May 17, 2017 (Morro Bay, CA) – Rally Cycling’s Evan Huffman (USA) and Canadian teammate Rob Britton brought home a stunning big victory going 1-2 on Stage 4 from Santa Barbara to Santa Clarita, 159.5km with Lennard Hofstede (Ned) Team Sunweb in third.

The duo were part of an early break of six riders that gained 9+min on the chasing peloton that underestimated the break. Also in the winning move were Mathias Leturnier (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits, Gavin Mannion (USA) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team and BMC’s Martin Elmiger who was dropped along the way.

With around 20km to go the gap was down to three minutes but the break pushed on with Huffman and Britton making good as Huffman captured his first official WorldTour victory while Britton earned the most prestigious podium of his career. Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe holds on to the leader’s yellow jersey and Adam De Vos (Rally Cycling) is the top Canadian overall in 22nd. Rally Cycling release below

Rally Cycling Claims First Ever WorldTour Win, Rob Britton Finishes Second

Evan Huffman powered into the history books with a stunning turn of speed in the closing meters of stage four at the Amgen Tour of California. He won from a five-man breakaway that included teammate Rob Britton, who crossed the line in second, to give Rally Cycling a 1-2 finish in its first-ever WorldTour event. Huffman’s win is also the first victory ever by a Continental rider at the top-tier level of the sport. Huffman’s aggressive riding and bold move in the closing meters also earned him the Most Courageous Rider jersey and helped Rally Cycling to the top of the day’s Team Classification standings.

“I can’t believe that we did it, I don’t think it has sunk in yet,” said Huffman. “It’s surreal and amazing! The team suffered some setbacks in stage two, so we needed to come out and race our bikes hard. The initial plan was to try to get the King of the Mountains points, but Gavin (Mannion) was picking up the points, so we scrapped that and tried to go for the stage win. In the finale, I knew the peloton was closing in, but that the line was coming faster. I know that I am pretty fast after a long hard day and was hoping the other guys were more tired than I was. I gave it everything I had, and to have Rob finish second adds to the meaning of this win. He is an unbelievable teammate.”

The foundation for Huffman’s victory was laid early in the day when after only 2km of racing, he, along with Britton, Lennard Hofstede (Sunweb), Mathias Le Turnier (Cofidis), Gavin Mannion (UnitedHealthcare) and Martin Elmiger (BMC) rode clear. Elmiger was eventually distanced over the final categorized climb, leaving five out front. At the halfway point, the five riders held a nine-minute lead, but pressure from the peloton increased after the final climb, and the gap began to fall. On the long run into Santa Clarita, it was touch and go whether the breakaway would survive as Quick-Step and Sky drove the pace in the hopes of delivering their sprinters to the line. With only three kilometers left, the peloton was still a minute back, and the victory would be fought out between the breakaway riders. As the line approached, Huffman powered clear with Hofstede giving chase. The Dutch rider failed to gain ground on Huffman, and seizing the opportunity, Britton came past to give Rally Cycling the first two spots on the podium.

“The plan for the day was just to get as many guys in the break as we could,” said Britton. “Evan and I forced it at the start of the stage, and we were able to establish a gap with a strong group of four other riders. In the finale, we knew we couldn’t mess it up. We have been racing together for three years, and I know how Evan races and vice versa, so we had an advantage. Evan pinned it with 500 meters to go, and I sat on Hofstede.  He started to fade, and I was able to come around in the closing meters.”

Today’s results highlight the strength and character of the team that until today had experienced a rollercoaster of fortunes at the Tour of California. The team started off well with a strong showing in the final kilometers of stage one, putting sprinter Eric Young in the mix against the fastest riders in the world. In stage two, crashes and mechanicals dashed the team’s overall general classification ambitions and forced Young to be eliminated. The team’s ‘never say die mentality’ was on display in stage three as Danny Pate spent the day in the breakaway before Matteo Dal-Cin and Adam de Vos attempted to set up Colin Joyce for a run at the finish. Despite not landing on the podium, the team showed the resilience that led to today’s victory.

