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August 21/12 22:36 pm - USA Pro Challenge: Stage 2 report and photos


Posted by Editoress on 08/21/12
 

Stage 2 of the 2012 USA Pro Challenge featured a challenging ride under blue skies and saw an unexpected finish, with Tejay Van Garderen (BMC Racing Team) pulling through to take the stage win and the overall lead. Following close behind were Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda) in second and Ivan Rovny (RusVelo) in third. After today’s performance, van Garderen takes the overall lead to claim the Exergy Leader Jersey.

 

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Tejay Van Garderen wins stage 2- photo Oran Kelly

 

“I wasn’t going into the last 4 km thinking I was going to win, but I knew I was going to try,” said Van Garderen. “When I looked over my shoulder and I saw Christian Vandevelde on my wheel, I thought he was in a perfect position to outsprint me, but at this altitude, I think he may have had trouble with his acceleration.”

Reaching impressive average uphill speeds of 25 mph, the riders gave it their all to keep the competition going strong heading into returning host city Crested Butte.

 

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Jerseys - photo Oran Kelly

 

“Today was another really great day of racing, under the amazing backdrop of Montrose, Crested Butte and all the cities in between,” said Shawn Hunter, CEO of the Pro Challenge. “The 2012 USA Pro Challenge is going to take these riders to new heights, and from what we’ve seen so far the riders and the fans are ready for it.”

An early break of about 30 riders wouldn’t stick, but did lead to a smaller group of 12 tearing off the front to form a breakaway that would last up until the last minutes of the stage. The original break consisted of the following riders:

• Alex Howes (Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda)
• Camilo Castiblanco (EPM-UNE)
• Christopher Baldwin (Bissell Pro Cycling)
• Craig Lewis (Champion System Pro Cycling Team)
• David Zabriskie (Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda)
• Jens Voigt (RadioShack-Nissan-Trek)
• Julien El Fares (Team Type 1-SANOFI)
• Mathias Frank (BMC Racing Team)
• Matt Cooke (Team Exergy)
• Rafael Infantino (EPM-UNE)
• Valerio Agnoli (Liquigas-Cannondale)
• Vincenzo Nibali (ILiquigas-Cannondale)


Heading into the first climb of the day – Cat. 3 Cerro Summit (7,973 ft.) – Castiblanco pulled away from the group to take max points, followed by Cooke and Nibali, but then was absorbed back into the group. Continuing into the second KOM – Cat. 3 Blue Mesa Summit (8,719 ft.) – a similar situation unfolded with Castiblanco, Cooke, Lewis taking first, second and third, respectively.

Continuing on, the riders approached the first Waste Management sprint line of the day in Gunnison, which will also play host to start of Stage 3 tomorrow. Crossing to the cheers of enthusiastic crowds lining the route, the maximum points went to Howes, followed by Baldwin and Lewis.

In an unfortunate accident, Ben King (USA) of RadioShack-Nissan-Trek, Georg Preidler (AUT) of Team Type 1-SANOFI, Rubens Bertogliati (SUI) of Team Type 1-SANOFI and Sergey Klimov (RUS) of RusVelo hit the deck at the back of the peloton, but all were able to recover and finish out the stage.

With the stage nearing the finish, the break was reduced to nine riders after Voigt, Nibali and El Fares fell back to the peloton. In a last effort, with about 3 km to go, Castiblanco attacked the break, but was brought back in by Frank. And in an unexpected last minute push, van Garderen came out of nowhere with Vande Velde on his wheel, to take the stage win and the overall lead.

“I am really happy with my ride today and very proud of how the team is riding here in Colorado,” said Vande Velde. “As an American team based in Boulder, this race is a special one for us. The team is ultra-motivated, we’ve animated the race the first two days and we hope to continue to do so as the week goes on.”

Tejay van Garderen took the Exergy Leader Jersey. Tyler Farrar (USA) of Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda kept the Waste Management Sprint Jersey, as did Tom Danielson (USA) of Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda with the Nissan King of the Mountains Jersey. Rafael Infantino Abreu (COL) of EPM-UNE claimed Evolve Most Aggressive Rider Jersey for his effort on the climbs. Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) of Bontrager Livestrong Team was awarded the Aquadraat Best Young Rider Jersey.

Quotes

Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing Team)

On today’s stage:
“Today was looking a bit like yesterday, it wasn’t 22 riders, but it was 12, and there were some big names up the road. It wasn’t a weak breakaway. We were lucky to have Frank Kevin Pipp in there, he’s a strong climber and GC rider, so that took the pressure off the team; it was up to the other teams to chase. They did a good job chasing, and we put some guys on the front with 20 km to go. It all worked out. I wasn’t going into the last 4 km thinking I was going to win, but I knew I was going to try. When I looked over my shoulder and I saw Christian Vande Velde on my wheel, I thought he was in a perfect position to outsprint me, but at this altitude, I think he may have had trouble with his acceleration.”

