One year after finishing 8th in the race, Lawson Craddock confirmed that he is a great stage racer in the making when he beat several seasoned professionals to take thid overall in the Tour of California. On the final day, his Giant-Shimano team again got close to a stage win with John Degenkolb but the German was narrowly edged out by Mark Cavendish.

 

John Degenkolb has raced to another second place on the final stage of the Amgen Tour of California in another sprint showdown between the fastest men in the race. Degenkolb only lost out by centimetres after coming up from behind but in the end he ran out of road before the line to take the win.

 

Young Team Giant-Shimano teammate, Lawson Craddock came over the line in 29th place on the same time as the stage winner, Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma – Quickstep) to confirm his third place overall and with it winning the best young rider’s classification.

 

The short, fast 122km final stage starting and finishing in Thousand Oaks was a busy stage for Team Giant-Shimano with both third place overall to defend as well as the stage presenting a big sprint opportunity for Degenkolb.

 

Early on it was Chad Haga who slipped away in a powerful break of eight riders who soon pulled out a gap of over 2’30″ but the peloton led by Team Sky, in defence of Bradley Wiggins’s race lead was hot on their heels. Having Haga in the break meant that Team Giant-Shimano did not have to take up any of the chase responsibilities behind and could look after Degenkolb and Craddock.

 

With just under 40km to race, Haga was caught by the chase and just two riders remained out front. These two were also then swallowed up before several other attempts which were all fruitless, with the bunch coming back together with just over five kilometres from the line.

 

From here in it was a battle of the sprinters teams and Team Giant-Shimano played a large part in the pace high and putting Degenkolb near the front. Coming out of the final corner the team led the peloton but Degenkolb was slightly swamped off the wheels of his teammates. Final lead-out man Koen De Kort started his sprint with Cavendish on his wheel while Degenkolb had to come up the outside. He was closing fast on Cavendish but could not get past him before the line, finishing second in a repeat of the 1-2 on the opening stage.

  Team Giant-Shimano coach, Aike Visbeek said: “It was another solid team ride today which ended in a photo-finish for the win with John again coming up just short.

 

“It has been a really good week for us. We really wanted to win a stage but having a good GC result made the race for the team. The young riders got a real chance to develop here and they all took this on fully, riding strongly all week. It was a shame that Chad had his stomach problems when he did otherwise I think that we could have had two riders in the top-10. Fair to say that I am happy and proud with the way the team have ridden here in California.”

 

One of the animators of the stage, Chad Haga said: “Today I had another chance to race aggressively so I took it with both hands. The breakaway was once again doomed but it was a help for the team and it shows that my legs are good and that I am improving.

 

“I came here with hopes for the GC but it was not to be. But it was great that Lawson had a solid ride and our whole team performance is very encouraging for the what is to come. I’m looking forward to the next races already.”

 

Best young rider, Craddock added: “It has been a really special week for me here. I am so glad that I have had such a great team around me that supported me and had faith in me. Without them none of this would have been possible.

 

“Today was a hard way to finish off the week, with the Rock Store climb three times today we knew that it would be no joke. We fought all day to stay in position and were able to come off the climb with four guys in the front group of 25. From there on it was all about keeping safe and dropping John off in perfect position for the sprint.

 

“It was a great feeling to come across the line having secured third overall and also hearing that John had taken second on the stage. It is a week that I will remember for a long time.”