The third stage of the Tour of California was marked by the finish on Mt. Diablo. In very warm temperatures, Rohan Dennis (Garmin Sharp) prevailed solo in the end. With a late attack, he was able to break away from the remaining group of favorites and make up valuable time on overall leader Bradley Wiggins (Sky). Second on the day was Tiago Machado (NetApp-Endura) ahead of Lawson Craddock (Giant-Shimano).
Wiggins lost 20 seconds to Dennis, who was second in the time trial, but retained the overall lead. However, the lead shrank by almost half. Nonetheless, the Briton showed strength by leading the group of favorites on the final climb.
Up until the finish line, a leading group had determined what was happening. A German was also represented in this with Ruben Zepuntke (Bissell). However, the group hardly had a chance when the favorites got serious. At first, Sky pushed the pace before Garmin Sharp took over. Once the group was set, Wiggins tried to keep the pace up himself. However, the temperatures did not play into his hands. So in the end he had to limit the damage Dennis was trying to do.
Later more.