With an imposing pack of top sprinters angling for the win
25 miles from the finish line in Avila Beach, RADIOSHACK LEOPARD TREK’S Jens Voigt (GER) made his second
decisive attack of the day and struck out on his own to claim the Stage 5 of
the 2013 Amgen Tour of California.
Forty-one-year-old Voigt has ridden in seven of the eight editions of America’s
Greatest Race, and has come close to the overall win, taking second place in
2007. Thursday’s win marked the 66th
victory of his illustrious career.
“I felt like I’m a little bit stronger
than the other guys in the break, but of course less fast than the sprinters,
so the only chance for me to win is to come here [to the finish line] alone,”
said Voigt (pictured), who at 41 is the oldest licensed racer in the world. “I went all
in, and it worked. I’m a really happy man tonight. This is not the
twilight of my career. Let’s call it ‘Indian Summer.’”
Besting the second- and third-place
finishers by a whopping six seconds with his solo attack in the final 2.5 miles
of the race, Voigt also orchestrated the defining move of the day – a breakaway
of 17 elite riders about 82 miles into the 115-mile stage from Santa Barbara to
Avila Beach, which Phil and Paul called “the best move of the race in the last
five days.”
Sensing a change in the punishing
crosswinds as they rode through the town of Guadalupe, Voigt made a move to
split the peloton, which forced overall leader Jose Acevedo (COL) of Team Jamis-Hagens Berman out of position,
eventually causing him to lose the race’s overall lead. The group grew their
advantage over the peloton to about a minute before reaching the tight turns in
the final 200 meters to the finish. In addition to the stage win, these
maneuvers also earned Voigt the Amgen Breakaway
from Cancer® Most Courageous Rider Jersey.
Acevedo (COL), who has
been in the Amgen Race Leader Jersey since
day two, got trapped along with four of the top-10 riders who had been in the
overall standings before today. With the peloton ultimately unable to catch the
escapees, BMC Racing Team’s Tejay van
Garderen (Boulder, CO), a favorite for the overall win, will wear the
coveted yellow jersey for tomorrow’s individual time trials. This will give him
the advantage of seeing the other riders’ times before he takes his turn on the
20-mile course in San Jose. With the race running south to north this year, van Garderen and his team will look to
defend the leader jersey through the final day of racing, ending in Santa Rosa,
Calif, where BMC Racing Team is based.
Friday is Time Trial Day at the ATOC. The TT is a 20-mile course deep in the heart
of bicycle-crazy Silicon Valley featuring a quick climb just as the riders push
off the starting ramp. As the racers navigate around beautiful lakes and golf
courses, they will begin to prepare for the most difficult finish that any ATOC
time trial course has offered. As the
riders make their final right hand turn on the route, they will come
face-to-face with the climb up Metcalf Rd. to the finish. This is a 3km climb
that will see the riders gain nearly 1,000’ in elevation. This climb will
feature several pitches over a 10% grade.
Television coverage begins at 5 pm EST on NBCSN. As always please visit our website for
product reviews, bicycle reviews, videos, photos and more. www.stickybottleteam.net.
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