The final weekend of the 10th anniversary Amgen Tour of California began in Ontario with 133 cyclists and ended with one solo rider, 22-year-old SRAM Best Young Rider Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) of Etixx – Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team, claiming the stage win and overall race lead at the 6,347-foot summit of Mt. Baldy.

With Sprint and finish line bonus points on offer tomorrow, Tinkoff-Saxo’s Peter Sagan (SVK), who was leading the race 45 seconds ahead of Alaphilippe this morning, is still in contention to win the 8-stage event. His committed ride in the leader group up the slopes of Mt. Baldy leaves him just two seconds down on the new race leader.

An early breakaway of six included BMC Racing Team’s Daniel Oss (ITA) and MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung’s Johann Van Zyl (RSA), a three-time Under 23 South African Champion (two road race, one time trial). Today was Oss’ third in the breakaway, having spent more than 10 hours and 200 miles in front of the peloton this week. He’s been chipping away at the King of the Mountain (KOM) competition, finally taking the jersey today from Hincapie Racing Team’s Toms Skujins (LAT) after breasting the 9-mile Glendora Mountain Road (“GMR”) climb first. Skujins led the race after Tuesday until yesterday when Sagan took the lead with a blazing time trial ride.

In the final 20 mostly uphill miles, Team Sky rode at the front of the peloton in support of their Columbian climber Sergio Luis Henao Montoya and kicked up the pace trying to shake riders, especially race leader Sagan, who matched the brisk climb with no problem. Two and a half hours into the race, Van Zyl attacked Oss to take the solo lead for a brief time before they were both reabsorbed on the final 15 miles.

The lead group of just over 25 rode together to the final Mt. Baldy climb, including the youngest cyclist in the race, 19-year-old Geoffrey Curran (USA) of Axeon Cycling Team, as well as the general classification contenders like 2012 race champion Robert Gesink (NED) of Team LottoNL-Jumbo, who shored up the yellow jersey with a win on this same route. In the overall standings at the start of the day, more than half of the top-10 cyclists in the general classification were strong climbers, with most separated by less than a minute.

Mt. Baldy’s 15 switchbacks delivered the cyclists to the summit finish after a climb gaining 3,022 feet in elevation at grades up to 17 percent. The 4.3-mile HC climb almost seems straight uphill. About a mile into it, Team Sky’s Henao attacked, and Alaphilippe answered.

The two toiled up the mountain together, varying the pace and gaining seconds over the rest of the group. With less than 2.5 miles left to ride, Alaphilippe pulled ahead and off to a solo win (3:42:13), his first of the season. Henao finished the stage next with teammate Ian Boswell (USA) (+:23), then Team Cannondale-Garmin’s Joseph Dombrowski (USA) (+:36) and Austrian National Champion Riccardo Zoidl of Trek Factory Racing (+:XX). Sagan pulled over the line in sixth (+:47).

The race conclusion tomorrow will air live on NBC from 10 a.m.-noon PDT (1-3 p.m. EDT). Alaphilippe leads Sagan by two seconds overall. Henao is in third (+:33) followed by Dombrowski (+1:10) and Gesink (+1:11). The race will come down to tomorrow’s Sprint points, including those awarded at the finish line. The Sprint points competition also will be decided tomorrow with Etixx – Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team’s Mark Cavendish (GBR) leading Sagan by six seconds.

STAGE 7 PODIUM
1. Julian Alaphilippe (FRA), Etixx – Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team
2. Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (COL), Team Sky
3. Ian Boswell (USA), Team Sky

STAGE 7 JERSEY WINNERS
Amgen Race Leader Jersey: Julian Alaphilippe (FRA), Etixx – Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team
Visit California Sprint Jersey: Mark Cavendish (GBR), Etixx – Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team
Lexus King of the Mountain Jersey: Daniel Oss (ITA), BMC Racing Team
Amgen Breakaway from Cancer® Most Courageous Rider Jersey: Lachlan David Morton (AUS), Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
SRAM Best Young Rider Jersey: Julian Alaphilippe (FRA), Etixx – Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team

Celebrating its 10th year, the Amgen Tour of California is the most esteemed stage race in the U.S. Amgen has been the title sponsor of the race since its first year.

Amgen’s Breakaway from Cancer® program is a national initiative to increase awareness of important resources available to people affected by cancer – from prevention through survivorship.

Together, Amgen and its four partner organizations offer a broad range of services complementing those provided by a patient’s team of healthcare professionals.

“Amgen is passionate about helping people with cancer,” said Raymond C. Jordan, senior vice president of Corporate Affairs at Amgen. “This premier race gives Amgen the opportunity to connect patients directly with its Breakaway from Cancer program, and ultimately make a real impact in supporting cancer patients and their families.”

To learn more, visit breakawayfromcancer.com.

RACE CONCLUSION TOMORROW, PRESENTED BY AMGEN:
Sunday, May 17 – L.A. LIVE to Pasadena Rose Bowl Stadium (65.3 miles)
Start Time: 9:15 a.m. PDT
Estimated Finish Time: 11:46 a.m. PDT

Fans can cheer on the world-class cyclists on the course or catch the action with the free Amgen Tour of California app for tablets and mobile devices. More information on ways to watch is available at www.amgentourofcalifornia.com.

For further information about the Amgen Tour of California and to experience the race like never before with VIP Access, please visit www.amgentourofcalifornia.com.

About the Amgen Tour of California
The Amgen Tour of California is a Tour de France-style cycling road race created and presented by AEG that challenges the world’s top professional cycling teams to compete along a demanding course that traverses hundreds of miles of California’s iconic highways, byways and coastlines each spring. The teams chosen to participate have included Olympic medalists, Tour de France contenders and World Champions. Amgen Tour of California is listed on the international professional cycling calendar (2 HC, meaning “beyond category”), awarding important, world-ranking points to the top finishers. More information is available at www.amgentourofcalifornia.com.

This year, the men’s course will traverse more than 700 miles and wind through 12 host cities, including Sacramento, Nevada City, Lodi, San Jose, Pismo Beach, Avila Beach, Santa Barbara, Santa Clarita, Ontario, Mt. Baldy, L.A. LIVE (Downtown Los Angeles) and Pasadena. The women’s three-day stage race traveled more than 150 miles through South Lake Tahoe and Sacramento, followed by the 6.6-mile Invitational Time Trial in Santa Clarita.

About Amgen
Amgen is committed to unlocking the potential of biology for patients suffering from serious illnesses by discovering, developing, manufacturing and delivering innovative human therapeutics. This approach begins by using tools like advanced human genetics to unravel the complexities of disease and understand the fundamentals of human biology.

Amgen focuses on areas of high unmet medical need and leverages its biologics manufacturing expertise to strive for solutions that improve health outcomes and dramatically improve people’s lives. A biotechnology pioneer since 1980, Amgen has grown to be one of the world’s leading independent biotechnology companies, has reached millions of patients around the world and is developing a pipeline of medicines with breakaway potential.

About AEG
AEG is one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world. AEG, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Anschutz Company, owns or controls a collection of companies including facilities such as STAPLES Center, StubHub Center, Sprint Center, The O2, Mercedes-Benz Arena, Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE and Best Buy Theater Times Square; sports franchises including the LA Kings (NHL), two Major League Soccer franchises, two hockey franchises operated in Europe, management of privately held shares of the Los Angeles Lakers; the Amgen Tour of California cycling road race; AEG Live, the organization’s live-entertainment division, is a collection of companies dedicated to all aspects of live contemporary music performance, touring and a variety of programming and multi-media production. For more information, visit AEG today at www.aegworldwide.com.