The Belkin Pro Cycling TEAM's Nick van der Lijke battled with the best on Saturday, taking 8th place in the 143km seventh stage of the 2014 Amgen Tour of California from Santa Clarita to Pasadena, north of Los Angeles.

Slovakian Peter Sagan of Team Cannondale won the stage; Team Sky's Sir Bradley Wiggins maintained the overall race lead. Belkin's team captain Laurens ten Dam finished in the peloton for 25th place, maintaining his 8th place overall 3 minutes and 1 second behind Wiggins.

Van der Lijke, 22, survived sweltering conditions during another day high in the Angeles National Forest, keeping his cool as the peloton passed over a third- and a second-category climb before a long, fast, technical descent into Pasadena for three 3-mile finishing laps downtown.

Belkin's Lars Boom animated the day, attacking early with six others and building a lead of more than 4 minutes. All eyes were on the Dutchman from Vlijmen, 28 — a six-time Dutch national champion and a world cyclo-cross champion — as the favourite to win in Pasadena.

"It was really really hot today," Boom said. "I fought many kilometres to be in the front group. But then, Cannondale was chasing and we didn't got much of a time difference. On the second climb, I was dropped, but I managed to come back in the descent. I still wanted to sprint, but I didn't have the legs for it anymore."

The breakaway ultimately fizzled on the streets of Pasadena as Team Cannondale worked for a mass dash to the finish line. Sagan easily won the final sprint ahead of Norway's Thor Hushovd (BMC) and Dutchman Danny van Poppel (TFR).

Sports Director Nico Verhoeven had hoped his riders could deliver Belkin's sprinter, Dutchman Moreno Hofland, to the finish line:

"We wanted to be in the front with Lars because we saw some opportunities with him on the front. On the second climb, however, the tempo went sky high and Moreno was dropped. In the finale, the sprint teams didn't give him much room, but Nick went for it for 8th place."