Former Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins maintained the overall lead after the third stage of the Tour of California which was won by Australian Rohan Dennis on Tuesday.
|Last Updated: May 14, 2014, 11:23 AM IST|Source: AFP
Former Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins maintained the overall lead after the third stage of the Tour of California which was won by Australian Rohan Dennis on Tuesday.
Team Sky`s Wiggins, who dominated the second stage time trial in Folsom, now has a 24 second overall lead on Dennis with five stages remaining in the race.
Dennis, of Garmin-Sharp, powered his way through hot and mountainous conditions Tuesday to complete the 174 kilometre road course from San Jose, California, to Mount Diablo in four hours, 56 minutes and two seconds.
Wiggins took the lead with about six kilometres to go but Dennis jumped clear of the pack in the final kilometre to take the victory in sweltering conditions where the temperatures reached about 33 Celsius (92 Fahrenheit).
Wiggins said he was satisfied with his finish in the tough conditions.
"It doesn`t get much hotter in a race and my biggest concern today was just exploding," the Brit told TeamSky.com. "On the last climb I just wanted to ride a good tempo. I did that and then it was just about getting to the top at the end."
Wiggins, who followed up his 2012 Tour de France triumph by winning Olympic time trial gold in London, finished the third stage in ninth place, 20 seconds adrift of Dennis.
Portugal`s Tiago Machado was second in the stage which finished with a seven kilometre climb up Mount Diablo. American Lawson Craddock was third, two seconds behind Machado and eight seconds back of the leader.
"It was difficult to know who was in the group riding on the front. That was probably the only mistake I made as Rohan Dennis took a little bit of time. I perhaps underestimated that he`d be there so we just need to keep a closer eye on him on the next ones," Wiggins said.
"Hopefully today was about as hard as it should get for the boys. I think the next two days should, fingers crossed, be a bit more straightforward."
Dennis is second overall, 24 seconds behind Wiggins while Machado is third, 65 seconds back.
The Tour of California continues Wednesday with the 166-kilometre scenic fourth stage from Monterey to Cambria on the Pacific coast.
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.