Zico Waeytens had to allow Mark Cavendish in front of him to finish second at a rain-soaked stage 5 in California, as Giant-Alpecin teammate Lawson Craddock moves up to a 7th position in the GC. 

The chasing teams had a hard time in closing the gap to the leaders as the final breakaway rider was brought back in the final three kilometers.

Zico Waeytens started the sprint from head on. Due to the headwind at the finish, Mark Cavendish (Etixx – QuickStep) caught him just before the line to take his third sprint win of the week and his eighth career win in the Tour of California. Toms Skujins (Hincapie Racing Team) remains the leader as Craddock moves up two positions into a 7th in the GC.

A satisfied Waeytens said: “The stage went very good. We stayed together as a team in the front of the peloton all day. The team did an excellent job to get me into position in the finale.

“I started the sprint from 300 meter, which was a little too early. For a moment I thought that I was heading to victory, but Mark [Cavendish] passed me just before the line and I got second. I am very happy with this result.”

Coach Aike Visbeek added: “Great result by Zico. We spent a lot of energy in primarily defend the position of Lawson to make sure that he was safe in the front of the bunch during the wet and dangerous descents and crosswinds sections.

“The team was very disciplined in staying together as Koen [de Kort] and Roy [Curvers] dropped Zico off into good position at 1 kilometer to the finish.”