No Breakaway Magic In Amgen Stage Seven

A group of seven riders tried their hand at a relatively successful so far in the Amgen Tour of California, but today was not the day for any of them to win a stage, though several of them picked up bonuses for hitting certain checkpoints before the rest of the field.

With 30 miles remaining, the break had shrunk to four. 

With six miles left, Benjamin King (Garmin Sharp) and Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) had a 25-second lead.

From there it was a series of attempts to steal the race with less than two miles remaining.  BMC organized a final push for Thor Hushowd, but Cannondale's Peter Sagan was having none of it. The king of the sprints this week got his first stage win, followed by Hushowd and Danny Van Poppel (Trek Factory Racing). Van Poppel made the podium for the first time this tour after narrowing missing with a fifth-place finish in stage one.

Bradley Wiggins (SKY) continues to lead overall, 30-seconds ahead of Rohan Dennis (Garmin Sharp) and 1:48 ahead of Lawson Craddock (Giant Shimano). 

Craddock has won the Crunchies Best Young Rider Jersey six times since stage one.

King of the mountain jersey remains with Will Routley (Optum).  

Ben King of Garmen Sharp was named "Breakaway from Cancer Most Courageous Rider" for his efforts down the descent into Pasadena as part of the breakaway.

Stage eight will consist of three trips around a 21-mile circuit in Thousand Oaks that includes a 910-foot climb. Wiggins says he hasn't devised a plan yet for maintaining his lead."

“I haven’t really looked at the route yet, so I have to take a look at it and try to think of all the scenarios that could happen tomorrow," he said after the race. "I guess Peter [Sagan] will have another go if he’s there.” 

The race will start at 8:45 a.m. PST with NBC picking up coverage at 10 a.m.