“Today was great, you really can’t ask for a better result than to finish first and second in a WorldTour event,” said Performance Manager Jonas Carney. “We have had success at the Amgen Tour of California in the past, but this year we knew it was going to be a hard event with WorldTour points on the line. Our riders put in all of the necessary work to prepare for a race of this caliber, and we came to race our bikes. Evan and Rob rode great today and showed the quality of the team. We had some setbacks in stage two, but the guys stayed focused and today was the fruit of that labor.”

Results

1. Evan Huffman (USA) Rally Cycling 3:41:52
2. Rob Britton (Can) Rally Cycling
3. Lennard Hofstede (Ned) Team Sunweb
4. Mathias Leturnier (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
5. Gavin Mannion (USA) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team
6. Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:13
7. John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo
8. Marcel Kittel (Ger) Quick-Step Floors
9. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha-Alpecin
10. Simone Consonni (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
11. Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Team Sunweb
12. Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data
13. Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
14. Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
15. Elia Viviani (Ita) Team Sky
16. Greg Henderson (Nzl) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team
17. Jacob Rathe (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
18. Serghei Tvetcov (Rom) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
19. Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe
20. Ruslan Tleubayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
21. Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team
22. Adam De Vos (Can) Rally Cycling
23. Jhonatan Restrepo (Col) Katusha-Alpecin
24. Sam Oomen (Ned) Team Sunweb
25. Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
26. Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team
27. Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
28. Janier Acevedo (Col) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team
29. Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale-Drapac
30. Luis Angel Mate (Esp) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
31. Charles Planet (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk
32. George Bennett (Nzl) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
33. Floris De Tier (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
34. Matteo Dal Cin (Can) Rally Cycling
35. Haimar Zubeldia (Esp) Trek-Segafredo
36. Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
37. Lachlan Morton (Aus) Dimension Data
38. Rick Zabel (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin
39. Enric Mas (Esp) Quick-Step Floors
40. Tao Geoghegan Hart (Gbr) Team Sky
41. Ian Boswell (USA) Team Sky
42. Samuel Sanchez (Esp) BMC Racing Team
43. Maximilian Schachmann (Ger) Quick-Step Floors
44. Tiago Machado (Por) Katusha-Alpecin
45. Ben King (USA) Dimension Data
46. Jonathan Dibben (Gbr) Team Sky
47. Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:22
48. Matteo Trentin (Ita) Quick-Step Floors 0:24
49. Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:30
50. Scott Thwaites (Gbr) Dimension Data
51. Jay McCarthy (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:35
52. Nick Dougall (RSA) Dimension Data 0:44
53. Yousif Mirza Alhammadi (UAE) UAE Team Emirates 1:43
54. Joonas Henttala (Fin) Team Novo Nordisk
55. Javier Megias (Esp) Team Novo Nordisk
56. Stéphane Rossetto (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
57. David Lopez (Esp) Team Sky
58. Tom Bohli (Sui) BMC Racing Team
59. Daan Olivier (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
60. Nathan Brown (USA) Cannondale-Drapac
61. Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek-Segafredo
62. Sepp Kuss (USA) Rally Cycling
63. Tanner Putt (USA) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team
64. Michal Kolár (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
65. Sean Bennett (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
66. Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team 1:49
67. Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Sunweb 1:55
68. Joshua Berry (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
69. Alexey Vermeulen (USA) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
70. Owain Doull (Gbr) Team Sky
71. Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Quick-Step Floors
72. Martin Elmiger (Sui) BMC Racing Team 2:34
73. Kristijan Durasek (Cro) UAE Team Emirates 2:48
74. Marko Kump (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
75. Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin 3:00
76. Michael Morkov (Den) Katusha-Alpecin
77. Wouter Wippert (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac
78. Taylor Phinney (USA) Cannondale-Drapac
79. Guillaume Bonnafond (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 3:08
80. Yoann Bagot (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 3:13
81. Jordan Cheyne (Can) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis 3:21
82. Koen De Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo 3:27
83. Markel Irizar (Esp) Trek-Segafredo 3:29
84. Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing Team
85. Matti Breschel (Den) Astana Pro Team
86. Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
87. Juraj Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
88. Peter Kennaugh (Gbr) Team Sky
89. Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 3:32
90. Danny Pate (USA) Rally Cycling 3:49
91. Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Sunweb 4:04
92. Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Dimension Data 5:18
93. Travis Mccabe (USA) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team
94. Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Quick-Step Floors 5:22
95. Jack Bauer (Nzl) Quick-Step Floors
96. Brendan Canty (Aus) Cannondale-Drapac 5:56
97. Artyom Zakharov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 6:22
98. Koen Bouwman (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
99. Alberto Bettiol (Ita) Cannondale-Drapac
100. Filippo Ganna (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
101. Mads Würtz Schmidt (Den) Katusha-Alpecin 7:51
102. Lawson Craddock (USA) Cannondale-Drapac 0:10:12
103. Rúben Guerreiro (Por) Trek-Segafredo 0:10:58
104. Christopher Williams (Aus) Team Novo Nordisk 0:11:53
105. Ulises Alfredo Castillo Soto (Mex) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
106. Romain Gioux (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk
107. Andrea Peron (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk
108. Ben Wolfe (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
109. Floris Gerts (Ned) BMC Racing Team
110. Daniel Eaton (USA) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team
111. Marco Mathis (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin
112. Arman Kamyshev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
113. Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team Sunweb
114. Andrea Guardini (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
115. Martijn Verschoor (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk
116. David Lozano (Esp) Team Novo Nordisk
117. Erik Baska (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
118. Tyler Farrar (USA) Dimension Data
119. Gregory Daniel (USA) Trek-Segafredo
120. Mark Renshaw (Aus) Dimension Data
121. Martin Velits (Svk) Quick-Step Floors
122. Federico Zurlo (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
123. Daniel Jaramillo (Col) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team
124. Daniil Fominykh (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
125. Miles Scotson (Aus) BMC Racing Team
126. Colin Joyce (USA) Rally Cycling
127. Jonathan Clarke (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team
128. Riccardo Minali (Ita) Astana Pro Team
129. Truls Korsaeth (Nor) Astana Pro Team
130. Danny van Poppel (Ned) Team Sky

