek ŠTYBAR, QUICK-STEP FLOORS, at :14
93. Daniel Alexander JARAMILLO DIEZ, UNITEDHEALTHCARE, at :14
94. Taylor SHELDEN, JELLY BELLY p/b MAXXIS, at :14
95. Alexey VERMEULEN, LOTTONL-JUMBO, at :14
96. Jordan CHEYNE, JELLY BELLY p/b MAXXIS, at :14
97. GREGORY DANIEL, TREK-SEGAFREDO, at :14
98. Koen BOUWMAN, LOTTONL-JUMBO, at :14
99. Joonas HENTTALA, TEAM NOVO NORDISK, at :14
100. Sean BENNETT, JELLY BELLY p/b MAXXIS, at :14
101. Marco MATHIS, KATUSHA-ALPECIN, at :14
102. Artyom ZAKHAROV, ASTANA, at :14
103. Sepp KUSS, RALLY CYCLING, at :14
104. David LOZANO RIBA, TEAM NOVO NORDISK, at :14
105. Jacob RATHE, JELLY BELLY p/b MAXXIS, at :14
106. Yousef MIRZA BANIHAMMAD, UAE TEAM EMIRATES, at :14
107. Truls KORSÆTH, ASTANA, at :14
108. Roy CURVERS, TEAM SUNWEB, at :14
109. Mathias LE TURNIER, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CRÉDITS, at :34
110. Filippo GANNA, UAE TEAM EMIRATES, at :36
111. Maciej BODNAR, BORA-HANSGROHE, at :36
112. Nils POLITT, KATUSHA-ALPECIN, at :38
113. Riccardo MINALI, ASTANA, at :40
114. Ben WOLFE, JELLY BELLY p/b MAXXIS, at :43
115. Juraj SAGAN, BORA-HANSGROHE, at :45
116. Eric YOUNG, RALLY CYCLING, at :45
117. Jack BAUER, QUICK-STEP FLOORS, at 1:00
118. Owain DOULL, TEAM SKY, at 1:05
119. Christopher WILLIAMS, TEAM NOVO NORDISK, at 1:09
120. Daniil FOMINYKH, ASTANA, at 1:09
121. Tyler FARRAR, DIMENSION DATA, at 1:12
122. Mike TEUNISSEN, TEAM SUNWEB, at 1:15
123. Ruslan TLEUBAYEV, ASTANA, at 1:22
124. Andrea GUARDINI, UAE TEAM EMIRATES, at 1:22
125. Jonathan DIEBBEN, TEAM SKY, at 1:24
126. Mads Würtz SCHMIDT, KATUSHA-ALPECIN, at 1:29
127. Martin VELITS, QUICK-STEP FLOORS, at 1:29
128. Mark RENSHAW, DIMENSION DATA, at 1:33
129. Bernhard EISEL, DIMENSION DATA, at 2:15
130. Danny VAN POPPEL, TEAM SKY, at 2:15
131. Charles PLANET, TEAM NOVO NORDISK, at 2:33
132. Romain GIOUX, TEAM NOVO NORDISK, at 2:40
133. Søren Kragh ANDERSEN, TEAM SUNWEB, at 3:27
134. Brendan CANTY, CANNONDALE-DRAPAC, at 3:27
135. Guillaume BONNAFOND, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CRÉDITS, at 4:07

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