August 28/11 19:56 pm - USA Pro Cycling Challenge: Stage 6 report and results
Posted by Editoress on 08/28/11
In a strong show of solid teamwork, Team RadioShack claimed another victory on American soil with team leader Levi Leipheimer earning the win in the inaugural USA Pro Cycling Challenge, August 22-28 in Colorado. The final stage from Golden into downtown Denver ended in the shadow of the State Capitol after a challenging 115.9km/70.9mi route took the riders over Lookout Mountain before descending into the downtown area to complete six laps on the city streets in front of loud, enthusiastic and massive crowds. The victory went to Italian Daniel Oss (Liquigas-Cannondale). The overall classification didn’t change on the final day despite a number of attacks from Team Garmin-Cervélo.
For Levi Leipheimer (37) the USA Pro Cycling Challenge is his 17th overall victory as a pro rider in a stage race. The win marks the 30th win of the season for Team RadioShack.
“This has been a great year for Team RadioShack. We couldn’t ask for anything more,” said Leipheimer. “We’re fortunate and lucky to have so many victories this year. We’ve had twice as many as last year and it’s thanks to great teamwork. For this race I need to mention especially Ivan Rovny who was awesome in the mountains but the whole team did a great job. Also a big thanks to our great sponsors. I have to say RadioShack and Nissan have really been behind us these past two years and it’s made a big difference in our performance.” Under the watchful eye of Team Director Alain Gallopin, the riders from Team RadioShack rose to the occasion to defend Leipheimer’s race lead.
Seven stages in seven days took the riders in 17 teams from Colorado Springs on Monday and made their way through the high passes of the Rocky Mountain ski areas before ending Sunday in the “Mile High City” of Denver. Leipheimer originally took the race lead on the uphill finish into Aspen on Stage 1 but lost the yellow jersey the following day in the descent of Independence Pass. A perfect ride on the time trial stage Thursday put Leipheimer back in the lead by 11-seconds, an advantage he carried all the way to Sunday. Second place went to Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Cervélo) and third to TeJay Van Garderen of HTC-Highroad.
“It took some of the best form of my career to beat Christian and Garmin-Cervélo,” continued Leipheimer. “They were the local favorite and I appreciate the race they put on. The way it all played out – taking the jersey, losing the jersey and then putting on one of my best performances ever to take it back and then hold on to it.”
In June of this year Levi Leipheimer won the Tour de Suisse and then the Tour of Utah earlier this August.
“After the crashes and disappointment of the Tour, I was able to refocus and pick out some smaller goals. I ended up using the Tour as training and in the back of my mind I already had Utah and Colorado in my mind. It couldn’t have gone any better. This season is maybe my best ever, though it all went up and down. I had some illness in the beginning. I was riding second in Catalunya and I got sick and had to go to the hospital. I had to fight my way back from a pretty low point in April. But since then I’ve been super focused. I’ve been working really hard. I’ve had the help of my teammates and friends and family.”
Speaking of the crowd on hand in Denver, Leipheimer said, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a big crowd in the United States. That makes this an important victory. Thank you to all the fans for coming out. It’s been phenomenal.” Asked if he would consider coming back next year, Levi answered, “Without a doubt. You couldn’t pay me to stay away. It’s hard to put into words the experience I’ve had this week racing in Colorado.
“When I was 13 years old I watched the Tour de France on television and I read magazines about the Coors Classic on the roads right here in Colorado and the fights between Bernard Hinault, Greg LeMond and Andy Hampsten. Now to be here all these years later and to experience the size and scope of this race is beyond my expectations. This has really raised the bar for USA cycling. This victory means so much to me, mainly because of the way we raced this week. It was a battle tooth and nail all the way to the last corner.
“We now have two huge races in America and I hope they continue because it’s fantastic for us as American cyclists to come back and race on American soil. It’s great to bring the sport back to America on a scale this big.”
