California: American Taylor Phinney raced to a stage five victory on the Tour of California on Thursday but Britain’s Bradley Wiggins retained the overall race lead for the fourth successive day.
Phinney enjoyed a 12-second win over runner-up Slovakian Peter Sagan after completing the 173km from Pismo Beach to Santa Barbara in three hours, 59 minutes and 33 seconds. Australia’s Matthew Goss finished third.
With just three days of racing remaining, Wiggins is showing no signs of ceding control.
The 2012 Tour de France champion, Wiggins took his initial lead following stage two and holds a 28-second advantage over Australia’s Rohan Dennis.
The tour continues Friday with the 152km sixth stage from Santa Clarita to Mountain High.
