George Bennett survived the Tour of California’s fifth stage on Thursday without problems. Team LottoNL-Jumbo’s front man finished in the main group and held his third place overall. Toms Skujins (Cannondale) won the stage.

“After 15 kilometres, a group of 18 riders broke away and every team had a rider in it,” Sports Director Frans Maassen said. “Dylan Groenewegen was ours. After 165 kilometres, he couldn’t follow on a second categorised ascent and had to let it go. Dennis van Winden represented us in the chase group, but the leading group didn’t take too much time.

“In the final part of the race, George Bennett rode strongly. The team supported him so that he could finish among the favourites for the general classification. We’ll race the decisive time trial tomorrow, when George has to give it all to defend his third place.”