Team RadioShack press release
| Stage 6: Golden to Denver 114.1 km | |
| 1 Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 2:27:08 |
| 2 Elia Viviani (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
| 3 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Team Exergy | |
| 4 Danny Summerhill (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo | all s.t. |
| 5 Frank Pipp (USA) Bissell Cycling | 0:02 |
| 6 Robert Förster (Ger) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | |
| 7 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team RadioShack | |
| 8 Sergio Henao Montoya (Col) Gobernacion de Antioquia - Indeportes Antioqua | |
| 9 Rory Sutherland (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | |
| 10 Daniel Lloyd (GBr) Team Garmin-Cervelo | |
| 11 George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
| 12 Stef Clement (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
| 13 Martin Mortensen (Den) Leopard Trek | |
| 14 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek | |
| 15 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo | |
| 16 Bruno Pires (Por) Leopard Trek | |
| 17 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) HTC-Highroad | |
| 18 Ivan Rovny (Rus) Team RadioShack | |
| 19 Andy Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek | |
| 20 Dennis van Winden (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
| 21 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team | |
| 22 Juan Pablo Suarez Suarez (Col) EPM - UNE | |
| 23 Martin Reimer (Ger) Skil - Shimano | |
| 24 Jaime Castaneda (Col) EPM - UNE | |
| 25 Thomas Danielson (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo | |
| 26 Rafael Infantino Abreu (Col) EPM - UNE | |
| 27 William Dugan (USA) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | |
| 28 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
| 29 Alexander Efimkin (Rus) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | |
| 30 Lucas Euser (USA) Team Spidertech Powered By C10 | |
| 31 Chad Beyer (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
| 32 Michael Christiansen Morkov (Den) Saxo Bank Sungard | |
| 33 Christopher Baldwin (USA) Bissell Cycling | |
| 34 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
| 35 Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
| 36 Peter Stetina (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo | |
| 37 Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Skil - Shimano | |
| 38 Rafael Montiel (Col) Gobernacion de Antioquia - Indeportes Antioqua | |
| 39 Peter Velits (Svk) HTC-Highroad | |
| 40 Oscar Sevilla Ribera (Esp) Gobernacion de Antioquia - Indeportes Antioqua | |
| 41 Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Saxo Bank Sungard | |
| 42 Anders Lund (Den) Leopard Trek | |
| 43 Thomas Peterson (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo | |
| 44 Laurent Didier (Lux) Saxo Bank Sungard | |
| 45 Ben King (USA) Team RadioShack | |
| 46 Andrés Miguel Diaz (Col) Team Exergy | |
| 47 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
| 48 Rubens Bertogliati (Sui) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | |
| 49 Carlos Fernando Piamonte Rodriguez (Col) EPM - UNE | |
| 50 Alex Hagman (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda | |
| 51 Chris Butler (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
| 52 Eduard Beltran Suarez (Col) EPM - UNE | all s.t. |
| 53 Javier Alexis Acevedo Colle (Col) Gobernacion de Antioquia - Indeportes Antioqua | 0:15 |
| 54 Laurens ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
| 55 Stefan Denifl (Aut) Leopard Trek | both s.t. |
| 56 Cristhian Montoya Giraldo (Col) Gobernacion de Antioquia - Indeportes Antioqua | 0:24 |
| 57 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Esp) Saxo Bank Sungard | |
| 58 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | |
| 59 Javier Megias Leal (Esp) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | |
| 60 Valery Kobzarenko (Ukr) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | |
| 61 Edward Stiver Ortiz Caro (Col) EPM - UNE | |
| 62 Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Bissell Cycling | all s.t. |
| 63 Ben Hermans (Bel) Team RadioShack | 0:36 |
| 64 André Steensen (Den) Saxo Bank Sungard | s.t. |
| 65 Oscar Alvarez (Col) Gobernacion de Antioquia - Indeportes Antioqua | 0:38 |
| 66 Walter Fernando Pedraza Morales (Col) EPM - UNE | |
| 67 Matt Cooke (USA) Team Exergy | |
| 68 Danny Pate (USA) HTC-Highroad | |
