Krista Doebel-Hickok and Rob Britton delivered impressive rides on the penultimate stage of the Amgen Tour of California on Friday, each finishing in ninth place on the upper reaches of Mt. Baldy.
After racing through the Los Angeles basin, the peloton sped into the San Gabriel Mountains and towards Mt. Baldy. Situated at 6,400 ft in altitude, the mountainous finale guaranteed the strongest riders would do battle for the stage victory and the general classification.
On the final 7.6 km climb to the finish, Doebel-Hickok stormed out of the peloton, attacking the slope and moving into seventh overall. On the men’s side, Rob Britton duked it out with the pre-race favorites to move into 12th overall.
Doebel-Hickok continues superb season
Coming off a summit victory in March’s Redlands Bicycle Classic and a podium at the recent Tour of the Gila, Doebel-Hickok has become a familiar face at the front of the peloton when the road points up.
“It’s good to see that I can hold my own in a field of this caliber,” said Doebel-Hickok. “I’m happy I made the decision to come back to an American-based team to get some results and confidence back.”
Britton remains strong
The team rallied around Britton as they entered the final seven km pitch to the summit. Britton resisted a flurry of attacks from the WorldTour favorites before finishing in ninth place, 47 seconds down on the stage winner.
“This is the best ride I’ve had on Mt. Baldy during my career,” said Britton. “I’m happy with the result and how the rest of the guys performed on a really difficult stage.”
Early breakaways rarely make it to the Baldy finish so Rally UHC Cycling committed to supporting climbers Britton and Gavin Mannion for the final flurry of attacks, the latter who finished 14th on the stage and moved into 15th overall.
“We had a fairly simple plan today,” said Britton. “We went all in for a GC battle up the final climb and we did a good job. The guys supported both Gavin and me and helped us stay in the front to avoid any issues.”
Saturday’s finale from Santa Clarita to Pasadena sends both fields over an identical course. The stage’s main obstacle is the climb to Angeles Forest Summit before a screaming downhill into the finishing circuits around The Rose Bowl. Expect fireworks as riders look to make up time on the final day of racing and the sprinter’s teams to try and bring it all together for a sprint finale.
Women’s stage 2 results
1 HALL Katie Boels – Dolmans Cycling Team 2:36:39
2 VAN DER BREGGEN Anna Boels – Dolmans Cycling Team ”
3 MOOLMAN Ashleigh CCC – Liv 0:33
4 KOPPENBURG Clara WNT-Rotor Pro Cycling 0:46
5 SHAPIRA Omer Canyon SRAM Racing 0:57
6 NIEWIADOMA Katarzyna Canyon SRAM Racing ”
7 CHAPMAN Brodie Team TIBCO – SVB 1:08
8 GRANT Emma Sho – Air TWENTY20 1:15
9 DOEBEL-HICKOK Kristabel Rally UHC Cycling Women 1:19
10 NEBEN Amber Cogeas – Mettler Pro Cycling Team 1:37
Women’s general classification after stage 2
1 VAN DER BREGGEN Anna Boels – Dolmans Cycling Team 5:12:37
2 HALL Katie Boels – Dolmans Cycling Team 0:29
3 MOOLMAN Ashleigh CCC – Liv 1:06
4 KOPPENBURG Clara WNT-Rotor Pro Cycling 1:25
5 NIEWIADOMA Katarzyna Canyon SRAM Racing 1:34
6 CHAPMAN Brodie Team TIBCO – SVB 1:47
7 DOEBEL-HICKOK Kristabel Rally UHC Cycling Women 1:58
8 SHAPIRA Omer Canyon SRAM Racing 2:12
9 GRANT Emma Sho – Air TWENTY20 2:15
10 ROOIJAKKERS Pauliena CCC – Liv 2:30
Men’s stage 6 results
1 POGAČAR Tadej UAE-Team Emirates 40 35 3:48:49
2 HIGUITA Sergio EF Education First 15 20 ”
3 BENNETT George Team Jumbo-Visma 6 12 0:05
4 PORTE Richie Trek – Segafredo 9 0:10
5 ZOIDL Riccardo CCC Team 7 0:20
6 ASGREEN Kasper Deceuninck – Quick Step 5 0:22
7 ŠPILAK Simon Team Katusha Alpecin 3 0:25
8 DENNIS Rohan Bahrain Merida 2 0:47
9 BRITTON Rob Rally UHC Cycling 1 “
10 HANSEN Jesper Cofidis, Solutions Crédits ”
11 GROSSSCHARTNER Felix BORA – hansgrohe 0:49
12 SCHACHMANN Maximilian BORA – hansgrohe 1:12
13 CORT Magnus Astana Pro Team 1:18
14 MANNION Gavin Rally UHC Cycling 1:26
15 URÁN Rigoberto EF Education First 1:28
Men’s general classification after stage 6
1 POGAČAR Tadej UAE-Team Emirates 6 30:01:56
2 HIGUITA Sergio EF Education First 0:16
3 ASGREEN Kasper Deceuninck – Quick Step 0:20
4 BENNETT George Team Jumbo-Visma 0:29
5 PORTE Richie Trek – Segafredo 0:41
6 ŠPILAK Simon Team Katusha Alpecin 1:03
7 HANSEN Jesper Cofidis, Solutions Crédits 1:18
8 GROSSSCHARTNER Felix BORA – hansgrohe ”
9 VAN GARDEREN Tejay EF Education First 1:22
10 DENNIS Rohan Bahrain Merida 1:23
11 SCHACHMANN Maximilian BORA – hansgrohe 1:28
12 BRITTON Rob Rally UHC Cycling 1:38
13 ZOIDL Riccardo CCC Team 1:50
14 URÁN Rigoberto EF Education First 1:58
15 MANNION Gavin Rally UHC Cycling 2:17
