George Bennett (LottoNL-Jumbo) took his first WorldTour victory when he won the overall in the Tour of California. On the last stage to Pasadena, the New Zealander defended the overall leader’s jersey against Rafal Majka (Bora-hansgrohe) and Andrew Talansky (Cannondale-Drapac), second and third overall. Evan Huffman (Rally Cycling) took the honours in the final stage.
“Only when I rode under the banner for the final three kilometres did I know that I had won,” Bennett said. “I was a bit under pressure, but the team was awesome today. They showed some serious good legs, and so thanks to them.”
“It was a very hectic day,” Bennett continued. “We thought everything was under control, but then the attacks began. We had to fight for 100 kilometres.”
Team LottoNL-Jumbo kept cool heads, but they didn’t have a free ride to Pasadena. The stage started in High Mountain and after a long descent, the riders climbed two second category and one third category mountain. Despite the many attacks, the team and leader Bennett did not crack. In the final kilometres, a group which contained no threats to the overall lead drove clear which included the eventual stage winner Huffman.
For Team LottoNL-Jumbo, it is a big boost since it marks the team’s first overall victory in a WorldTour race since 2013.
“I’m going to build on this,” continued Bennett. “This victory will make a big difference to me. I want to back this up in Europe too in the future.”
