Attentive Boivin slots in seventh after a crash-marred finish
Sacramento, CA: Team SpiderTech powered by Planet Energy made a strong debut today during the opening stage of the fifth Amgen Tour of California with the Canadian squad’s Guillaume Boivin attentively avoiding a couple of large pileups to score a seventh place result behind stage winner Mark Cavendish (HTC-Columbia).
The mostly downhill stage pedaled 167.8 kilometres from Nevada City to Sacramento. A four-man break consisting of Chad Beyer (BMC), Mark de Maar (UnitedHealthcare), Paul Mach (Bissell) and Maarten Tjallingii (Rabobank) escaped the field after twenty kilometres, building up an advantage of several minutes. Knowing that the day would be settled by the sprinters, Team SpiderTech surrounded fastmen Boivin and Martin Gilbert, the only non-ProTour rider to win a stage at last year’s Tour of Missouri, who smartly conserved energy by riding towards the back of the peloton along with some of the world’s best sprinters including Cavendish, Tom Boonen (Quick Step), Francesco Chicchi (Liquigas-Doimo), Juan Jose Haedo (Saxo Bank) and Heinrich Haussler (Cervelo TestTeam). With Cavendish regarded as the fastest sprinter in the world, HTC-Columbia were forced to drive the chase.
The break was absorbed with sixteen kilometres remaining and a nervous peloton roared into California’s state capital to conclude the stage by completing three circuits around the State Capitol building. While HTC-Columbia was rivalled by Saxo Bank for control, Team SpiderTech sagely moved towards the head of the field as the peloton began the final circuit. During the final lap, a couple of crashes, one of which detained Gilbert with six hundred meters left, caused a massive separation in the field leaving a group of a dozen riders to sprint for the stage win. Cavendish easily took the honours with Boivin crossing the finish a few meters behind in seventh place.
“The team did a great job protecting Martin and I from hitting the wind all day. HTC-Columbia kept the lead of the breakaway group under control most of the day so we knew the race would come to a final sprint. On the final circuit, Martin and I were separated by a crash with two kilometres to go. I got good position before the final turn and did my best alone in the final kick. I’m happy with the outcome. However, it could have been much better if Martin and I were still together at four hundred meters to go,” said the poised twenty-year old Boivin.
Team SpiderTech director Steve Bauer said, “We are satisfied with our inaugural performance during the first stage of the Amgen Tour of California. Our riders worked well to position Martin and Guillaume for the final lap. Two important crashes separated our sprint duo with two kilometres to go. Guillaume sprinted to a superb seventh place behind Cavendish and Haedo. We are expecting more good things from this young man.”
Monday’s (May 17) Stage 2 travels 177.2 kilometres from Davis to Santa Rosa during which the riders will face two mid-race sprints and four King of the Mountains climbs. The eight-day, 1280-kilometre Amgen Tour of California is regarded as one of the most important races on the international calendar comprised of sixteen professional teams from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, and the U.S. For further information, please visit www.amgentourofcalifornia.com.
Stage 1 results:
1. Mark Cavendish (HTC-Columbia)
2. Juan Jose Haedo (Saxo Bank)
3. Alexander Kristoff (BMC)
7. Guillaume Boivin (Team SpiderTech)
