Tvetcov leads breakaway on pivotal stage at Amgen Tour of California

Mannion jumps up on GC before final day

“We came into this race at the Amgen Tour of California ready to show what we were worth, and we continue to do so each day,” team director Seba Alexandre said. “As in previous days, we had to get one of our riders off the front so we could save the rest of our riders to protect our GC rider, Gavin Mannion.”

And the UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling squad did just that. Serghei Tvetov established himself off the front with eight riders, staying off the front for the majority of the race.

When the race hit Daggett Pass, however, an eager Team Sky reeled the breakaway back in for their eventual winner Egan Beral. Mannion was able to hang on to finish in 13th place, two minutes back. His result bumped him up to 11th place overall heading into the final stage in Sacramento.

“I felt super good today and I think that my result reflects that,” Mannion said. “My team really helped band around me to make sure I saved enough energy going into those two final climbs, so I have to thank them, they really put it all out on the line for me today.”

Tomorrow final stage in Sacramento is another flat, fast stage around Sacramento. The 143 kilometer race features two intermediate sprints and no KOMs, so a sprint finish is expected to be par for the course.