Stage 1 of the Women's Amgen Tour of California is in the books and a familiar face is once again on top of the leader board.
Megan Guarnier (Boels Dolmans) is racing for Team USA this year and won the event last year. With the strength of her work in the mountain stages and the sprints, she was able to pull off the stage 1 victory with a dominating performance on the day's final climb, which ended at the finish line.
Guarnier has been on the sidelines for a good portion of the year as she has struggled to recover from two concussions.
On the main stage after the race, she talked about that struggle.
"It's been a tough year," she said, and then her voice began to falter, "I'm getting emotional. My team believed in me today and I was happy to pull it off today."
Boels Dolmans teammate Anna van der Breggen finished second. Arlenis Sierra (Astana Women's Team) finished third.
Sierra leads the best young rider classification over Ruth Winder and Coryn Rivera of the United States.
Cylance Pro Cycling leads the team classification over United Healthcare.
Lizzie Williams (Hagens Berman / Supermint) took the most courageous and most aggressive rider jerseys.
Guarnier is tied with Kristabel Doebel-Hickock (Cylance) for the Queen of the Mountain lead. Guarnier had 15 points in the sprints to lead van der Breggen by three.
Stage 2 will take the riders on a completely different route and a lot of climbing in the mountains around Lake Tahoe.
Road Closures In Sacramento Due to Amgen And Special Events:
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