August 12/06 11:11 am - Tour of Utah: Stage 6 & Final GC

Posted by Editoress on 08/12/06
 

Tour of Utah Utah USA

Report Courtesy Kodakgallery.com/Sierra Nevada

With over 12,000 feet of high-altitude climbing, today's final stage of the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah lived up to its billing as the domestic cycling season's hardest day of racing.

Dominique Perras once again led the Kodakgallery.com/Sierra Nevada Pro Cycling Team, finishing 16th in the stage, which Blake Caldwell (TIAA-CREF) won as one of five riders who survived from a 15-rider early breakaway.

Initially, that break also included Kodakgallery.com/Sierra Nevada's Mike Dietrich, who crested the first major climb of Alpine Loop just behind the six leaders but crashed on the descent and had to wait for the remnants of the field.

"It was my job to get in the early break and I felt pretty good, but I guess I was going a little too fast trying to catch back on," he explained.

After getting up and over Alpine Loop and the smaller Suncrest climb, Perras was in good position at the base of the 7-mile final climb up Little Cottonwood Canyon to Snowbird at over 8,200 feet.

"I was in a group of five on the final climb and I tried to stay with Chris Wherry, Scott Moninger, Jeff Louder and Glen Chadwick but with about 5km to go, I couldn't breathe any more and I blew up," he recalled.

"The whole team rode well this week but with the altitude, it's tough for us. I was happy to be back at the level that I think I'm normally at."

Indeed, Perras showed his best form of the season in Utah, finishing in 9th overall and climbing comfortably with the race's elite throughout the week, leading Kodakgallery.com/Sierra Nevada General Manager Robin Zellner to remark that "Dom is back."

Stage 6: Deer Valley to Snowbird, 183 km

1. Blake Caldwell (USA) Team Tiaa-Cref, 3:29:34
2. Neil Shirley (USA) KJZZ - Pro Composite Team, at 0:11
3. Phil Zajicek (USA) Navigators Insurance, 0:21
4. Chris Lieto (USA) California Giant Strawberries, 0:30
5. Stefano Barberi (Bra) Toyota United, 0:57
6. Scott Moninger (USA) Health Net Presented By Maxxis, 1:21
7. Glen Chadwick (Aus) Navigators Insurance, s.t.
8. Burke Swindlehurst (USA) Navigators Insurance, 1:47
9. Thomas Peterson (USA) Team Tiaa-Cref, 2:22
10. Jeff Louder (USA) Health Net Presented By Maxxis, s.t.

16. Dominique Perras (Can) Kodakgallery.Com/Sierra Nevada, 4:43
31. Eric Wohlberg (Can) Symmetrics Cycling, 14:29
32. Jacob Erker (Can) Symmetrics Cycling, 14:45
DNF. Andrew Pinfold (Can) Symmetrics Cycling
DNF. Cameron Evans (Can) Symmetrics Cycling
DNF. Brandon Crichton (Can) Symmetrics Cycling
DNF. Andrew Randell (Can) Symmetrics Cycling

Final GC

1. Scott Moninger (USA) Health Net Presented By Maxxis, 14:57:50
2. Glen Chadwick (Aus) Navigators Insurance, at 0:21
3. Jeff Louder (USA), Health Net Presented By Maxxis, 0:59
4. Burke Swindlehurst (USA), Navigators Insurance, 1:16
5. Blake Caldwell (USA), Team Tiaa-Cref, 1:29
6. Chris Wherry (USA), Toyota United, 2:04
7. Cesar Grajales (Col), Navigators Insurance, 4:11
8. Thomas Peterson (USA), Team Tiaa-Cref, 4:33
9. Dominique Perras (Can), Kodakgallery.Com/Sierra Nevada, 5:05
10. Neil Shirley (USA), KJZZ - Pro Composite Team, 5:13

26. Eric Wohlberg (Can), Symmetrics Cycling, 20:08
27. Jacob Erker (Can), Symmetrics Cycling, 22:19

Points GC

1. Sergey Lagutin (Uzb), Navigators Insurance, 27 pts
2. Michael Friedman (USA), Team Tiaa-Cref, 22
3. Michael Sayers (USA), Health Net Presented By Maxxis, 19
4. Chris Wherry (USA), Toyota United, 19
5. Jeff Louder (USA), Health Net Presented By Maxxis, 19
6. Andrew Pinfold (Can), Symmetrics Cycling, 19
7. Dominique Perras (Can), Kodakgallery.Com/Sierra Nevada, 18
8. Chris Baldwin (USA), Toyota United, 18
9. Jacob Erker (Can), Symmetrics Cycling, 1510. Daniel Ramsey (USA), Team Successful Living, 14

Mountains GC

1. Neil Shirley (USA), KJZZ - Pro Composite Team, 24 pts
2. Scott Moninger (USA), Health Net Presented By Maxxis, 20
3. Blake Caldwell (USA), Team Tiaa-Cref, 19
4. Steven Cozza (USA), Team Tiaa-Cref, 16
5. Glen Chadwick (Aus), Navigators Insurance, 16

12. Dominique Perras (Can), Kodakgallery.Com/Sierra Nevada, 6
Team GC

1. Navigators, 44:54:31
2. TIAA CREF, at 13:20
3. Health Net, 23:27
4. BMC Racing, 30:36
5. Toyota United, 35:10
6. Team Einstein's Cycling, 40:51
7. KJZZ - Composite Team, 45:57
8. Kodakgallery.com/Sierra Nevada, 54:28