On his record:
“Last year at Tour of Utah was my first and only pro victory, and it was a time trial, so I didn’t have my hands in the air. Today was my first road stage win. I have been counting, and I have eight second-places in my career, and a lot of thirds and fourths.”

On his competition with Christian Vande Velde:
“Christian certainly looks like he’s riding strong. He was good in Utah, and he looks even better here now. I think if I can hold him, and not let him get away, I can beat him in the time trial. I’m confident in saying that. But there are also guys like Ivan Rovny, Levi Leipheimer and Chris Homer, and there are two more summit finishes to go, as well as the Aspen stage, which is not easy. It’s far from over.”

On his earliest memories of Christian Vandevelde:
“I’ve been a big fan of Christian Vande Velde since I was 11. I remember him. I watched the 1999 Tour de France and all the American teams were there along with Christian Vande Velde, Frank Schleck and George Hincapie. They were my idols back in the day.”

On aggressive riding for the next stages:
“Well, the layout of the course won’t calm down. Tomorrow is a hard stage, and the dirt road climb was especially hard last year. We also have to go through Independence Pass to get to the finish. And even in Stage 5 in Colorado Springs, we have to go straight up into the climb. It’s a straight break and only guys who have the legs can handle it. It won’t be easy.”

On competition with the Columbian riders:
“The Columbian riders have shown they are super-strong and are good at handling high altitudes because they are already adapted. It’s definitely hard to keep them under control. They ride aggressive and attack and sometimes they can break the normal flow of the race ─ which adds another element.”

Christian Vandevelde (Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda)
On today’s performance:
“I am really happy with my ride today and very proud of how the team is riding here in Colorado. As an American team based in Boulder, this race is a special one for us. The team is ultra-motivated, we’ve animated the race the first two days and we hope to continue to do so as the week goes on.”

Tom Danielson (armin-Sharp-Barracuda)
On today’s performance:
“It was a good day. I felt really strong today, especially after yesterday’s performance. I always suffer on this climb (up to Mt. Crested Butte) so, I’m happy to have it past me and move on to the parts of the race I like the most.”

Rafael Infantino (EPM-UNE)
On Stage 2:
“Today was a complicated day. It would have been impossible if the riders hadn’t worked together, but fortunately, we were motivated, and we did work well together. But the riders in the peloton were better and caught us. We tried to stay away to win the stage, but it was very hard. There was just not enough power in the last kilometer.”

 

More photos of Stage2 by Oran Kelly

 

