13 May 2019
Halvorsen kicks off Cali with fourth
Related riders
Kristoffer Halvorsen
Kristoffer Halvorsen sprinted to an encouraging fourth place on day one of the Tour of California, following strong leadout work from Luke Rowe and Owain Doull.
The trio timed their run to the front perfectly, joining forces with Deceuninck - Quick-Step ahead of the final 90 degree turn onto the finishing straight in central Sacramento.
Doull then lit the afterburners and forced a split in the bunch but it was Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe) who prevailed in the run to the line, winning ahead of Travis McCabe (United States) and Max Walscheid (Team Sunweb). Halvorsen came close to overhauling Walscheid, while Doull came home sixth, four seconds ahead of the chasing pack.
That's Norwegian Halvorsen's 10th top-10 finish of the 2019 season and there will be plenty more chances for the quick men this week in California. David de la Cruz, Gianni Moscon and Diego Rosa all finished safely in the main bunch following the hectic final 15 kilometres to the opening 143km stage.
Reaction
Luke Rowe
Luke Rowe
“It was a pretty straight forward day but the final 15km on this finishing circuit here in Sacramento were hectic and it was tight.
“The final 5km in particular were manic but as a group I think we’ve moved on from Australia, where me, Doull and Halvorsen worked together on the leadouts a lot at the Tour Down Under and in the Herald Sun Tour. We've kicked it off from where we left off there.
“We delivered him well today and he was fourth. I’m sure he would have wanted a bit more but we’ll keep trying and keep giving him every opportunity to pick up a win here.”
What's next?
Plenty of climbing awaits on the 195km day two, with 4,438m of elevation, compared to just 157m on the opening day. There's a nasty sting in the tail too, with a punchy 2km finale. The race's GC contenders will need to be on their toes.
Stage one result:
1. Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe) 3:14:10
2. Travis McCabe (USA Cycling) s.t.
3. Max Walscheid (Team Sunweb)
4. Kristoffer Halvorsen (Team INEOS)
5. Michael Morkov (Deceuninck - Quick-Step)
6. Owain Doull (Team INEOS)
Overall standings
1. Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe) 3:14:10
2. Travis McCabe (USA Cycling) +0:04
3. Max Walscheid (Team Sunweb) +0:06
4. Kristoffer Halvorsen (Team INEOS) +0:10
5. Michael Morkov (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) s.t.
6. Owain Doull (Team INEOS)
Plenty of climbing awaits on the 195km day two, with 4,438m of elevation, compared to just 157m on the opening day. There's a nasty sting in the tail too, with a punchy 2km finale. The race's GC contenders will need to be on their toes.
Stage one result:
1. Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe) 3:14:10
2. Travis McCabe (USA Cycling) s.t.
3. Max Walscheid (Team Sunweb)
4. Kristoffer Halvorsen (Team INEOS)
5. Michael Morkov (Deceuninck - Quick-Step)
6. Owain Doull (Team INEOS)
Overall standings
1. Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe) 3:14:10
2. Travis McCabe (USA Cycling) +0:04
3. Max Walscheid (Team Sunweb) +0:06
4. Kristoffer Halvorsen (Team INEOS) +0:10
5. Michael Morkov (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) s.t.
6. Owain Doull (Team INEOS)