GC after Stage 4

1. Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe 16:04:48
2. George Bennett (Nzl) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:02
3. Ian Boswell (USA) Team Sky 0:14
4. Lachlan Morton (Aus) Dimension Data 0:16
5. Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:45
6. Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:48
7. Sam Oomen (Ned) Team Sunweb
8. Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale-Drapac
9. Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
10. Maximilian Schachmann (Ger) Quick-Step Floors
11. Enric Mas (Esp) Quick-Step Floors
12. Tao Geoghegan Hart (Gbr) Team Sky
13. Haimar Zubeldia (Esp) Trek-Segafredo 0:53
14. Luis Angel Mate (Esp) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:55
15. Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
16. Serghei Tvetcov (Rom) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis 0:58
17. Janier Acevedo (Col) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team 1:02
18. Samuel Sanchez (Esp) BMC Racing Team 1:25
19. Jhonatan Restrepo (Col) Katusha-Alpecin
20. David Lopez (Esp) Team Sky 2:41
21. Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team 3:11
22. Adam De Vos (Can) Rally Cycling 3:48
23. Greg Henderson (Nzl) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team 4:43
24. Ben King (USA) Dimension Data 4:45
25. Tiago Machado (Por) Katusha-Alpecin 4:47
26. Scott Thwaites (Gbr) Dimension Data 4:59
27. Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe 5:04
28. Jay McCarthy (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe 5:09
29. Matteo Trentin (Ita) Quick-Step Floors 6:04
30. Stéphane Rossetto (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 6:17
31. Javier Megias (Esp) Team Novo Nordisk
32. Nathan Brown (USA) Cannondale-Drapac 7:01
33. Peter Kennaugh (Gbr) Team Sky 0:10:18
34. Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:10:43
35. Rob Britton (Can) Rally Cycling 0:12:23
36. Sepp Kuss (USA) Rally Cycling 0:12:36
37. Matteo Dal Cin (Can) Rally Cycling 0:12:45
38. Floris De Tier (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
39. Evan Huffman (USA) Rally Cycling 0:12:51
40. Brendan Canty (Aus) Cannondale-Drapac 0:13:43
41. Daan Olivier (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:14:15
42. Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:15:21
43. Matti Breschel (Den) Astana Pro Team 0:15:58
44. Yoann Bagot (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:16:13
45. Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin 0:17:04
46. Lennard Hofstede (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:17:35
47. Rick Zabel (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin 0:17:43
48. Gavin Mannion (USA) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team
49. Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data 0:17:49
50. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha-Alpecin
51. Simone Consonni (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
52. Mathias Leturnier (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:17:59
53. Nick Dougall (RSA) Dimension Data 0:18:27
54. Alberto Bettiol (Ita) Cannondale-Drapac 0:18:54
55. Tanner Putt (USA) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team 0:19:25
56. Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek-Segafredo 0:19:26
57. Tom Bohli (Sui) BMC Racing Team
58. Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team 0:19:32
59. Guillaume Bonnafond (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:19:33
60. Joshua Berry (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis 0:19:38
61. Alexey Vermeulen (USA) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
62. Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Sunweb
63. Sean Bennett (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis 0:19:50
64. Jack Bauer (Nzl) Quick-Step Floors 0:19:52
65. Charles Planet (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk 0:20:15
66. Jonathan Dibben (Gbr) Team Sky 0:20:22
67. Owain Doull (Gbr) Team Sky 0:20:29
68. Marcel Kittel (Ger) Quick-Step Floors 0:20:40
69. Elia Viviani (Ita) Team Sky 0:20:49