Results

Stage 2: Montrose to Mt Crested Butte, 159.3 km
1 Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 3:52:24
2 Christian Vandevelde (USA) Garmin - Sharp at s.t.
3 Ivan Rovny (Rus) RusVelo 0:06
4 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:08
5 Ramiro Rincon Diaz (Col) UNE-EPM s.t.
6 Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin - Sharp 0:12
7 Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team
8 Lucas Euser (USA) Spidertech powered by C10
9 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
10 Johann Tschopp (Sui) BMC Racing Team
11 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team
12 Matthew Busche (USA) RadioShack-Nissan
13 Alessandro Bazzana (Ita) Team Type 1 - Sanofi
14 Peter Stetina (USA) Garmin - Sharp
15 Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack-Nissan all s.t.
16 Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan 0:17
17 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) RadioShack-Nissan 0:19
18 Gavin Mannion (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team 0:21
19 Dmitry Kozontchuk (Rus) RusVelo
20 Francisco Colorado (Col) UNE-EPM
21 Carlos Fernando Piamonte Rodriguez (Col) UNE-EPM
22 Timothy Duggan (USA) Liquigas-Cannondale all s.t.
23 Artem Ovechkin (Rus) RusVelo 0:26
24 Alex Howes (USA) Garmin - Sharp 0:26
25 Kiel Reijnen (USA) Team Type 1 - Sanofi s.t.
26 George Bennett (NZl) RadioShack-Nissan 0:33
27 Cameron Wurf (Aus) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
28 Michael Friedman (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
29 Mathias Frank (Sui) BMC Racing Team all s.t.
30 Robigzon Leandro Oyola Oyola (Col) UNE-EPM 0:37
31 Christopher Butler (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 0:43
32 Andrew Bajadali (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies s.t.
33 Carter Jones (USA) Bissell Cycling 0:46
34 Jorge Camilo Castiblanco Cubides (Col) UNE-EPM
35 Andres Miguel Diaz (Col) Team Exergy both s.t.
36 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:49
37 Javier Eduardo Gomez Pineda (Col) UNE-EPM
38 Craig Lewis (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team both s.t.
39 Serghei Tvetcov (Mda) Team Exergy 0:51
40 Michael Creed (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies s.t.
41 Rory Sutherland (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 0:53
42 Rafael Infantino Abreu (Col) UNE-EPM 0:57
43 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Team Exergy 0:59
44 Alexander Mironov (Rus) RusVelo 1:08
45 Gang Xu (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 1:16
46 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 1:23
47 Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Bissell Cycling
48 Pengda Jiao (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team both s.t.
49 Moreno Moser (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 1:43
50 Christopher Baldwin (USA) Bissell Cycling 1:45
51 Caleb Fairly (USA) Spidertech powered by C10 1:49
52 George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team 1:51
53 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team
54 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) BMC Racing Team
55 Joshua Atkins (NZl) Bontrager Livestrong Team all s.t.
56 Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Type 1 - Sanofi 1:55
57 Edward King (USA) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:12
58 Lachlan David Morton (Aus) Garmin - Sharp 2:50
59 Oliver Zaugg (Sui) RadioShack-Nissan 3:22
60 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Astana Pro Team
61 Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
62 Sergey Firsanov (Rus) RusVelo
63 Eduard Alexander Beltran Suarez (Col) UNE-EPM
64 Benjamin Day (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
65 Jeffry Louder (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
66 Alex Candelario (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies all s.t.
67 Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team 3:42
68 Biao Liu (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 4:13
69 Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team 4:29
70 William Clarke (Aus) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 4:37
71 Daniel Summerhill (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 4:39
72 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Sharp
73 Jake Keough (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling both s.t.
74 Matt Cooke (USA) Team Exergy 4:52
75 Frank Pipp (USA) Bissell Cycling
76 Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Astana Pro Team
77 Arkimedes Arguelyes Rodriges (Rus) RusVelo
78 Sergey Klimov (Rus) RusVelo
79 Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin - Sharp
80 Noè Gianetti (Sui) Team Exergy
81 Martin Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
82 Patrick Bevin (NZl) Bissell Cycling
83 Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan
84 Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team
85 James Oram (NZl) Bontrager Livestrong Team
86 Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
87 Matt Brammeier (Irl) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
88 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
89 Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
90 Morgan Schmitt (USA) Team Exergy
91 Julien El Fares (Fra) Team Type 1 - Sanofi
92 Alexander Efimkin (Rus) Team Type 1 - Sanofi
93 Javier Megias Leal (Esp) Team Type 1 - Sanofi
94 Joey Rosskopf (USA) Team Type 1 - Sanofi
95 Tom Zirbel (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
96 Ryan Eastman (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team
97 Connor O'Leary (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team
98 Rubens Bertogliati (Sui) Team Type 1 - Sanofi
99 Marsh Cooper (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
100 Sebastian Salas (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
101 Joseph Schmalz (USA) Bissell Cycling
102 Julian Kyer (USA) Bissell Cycling
103 Matthias Friedemann (Ger) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
104 Karl Menzies (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
105 David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin - Sharp
106 Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
107 Brian Vandborg Bach (Den) Spidertech powered by C10
108 Hugo Houle (Can) Spidertech powered by C10
109 Ryan Roth (Can) Spidertech powered by C10 all s.t.
110 Jeremy Vennell (NZl) Bissell Cycling 5:53
111 Jesse Anthony (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 6:03
112 Sam Johnson (USA) Team Exergy 6:17
113 Jeroen Hoorne (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep s.t.
114 Christopher Jones (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 9:21
115 Robert Förster (Ger) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
116 Benjamin King (USA) RadioShack-Nissan both s.t.
DNF Lawson Craddock (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team
 
