May 20/16 21:41 pm - Tour of California: Stage 6

Posted by Editoress on 05/20/16
 

Alaphilippe Turns In Inspired Folsom Time Trial To Cling To Race Lead With Two Days Remaining

Dennis Blazes To Stage Win And Second Place Overall


The name of the game was "fast" in Folsom as the 140 men competing in the 2016 Amgen Tour of California raced the clock in their individual time trial event, with Australian Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing Team) recording the fastest time.
 
BMC Racing Team’s Taylor Phinney, who placed third in the 2014 Folsom time trial, put up the time to beat and held the lead for over an hour until Cannondale Pro Cycling Team’s current U.S. National Time Trial Champion Andrew Talansky overtook him by three seconds.
 
The fastest time of the day was yet to come from the current Australian Time Trial Champion and Tour de France time trial speed record-holder Dennis at 24:16. Talansky finished the stage in second place, 17 seconds back, and Dennis’ teammate Phinney, a two-time U.S. National Time Trial Champion, rounded out the podium in third.
 
"I was optimistic. Alaphilippe ripped out a very, very good ride…," said Dennis of his chances to overtake the race lead today. "16 seconds – it’s not over, but it’s not going to be easy to bring back, that’s for sure…Tomorrow’s supposed to be a really tough stage…It’s been a pretty hard Tour as it is, and this Tour has gotten harder and harder every time I’ve done it."
 
Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx – Quick-Step), who as the overall race leader was last to take off and is known for his mountain victories rather than as a time trial speedster, would have to finish the stage within one minute and one second of Dennis to retain the lead. He pulled out all the stops to post a time of 25:01 for an eighth place finish, well within what was needed to retain the Leader Jersey he claimed after Stage 3 and the Gibraltar Road climb.
 
After six stages and more than 24 hours on a bike since the Amgen Tour of California began in San Diego Sunday, Alaphilippe leads Dennis by 16 seconds heading into the final weekend of racing. The 23 year-old Frenchmen is well aware that every second counts, having lost the race to World Champion Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) by a mere three seconds last year. Dennis has also come close to the overall win, having placed second in the 2014 Amgen Tour of California behind Bradley Wiggins.
 
"Of course I’m really happy, and a small surprise for me to stay in yellow today," commented Alaphilippe. "The time trial is not really my specialty."
 
The 20.3 km course highlighted Folsom’s historic downtown and lake views. Folsom also played host to the men’s and women’s time trial events in 2014, with Wiggins taking the day’s top prize on the way to his overall race win that year. The Tour de France champion is back with his development team, Team WIGGINS, this year as he trains for the Olympics though did not plan to be a factor. Two familiar faces on the awards stage were on the podium in 2014 as well, with Dennis placing second and Phinney again in third for that time trial stage.
 
The leader board afterthe stage:  Alaphilippe keeps the overall lead by 16 seconds over Dennis, who stood in seventh place before today. BMC Racing Team is having a good showing in the overall as well as on today’s stage with Brent Bookwalter (BMC) turning in a strong ride to move up a notch to third place (+:38s) just behind his teammate. Talansky’s ride shot him up the chart from eleventh place to fourth (+:47s). Roseville, Calif. native, Neilson Powless (Axeon Hagens Berman Cycling Team) sits in fifth place (+1:08) and retains the SRAM Best Young Rider Jersey for the fourth consecutive day. Peter Stetina (Trek – Segafredo’), who had been in second place overall going into today, fell out of the top-10 and George Bennett (Team Lotto NL – Jumbo) fell from third to ninth.

No changes to the other jerseys after today: World Champion Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) still wears the Visit California Sprint Jersey,  Evan Huffman (Rally Cycling) retains the Lexus King of the Mountain (KOM) Jersey, which he’s worn since Stage 3, and  Toms Skujins (Cannondale Pro Cycling Team) will start tomorrow in the Breakaway from Cancer® Most Courageous Rider Jersey he earned Thursday..

Interview with Stage WInner Rohan Dennis

The look on your face as you crossed the finish showed you had given it your all today. Can you describe how you felt in that moment?

"I was fairly confident as I crossed the line that I had set the quickest time for the rest of the race. I was in a fair bit of pain, the main thing I remember was that I had that taste of metallic in my mouth for the last four or five kilometers from the lactate so it was good to get a drink and wash that out."

The conditions were by no means an easy today, how did you feel as you were riding?

"The wind was definitely getting stronger and stronger throughout the day which actually played into our favor a little bit with Alaphilippe because he is a smaller rider and would have been blown around a little bit more. In the end it didn't make too much of a difference with the stage win, that was my goal for the day as well as trying to take time out. So, it was still a good day, even if we didn't get the yellow jersey."

You won by a fairly significant margin today, what are your thoughts about that?

"I think that today was probably one of the best time trial's that I have done so I am happy with that, really happy after looking at the power profile. It was also a good indication that after six days, everything I have done leading up to now has been working and I am on the right track especially after not a whole lot of racing. I am in a good place mentally with my form and I was pretty happy to come away with that win."

And now looking forward to tomorrow's stage?

"Tomorrow is going to be a difficult one I think. A lot people have been saying watch out for Stage 7 as Santa Rosa is super hilly, it's going to be possibly the hardest stage. I struggle to believe that in some way as everyday has been hard and a few days have been super hard so it may just completely explode the peloton and that could actually open up possible chances to get that yellow jersey."

Reports by ATOC and BMC Racing Team - edited

Results from the sixth stage in California