70. John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo 0:20:50
71. Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Team Sunweb
72. Jacob Rathe (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis 0:20:57
73. Kristijan Durasek (Cro) UAE Team Emirates 0:21:04
74. Michael Morkov (Den) Katusha-Alpecin 0:21:11
75. Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:21:12
76. Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:21:18
77. Markel Irizar (Esp) Trek-Segafredo 0:22:01
78. Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:22:04
79. Yousif Mirza Alhammadi (UAE) UAE Team Emirates 0:22:27
80. Joonas Henttala (Fin) Team Novo Nordisk
81. Michal Kolár (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
82. Artyom Zakharov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:22:34
83. Travis Mccabe (USA) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team 0:22:54
84. Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Quick-Step Floors 0:23:02
85. Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Quick-Step Floors 0:23:15
86. Martin Elmiger (Sui) BMC Racing Team 0:23:18
87. Wouter Wippert (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac 0:23:40
88. Taylor Phinney (USA) Cannondale-Drapac 0:23:41
89. Danny Pate (USA) Rally Cycling 0:23:42
90. Ruslan Tleubayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:23:52
91. Marko Kump (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 0:23:56
92. Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing Team 0:24:06
93. Koen De Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo 0:24:11
94. Daniel Eaton (USA) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team 0:24:25
95. Jordan Cheyne (Can) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis 0:24:33
96. Koen Bouwman (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:24:47
97. Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:24:49
98. Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Sunweb 0:25:21
99. Daniel Jaramillo (Col) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team 0:26:21
100. Juraj Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:26:48
101. Rúben Guerreiro (Por) Trek-Segafredo 0:26:49
102. Miles Scotson (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:27:01
103. Filippo Ganna (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:27:28
104. Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Dimension Data 0:28:54
105. Floris Gerts (Ned) BMC Racing Team 0:29:31
106. Colin Joyce (USA) Rally Cycling 0:29:32
107. David Lozano (Esp) Team Novo Nordisk 0:29:34
108. Andrea Peron (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk 0:29:36
109. Arman Kamyshev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
110. Truls Korsaeth (Nor) Astana Pro Team 0:29:59
111. Mads Würtz Schmidt (Den) Katusha-Alpecin 0:30:18
112. Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:30:34
113. Daniil Fominykh (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:30:59
114. Jonathan Clarke (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team 0:31:09
115. Lawson Craddock (USA) Cannondale-Drapac 0:31:53
116. Danny van Poppel (Ned) Team Sky 0:32:36
117. Ulises Alfredo Castillo Soto (Mex) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis 0:32:37
118. Martijn Verschoor (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk
119. Riccardo Minali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:33:00
120. Erik Baska (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
121. Gregory Daniel (USA) Trek-Segafredo 0:33:05
122. Christopher Williams (Aus) Team Novo Nordisk 0:33:32
123. Andrea Guardini (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:34:18
124. Federico Zurlo (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:34:41
125. Tyler Farrar (USA) Dimension Data 0:34:43
126. Marco Mathis (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin 0:34:57
127. Romain Gioux (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk 0:35:03
128. Ben Wolfe (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis 0:35:44
129. Martin Velits (Svk) Quick-Step Floors 0:36:02
130. Mark Renshaw (Aus) Dimension Data 0:36:59