GC
1 Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 8:35:12
2 Christian Vandevelde (USA) Garmin - Sharp at s.t.
3 Ivan Rovny (Rus) RusVelo 0:06
4 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:08
5 Ramiro Rincon Diaz (Col) UNE-EPM s.t.
6 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:12
7 Alessandro Bazzana (Ita) Team Type 1 - Sanofi
8 Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack-Nissan
9 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team
10 Lucas Euser (USA) Spidertech powered by C10
11 Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin - Sharp
12 Johann Tschopp (Sui) BMC Racing Team
13 Matthew Busche (USA) RadioShack-Nissan
14 Peter Stetina (USA) Garmin - Sharp
15 Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team all s.t.
16 Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan 0:17
17 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) RadioShack-Nissan 0:19
18 Gavin Mannion (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team 0:21
19 Francisco Colorado (Col) UNE-EPM
20 Dmitry Kozontchuk (Rus) RusVelo
21 Timothy Duggan (USA) Liquigas-Cannondale
22 Carlos Fernando Piamonte Rodriguez (Col) UNE-EPM all s.t.
23 Kiel Reijnen (USA) Team Type 1 - Sanofi 0:26
24 Artem Ovechkin (Rus) RusVelo
25 Alex Howes (USA) Garmin - Sharp both s.t.
26 Mathias Frank (Sui) BMC Racing Team 0:33
27 Michael Friedman (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
28 Cameron Wurf (Aus) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
29 George Bennett (NZl) RadioShack-Nissan all s.t.
30 Robigzon Leandro Oyola Oyola (Col) UNE-EPM 0:37
31 Christopher Butler (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 0:43
32 Jorge Camilo Castiblanco Cubides (Col) UNE-EPM 0:46
33 Andres Miguel Diaz (Col) Team Exergy
34 Carter Jones (USA) Bissell Cycling both s.t.
35 Javier Eduardo Gomez Pineda (Col) UNE-EPM 0:49
36 Craig Lewis (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team s.t.
37 Michael Creed (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 0:51
38 Rory Sutherland (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 0:53
39 Rafael Infantino Abreu (Col) UNE-EPM 0:57
40 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Team Exergy 0:59
41 Gang Xu (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 1:16
42 Andrew Bajadali (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 1:22
43 Christopher Baldwin (USA) Bissell Cycling 1:45
44 George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team 1:51
45 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) BMC Racing Team s.t.
46 Edward King (USA) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:44
47 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 3:09
48 Alex Candelario (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 3:22
49 Eduard Alexander Beltran Suarez (Col) UNE-EPM
50 Oliver Zaugg (Sui) RadioShack-Nissan
51 Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
52 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Astana Pro Team
53 Benjamin Day (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling all s.t.
54 Sergey Firsanov (Rus) RusVelo 3:32
55 Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team 3:42
56 Jeffry Louder (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 4:23
57 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Sharp 4:39
58 Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan 4:58
59 Julian Kyer (USA) Bissell Cycling s.t.
60 Jesse Anthony (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 6:03
61 Marsh Cooper (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 6:04
62 Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 7:23
63 Benjamin King (USA) RadioShack-Nissan 9:21
64 Christopher Jones (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 10:22
65 Matt Cooke (USA) Team Exergy 11:40
66 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 13:32
67 Serghei Tvetcov (Mda) Team Exergy 13:34
68 Alexander Mironov (Rus) RusVelo 13:51
69 Pengda Jiao (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 14:06
70 Moreno Moser (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 14:26
71 Caleb Fairly (USA) Spidertech powered by C10 14:32
72 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 14:34
73 Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Type 1 - Sanofi 14:58
74 Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Bissell Cycling 16:45
75 Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team 17:12
76 Joshua Atkins (NZl) Bontrager Livestrong Team 17:13
77 Daniel Summerhill (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 17:22
78 Martin Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 17:41
79 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
80 Matt Brammeier (Irl) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
81 Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
82 Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team
83 Julien El Fares (Fra) Team Type 1 - Sanofi
84 Tom Zirbel (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
85 Joey Rosskopf (USA) Team Type 1 - Sanofi
86 Javier Megias Leal (Esp) Team Type 1 - Sanofi all s.t.
87 Lachlan David Morton (Aus) Garmin - Sharp 18:32
88 Jeremy Vennell (NZl) Bissell Cycling 18:36
89 Jeroen Hoorne (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 19:00
90 Biao Liu (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 19:35
91 William Clarke (Aus) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 19:59
92 Jake Keough (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 20:01
93 Noè Gianetti (Sui) Team Exergy 20:20
94 Patrick Bevin (NZl) Bissell Cycling
95 James Oram (NZl) Bontrager Livestrong Team
96 Sergey Klimov (Rus) RusVelo
97 Morgan Schmitt (USA) Team Exergy
98 Frank Pipp (USA) Bissell Cycling
99 Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin - Sharp
100 Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Astana Pro Team
101 Connor O'Leary (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team
102 Arkimedes Arguelyes Rodriges (Rus) RusVelo
103 Alexander Efimkin (Rus) Team Type 1 - Sanofi
104 David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin - Sharp
105 Matthias Friedemann (Ger) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
106 Ryan Eastman (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team
107 Hugo Houle (Can) Spidertech powered by C10
108 Rubens Bertogliati (Sui) Team Type 1 - Sanofi
109 Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
110 Joseph Schmalz (USA) Bissell Cycling
111 Sebastian Salas (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
112 Karl Menzies (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
113 Brian Vandborg Bach (Den) Spidertech powered by C10
114 Ryan Roth (Can) Spidertech powered by C10 all s.t.
115 Sam Johnson (USA) Team Exergy 21:39
116 Robert Förster (Ger) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 24:43

 


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