Slovakian Peter Sagan turned on the engine during the final, hilly part of the third Tour of California stage and made it first to the victory.
Sagan, two times world champion, gave an epic cycling performance during the 192.5 km stage in Morro Bay, CA. Despite that, his teammate Rafal Majka was able to retain the yellow jersey leading the team since Monday after winning stage two. For Sagan, this is his 16th stage victory in his career until now.
The first stage of this seven-day race included a significantly violent crash by Toms Skujins who suffered major concussion, broken collarbone and other injuries that forced him to withdraw from the tour.
The fourth 169.5 km route takes place in Santa Barbara and ends in Santa Clarita. The riders will take on four categorized climbs. This year, is the first time Tour of California is staged as part of the World Tour.
Yes! 16th stage win at @AmgenTOC ! Thanks @BORAhansgrohe team and #JurajSagan for your incredible work today @veloimages #ridenatural pic.twitter.com/oZJSDYD3nG
— Peter Sagan (@petosagan) May 17, 2017
Stage three classification
1. Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe, in 4-53-26
2. Rick Zabel (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin
3. Simone Consonni (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
4. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha-Alpecin
5. Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing Team
6. Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data
7. Taylor Phinney (USA) Cannondale-Drapac
8. Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Team Sunweb
9. Travis Mccabe (USA) UnitedHealthcare
10. Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team Sunweb, all same time
General classification of Tour of California after the third stage results
1. Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe, in 12-22-43
2. George Bennett (NZl) Team LottoNl-Jumbo, at 2s
3. Ian Boswell (USA) Team Sky, at 14s
4. Lachlan Morton (Aus) Dimension Data, at 16s
5. Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo, at 45s
6. Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team, at 48s
7. Sam Oomen (Ned) Team Sunweb
8. Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale-Drapac
9. Maximilian Schachmann (Ger) Quick-Step Floors
10. Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) UAE Team Emirates, all same time
