Rally UHC Cycling wrapped up it’s 11th Amgen Tour of California, with the women and men in orange speeding into Pasadena for a classic race finish on the doorstep of the Rose Bowl.

Current Canadian criterium national champion Sara Bergen survived the mountains of the Angeles National Forest to finish 10th in the final stage. Krista Doebel-Hickok finished two spots behind her in 12th and successfully defended seventh place overall.

“Today we knew it would be difficult to move up in the overall so we’re happy to maintain seventh and avoid any mishaps,” said Doebel-Hickok. “This is one of my best results at this level.”

The men and women tackled an identical 126 km course for the final stage from Santa Clarita to Pasadena. After the gun, the stage climbed into the Angeles National Forest. After a series of attacks, Bergen found herself off the front as the peloton looked to break a Boels-Dolmans stranglehold, finishing tenth on the day.

“It was full on,” said Bergen. “It’s the best thing about Tour of California, you race from the gun. It’s so encouraging to have such a strong field here. We set our expectations high so being competitive on the WorldTour level is really encouraging.”

North to South in the Golden State

For the women and men of Rally UHC Cycling, the stages at this year’s race were packed with challenging courses built for climbers and all-rounders.

On the men’s side of the race, Rob Britton led the charge for Rally UHC Cycling, consistently finishing with the world’s top climbers, delivering seventh on stage two to Lake Tahoe where teammate Evan Huffman earned the Most Courageous jersey, and ninth on stage six to Mt. Baldy.

After the team’s GC leader, Brandon McNulty, struggled with lingering illness and was forced to abandon, it was up to Britton to take the reins on the mountainous courses. Britton finished 12th overall and led the team to third place in the team classification in North America’s premier WorldTour stage race.

The women started their race in Ventura where they were greeted by 30 + MPH winds and a steep climb five kilometers from the finish. Emma White and Doebel-Hickok made a selection of 20 riders with White, the defending points champion, sprinting to seventh on the stage.

On the penultimate stage to Mt. Baldy, the team protected Doebel-Hickok until the final seven km ascent where she skyrocketed into seventh on GC and a ninth place stage finish.

Women’s stage 3 results
1 BALSAMO Elisa Valcar Cylance Cycling 3:19:57
2 SIERRA Arlenis Astana Women’s Team ”
3 GANZAR Leigh Ann Hagens Berman / Supermint Pro Cycling Team ”
4 DYGERT Chloe Sho – Air TWENTY20 ”
5 KIRCHMANN Leah Team Sunweb ”
6 KLEIN Lisa Canyon SRAM Racing ”
7 DEIGNAN Elizabeth Trek-Segafredo Women ”
8 CHAPMAN Brodie Team TIBCO – SVB ”
9 GUDERZO Tatiana Bepink ”
10 BERGEN Sara Rally UHC Cycling Women “
11 SALCEDO Jannie Milena Swapit Agolico ”
12 DOEBEL-HICKOK Kristabel Rally UHC Cycling Women “

Women’s final general classification
1 VAN DER BREGGEN Anna Boels – Dolmans Cycling Team 8:32:34
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 1:46
7 DOEBEL-HICKOK Kristabel Rally UHC Cycling Women 1:58
8 SHAPIRA Omer Canyon SRAM Racing 50 50 2:12
9 GRANT Emma Sho – Air TWENTY20 40 45 2:15
10 ROOIJAKKERS Pauliena CCC – Liv 35 40 2:28

Men’s final general classification
1 POGAČAR Tadej UAE-Team Emirates 300 200 32:55:12
2 HIGUITA Sergio EF Education First 250 150 0:16
3 ASGREEN Kasper Deceuninck – Quick Step 215 120 0:17
4 BENNETT George Team Jumbo-Visma 175 100 0:29
5 PORTE Richie Trek – Segafredo 120 90 0:41
6 ŠPILAK Simon Team Katusha Alpecin 115 80 1:03
7 HANSEN Jesper Cofidis, Solutions Crédits 95 70 1:18
8 GROSSSCHARTNER Felix BORA – hansgrohe 75 60 ”
9 VAN GARDEREN Tejay EF Education First 60 50 1:22
10 SCHACHMANN Maximilian BORA – hansgrohe 50 40 1:23
11 DENNIS Rohan Bahrain Merida 40 36 ”
12 BRITTON Rob Rally UHC Cycling 35 32 1:38
13 ZOIDL Riccardo CCC Team 30 28 1:50
14 URÁN Rigoberto EF Education First 25 24 1:58
15 MANNION Gavin Rally UHC Cycling 20 20 2:17