| 69 Philip Deignan (Irl) Team RadioShack | |
| 70 George Bennett (NZl) Team RadioShack | all s.t. |
| 71 Francois Parisien (Can) Team Spidertech Powered By C10 | 0:49 |
| 72 Timothy Duggan (USA) Liquigas-Cannondale | s.t. |
| 73 Lachlan Norris (Aus) HTC-Highroad | 0:53 |
| 74 Alejandro Ramirez Calderon (Col) Gobernacion de Antioquia - Indeportes Antioqua | 0:59 |
| 75 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Team Garmin-Cervelo | s.t. |
| 76 Christopher Jones (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 1:02 |
| 77 Adrian Hegevary (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | s.t. |
| 78 Ryan Roth (Can) Team Spidertech Powered By C10 | 1:08 |
| 79 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 1:11 |
| 80 Jens Voigt (Ger) Leopard Trek | s.t. |
| 81 Jeffry Louder (USA) BMC Racing Team | 0:02 |
| 82 Hayden Roulston (NZl) HTC-Highroad | 1:49 |
| 83 Craig Lewis (USA) HTC-Highroad | s.t. |
| 84 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 2:26 |
| 85 Erik Slack (USA) Team Exergy | s.t. |
| 86 Bernard Van Ulden (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda | 3:24 |
| 87 Thimothy Roe (Aus) BMC Racing Team | 3:29 |
| 88 Sebastian Salas (Can) Team Exergy | 6:27 |
| 89 Patrick Gretsch (Ger) HTC-Highroad | |
| 90 Bradley White (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | both s.t. |
| OTL Jason McCartney (USA) Team RadioShack | |
| OTL David Zabriskie (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo | |
| OTL Caleb Fairly (USA) HTC-Highroad | |
| OTL Juraj Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
| OTL Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
| OTL Brian Vandborg (Den) Saxo Bank Sungard | |
| OTL Jonathan Clarke (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | |
| OTL Davide Frattini (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | |
| OTL Kenny Robert van Hummel (Ned) Skil - Shimano | |
| OTL Thomas Bonnin (Fra) Skil - Shimano | |
| OTL Sander Oostlander (Ned) Skil - Shimano | |
| OTL Philipp Ries (Ger) Skil - Shimano | |
| OTL Thierry Huppond (Fra) Skil - Shimano | |
| OTL Flavio de Luna (Mex) Team Spidertech Powered By C10 | |
| OTL Rob Britton (Can) Bissell Cycling | |
| OTL Paul Mach (USA) Bissell Cycling | |
| OTL Carlos Eduardo Alzate Escobar (Col) Team Exergy | |
| OTL Kai Applequist (USA) Team Exergy | |
| OTL Jeremy Powers (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda | |
| OTL Carlos Alberto Ospina Hernandes (Col) Gobernacion de Antioquia - Indeportes Antioqua | |
| DNF Scott Zwizanski (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | |
| DNF Jeremy Vennell (NZl) Bissell Cycling | |
| DNF Jay Robert Thomson (RSA) Bissell Cycling | |
| DNF Alastair Loutit (Aus) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda | |
| DNF Nic Hamilton (Can) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda | |
| Final GC | |
| 1 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team RadioShack | 20:00:24 |
| 2 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo | at 0:11 |
| 3 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) HTC-Highroad | 0:17 |
| 4 Thomas Danielson (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo | 0:21 |
| 5 George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team | 0:53 |
| 6 Rafael Infantino Abreu (Col) EPM - UNE | 1:14 |
| 7 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team | 1:18 |
| 8 Stef Clement (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | 1:42 |
| 9 Bruno Pires (Por) Leopard Trek | 1:49 |
| 10 Rory Sutherland (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 1:50 |
| 11 Ivan Rovny (Rus) Team RadioShack | 2:07 |
| 12 Jeffry Louder (USA) BMC Racing Team | 2:17 |
| 13 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek | s.t. |
| 14 Juan Pablo Suarez Suarez (Col) EPM - UNE | 2:20 |
| 15 Christopher Baldwin (USA) Bissell Cycling | 2:38 |
| 16 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | 2:46 |
| 17 Javier Alexis Acevedo Colle (Col) Gobernacion de Antioquia - Indeportes Antioqua | 2:48 |
| 18 Oscar Sevilla Ribera (Esp) Gobernacion de Antioquia - Indeportes Antioqua | 3:13 |
| 19 Sergio Henao Montoya (Col) Gobernacion de Antioquia - Indeportes Antioqua | 3:14 |
| 20 Peter Stetina (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo | 3:26 |
| 21 Eduard Beltran Suarez (Col) EPM - UNE | 3:35 |
| 22 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team | 3:54 |
| 23 Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Saxo Bank Sungard | 4:11 |
