Tejay van Garderen takes Yellow in Tour of California: It was a good surprise
May 14 2019 09:59 pm CET
EF Education First (c)Jojo Harper
EF Education-First's Tejay Van Garderen has taken the lead of the General Classification after finishing the second stage in the second position, just behind Kasper Asgreen.
Van Garderen and EF Education First did a good job throughout the stage, first setting a high rhythm to make a selection ahead of the final kilometres and then being in a good position and reacting to every move.
"It was a good surprise," said van Garderen. "I'm super happy, super thrilled. I'm honoured to represent yellow. I love this race. I love representing this race, coming out here and giving it everything.
When asked about the job the team did in the stage the rider commented: "Did it look like we had a plan out there? We were just throwing grenades around but eventually one of them stuck."
Van Garderen launched an attack in the last two kilometres and arrived to the last metres with Asgreen, who was then the fastest to cross the line. "The attack was partly because I didn't want the guys behind to catch up," commented the rider.
"I knew the steepest part was in the middle, so I knew it was kind of far out for the sprint, but I wanted to go on the steepest part. We ended up with just three of us, and I launched my sprint early. I couldn't quite get the stage win, but the yellow jersey is a nice prize."
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