Julian Alaphilippe of Etixx Quick Step has won the third stage of the Tour Of California.
Cannondale's Ben King was the leader for this 167.5km stage from Thousand Oaks to Gibraltar Road, above Santa Barbara for a mountain top finish.
On a muggy day, the 144 riders took to the road and five riders in Andrew Tennant (Team Wiggins), Tanner Putt (UnitedHealthcare), Gregory Daniel (Axeon Hagens Berman), Krists Neilands (Axeon Hagens Berman) and Evan Huffman (Rally Cycling) got clear with Julian Arredondo (Trek-Segafredo) and Oscar Clark (Holowesko-Citadel) joining them.
The first climb of the day was the category 3 climb on Potrero Rd which KOM leader Evan Huffman took the points on, ahead of Oscar Clark and Greg Daniel. However, Oscar Clark managed to get away from Huffman to take the second climb
The riders passed through the Leo Carrillo State Park which has been the setting for a good number of films with a lead of 3.45 and 3.35 as they went through the Point Mugu State Park, watched by big crowds.
The sprint came at Port Hueneme and saw British rider Andrew Tennant take the three points on offer ahead of Tanner Putt and Oscar Clark.
The gap went out to 4.10 and was at 3.40 with 61.3kms to go as they started on the third categorised climb - the Casitas Pass Road Summit which Huffman took the main points on, sprinting past Oscar Clark and Tanner Putt, who took over on the front on the descent before the group came back together.
Andy Tennant took the second sprint as the gap remained at 2.25 and with the sprints done for the day, thought turned towards the Hors Category finish on Gibraltar Rd. which involved a climb that was 12.5kms long with average gradients of 7%.
There was a split amongst those in the break and Putt, Daniel, Arredondo and Neilands put in a move which saw them get twenty seconds ahead of the others.
Putt and Daniel then took over as the peloton got to within ninety seconds with less than twenty kilometres to go.
British champion Peter Kennaugh crashed with Bryn Coquard. Kennaugh took his helmet off and it looked like a collarbone injury which had forced him into an ambulance and out of the race.
Daniel and Putt started on the climb up what was an old pack horse route.
Daniel dropped Putt and went for broke but he was only thirty seconds ahead with eleven kilometres to go.
Eight hundred metres later and he was caught by the BMC led peloton and one of their riders in Danilo Wyss briefly led before the 19 year old Nelson Powless, who took a 15 second lead and then extended it to thirty seconds ahead of a twenty rider chasing group.
Lachlan Morton (Jelly Belly) and Peter Stetina (Trek Segafredo) went after Powless and caught him with 3.7kms left.
With two kilometres to go, Stetina was leading and kept pushing on gradients of over 10%.
Julian Alaphilippe went after Stetina and the Etixx Quick Step rider caught him and went away with less than three hundrd metres to go to take the stage win in 4.36.59 and the leaders jersey.
Stetina finished second with George Bennett third with Brent Bookwalter fourth and Nelson Powless in fifth.
Alaphilippe leads the race by nineteen seconds from Stetina.