| 24 Lucas Euser (USA) Team Spidertech Powered By C10 | 4:28 |
| 25 Jaime Castaneda (Col) EPM - UNE | 4:55 |
| 26 Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Skil - Shimano | 5:55 |
| 27 Stefan Denifl (Aut) Leopard Trek | 6:01 |
| 28 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Team Garmin-Cervelo | 6:05 |
| 29 Andrés Miguel Diaz (Col) Team Exergy | 6:10 |
| 30 Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 6:12 |
| 31 Alex Hagman (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda | 6:16 |
| 32 Anders Lund (Den) Leopard Trek | 6:42 |
| 33 Andy Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek | 6:55 |
| 34 Laurent Didier (Lux) Saxo Bank Sungard | 7:34 |
| 35 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | s.t. |
| 36 Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | 7:36 |
| 37 Carlos Fernando Piamonte Rodriguez (Col) EPM - UNE | 7:37 |
| 38 Rubens Bertogliati (Sui) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | 7:43 |
| 39 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | 8:00 |
| 40 Philip Deignan (Irl) Team RadioShack | 8:28 |
| 41 Edward Stiver Ortiz Caro (Col) EPM - UNE | 8:51 |
| 42 Rafael Montiel (Col) Gobernacion de Antioquia - Indeportes Antioqua | 9:37 |
| 43 Timothy Duggan (USA) Liquigas-Cannondale | 9:40 |
| 44 Cristhian Montoya Giraldo (Col) Gobernacion de Antioquia - Indeportes Antioqua | 9:51 |
| 45 Jens Voigt (Ger) Leopard Trek | 10:20 |
| 46 Thomas Peterson (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo | 10:33 |
| 47 Javier Megias Leal (Esp) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | 10:54 |
| 48 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Esp) Saxo Bank Sungard | 11:24 |
| 49 Alexander Efimkin (Rus) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | 11:37 |
| 50 Lachlan Norris (Aus) HTC-Highroad | 12:03 |
| 51 Danny Summerhill (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo | 14:23 |
| 52 Christopher Jones (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 14:27 |
| 53 George Bennett (NZl) Team RadioShack | 14:36 |
| 54 Chris Butler (USA) BMC Racing Team | 14:40 |
| 55 Chad Beyer (USA) BMC Racing Team | 15:01 |
| 56 William Dugan (USA) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | 15:08 |
| 57 Alejandro Ramirez Calderon (Col) Gobernacion de Antioquia - Indeportes Antioqua | 15:16 |
| 58 Walter Fernando Pedraza Morales (Col) EPM - UNE | 16:14 |
| 59 Hayden Roulston (NZl) HTC-Highroad | 16:42 |
| 60 Danny Pate (USA) HTC-Highroad | 16:45 |
| 61 Peter Velits (Svk) HTC-Highroad | 16:48 |
| 62 Laurens ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | 17:20 |
| 63 Daniel Lloyd (GBr) Team Garmin-Cervelo | 18:05 |
| 64 Dennis van Winden (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | 18:54 |
| 65 Valery Kobzarenko (Ukr) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | 19:21 |
| 66 Ben King (USA) Team RadioShack | 19:25 |
| 67 Matt Cooke (USA) Team Exergy | 19:29 |
| 68 Sebastian Salas (Can) Team Exergy | 20:26 |
| 69 André Steensen (Den) Saxo Bank Sungard | 20:57 |
| 70 Oscar Alvarez (Col) Gobernacion de Antioquia - Indeportes Antioqua | 21:29 |
| 71 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank Cycling Team | 22:48 |
| 72 Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Bissell Cycling | 24:04 |
| 73 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 24:27 |
| 74 Elia Viviani (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 26:14 |
| 75 Patrick Gretsch (Ger) HTC-Highroad | 26:47 |
| 76 Francois Parisien (Can) Team Spidertech Powered By C10 | 28:01 |
| 77 Martin Mortensen (Den) Leopard Trek | 29:31 |
| 78 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Team Exergy | 29:32 |
| 79 Frank Pipp (USA) Bissell Cycling | 29:43 |
| 80 Michael Christiansen Morkov (Den) Saxo Bank Sungard | 30:05 |
| 81 Erik Slack (USA) Team Exergy | 31:14 |
| 82 Martin Reimer (Ger) Skil - Shimano | 31:42 |
| 83 Robert Förster (Ger) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 33:35 |
| 84 Thimothy Roe (Aus) BMC Racing Team | 33:49 |
| 85 Craig Lewis (USA) HTC-Highroad | 36:35 |
| 86 Adrian Hegevary (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 40:10 |
| 87 Bernard Van Ulden (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda | 41:17 |
| 88 Bradley White (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 42:09 |
| 89 Ryan Roth (Can) Team Spidertech Powered By C10 | 42:39 |
| 90 Ben Hermans (Bel) Team RadioShack | 43:08 |
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