August 25/12 19:41 pm - USA Pro Challenge: Stage 6, report, results and photos
Posted by Editoress on 08/25/12
Defending Champion Levi Leipheimer of Omega Pharma-QuickStep Takes the Overall Lead of the 2012 USA Pro Challenge Heading into Final Day of Racing
Boulder-Resident Rory Sutherland of UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team Wins Stage 6 of the Professional Cycling Race after Powering Up Flagstaff Mountain
In a battle to the finish, Stage 6 of the 2012 USA Pro Challenge came to a close when Rory Sutherland (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team) crossed the line at the top of Flagstaff Mountain in Boulder first, followed by Fabio Aru (Astana Pro Team) and Jens Voigt (RadioShack-Nissan-Trek). In what has been a constant battle for the overall lead, Defending Champion Levi Leipheimer (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) heads into the final day of the race wearing the Exergy Leader Jersey, nine seconds up on Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda) and 21 seconds ahead of Tejay van Garderen (USA) of BMC Racing Team.
Rory Sutherland wins Stage 6 - Photo Oran Kelly
"Today was amazing; I saw all kinds of colorful characters up on Flagstaff and it was inspiring," said Leipheimer. "I knew I had to save my strength for today. When I was nearing the finish, I just focused on giving it everything I had. Today was one of the most beautiful days of cycling I've ever seen."
The penultimate stage of the 2012 USA Pro Challenge took the riders from returning host city Golden to one of the most legendary cycling cities in the U.S. – Boulder – on a 102.8m/165.5 km route that included the epic climb of Flagstaff Mountain. Featuring three Waste Management sprints and two Nissan King of the Mountains competitions in addition to Flagstaff, the stage was challenging and hotly contested.
The stage began with several attacks and counter-attacks, but nothing stuck until a 14-man breakaway that would last for a good part of the stage. Upon reaching the first Waste Management sprint in Boulder, Serghei Tvetcov (MOL) of Team Exergy crossed the line first, followed by Sutherland and Stage 4 winner Jens Voigt (GER) of RadioShack-Nissan-Trek.
Heading toward the first KOM of the day – Cat. 2 Boulder Canyon (8,231 ft.) – the breakaway riders traveled through a classic mountain tunnel climbing at a speed of 22 mph, with Alex Howes (Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda) taking max points, followed by EPM-UNE riders Francisco Jarley Colorado Hernandez and Robigzon Leandro Oyola Oyola.
Descending at speeds of up to 62 mph, the break screamed down the hill toward the second Waste Management sprint line of the day in Lyons, where Tvetcov took max points, followed by Timmy Duggan (Liquigas-Cannondale) and Voigt.
After making the turn onto Lefthand Canyon, Voigt launched an attack with his teammate George Bennett to ultimately spring Bennett into a solo break heading toward the second KOM of the day – Cat. 2 Lee Hill Rd. (7,008 ft.). With only seven riders left in the original break, Bennett crested the hill first, followed by Colorado and Voigt.
With only two minutes over the field, the break saw several attacks heading toward the final Waste Management sprint of the day in Boulder, which was taken by Voigt, followed by Tvetcov and Aru. With Voigt out slightly in front of the break, Sutherland launched an attack that would take him out in front and lead to him powering up the mountain all the way across the finish line.
"Flagstaff is such a beautiful mountain," said Sutherland. "I can't even describe the beauty of cycling in Colorado and how much it means to win in my hometown of Boulder. This is definitely the biggest win of my career."
In a battle for the general classification, with about 5 km to go attacks were launched off the front of the field, which allowed Leipheimer to pull away and take fourth in the stage, placing him at the top of the GC.
"The competitive level of racing we've seen at the 2012 USA Pro Challenge has made it one of the closest major stage races in the history of the sport," said Shawn Hunter, CEO of the Pro Challenge. "With Levi taking over the lead today under the picturesque backdrop of Flagstaff Mountain and the largest, most enthusiastic crowds I've ever seen at a U.S. stage race cheering him on, we couldn't have asked for a better day of racing."
Jerseys - photo by ORan Kelly
More Stage 6 Photos by Oran Kelly
As part of the awards ceremony actor Patrick Dempsey presented Leipheimer with the Exergy Leader Jersey.
"With the individual time trial tomorrow in Denver, it is still anyone's race," added Hunter. "We're primed for an incredibly exciting finish to the 2012 USA Pro Challenge."
In a shakeup of the jerseys, Leipheimer took the Exergy Leader Jersey and Voigt claimed the Nissan King of the Mountains Jersey. Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) of Bontrager Livestrong Team maintained the Aquadraat Best Young Rider Jersey and Tyler Farrar (USA) of Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda the Waste Management Sprint Jersey. Sutherland was awarded the Evolve Most Aggressive Rider Jersey.
Results from the 6th stage in Colorado
| Stage 6: : Golden to Boulder 165.5 km | |
| 1 Rory Sutherland (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 4:06:12 |
| 2 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team | at 0:20 |
| 3 Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan | 0:26 |
| 4 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | 0:45 |
| 5 Timothy Duggan (USA) Liquigas-Cannondale | 0:52 |
| 6 Christian Vandevelde (USA) Garmin - Sharp | 1:02 |
| 7 Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team | |
| 8 Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan | |
| 9 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
| 10 Ramiro Rincon Diaz (Col) EPM-UNE | all s.t. |
| 11 Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team | 1:14 |
| 12 Peter Stetina (USA) Garmin - Sharp | s.t. |
| 13 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team | 1:22 |
| 14 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) RadioShack-Nissan | 1:22 |
| 15 Christopher Baldwin (USA) Bissell Cycling | 1:28 |
| 16 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
| 17 Kiel Reijnen (USA) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | |
| 18 Ivan Rovny (Rus) RusVelo | |
| 19 Matthew Busche (USA) RadioShack-Nissan | |
| 20 Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack-Nissan | |
| 21 Christopher Butler (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team | |
| 22 Mathias Frank (Sui) BMC Racing Team | all s.t. |
| 23 Jeroen Hoorne (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | 1:33 |
| 24 Javier Eduardo Gomez Pineda (Col) EPM-UNE | s.t. |
| 25 Lucas Euser (USA) Spidertech powered by C10 | 1:56 |
| 26 Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin - Sharp | s.t. |
| 27 Serghei Tvetcov (Mda) Team Exergy | 2:09 |
| 28 Eduard Alexander Beltran Suarez (Col) EPM-UNE | 2:12 |
| 29 Carlos Fernando Piamonte Rodriguez (Col) EPM-UNE | |
| 30 Sergey Firsanov (Rus) RusVelo | |
| 31 Gavin Mannion (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team | |
| 32 Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team | |
| 33 Benjamin Day (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | |
| 34 Michael Creed (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | |
| 35 Dmitry Kozontchuk (Rus) RusVelo | all s.t. |
| 36 George Bennett (NZl) RadioShack-Nissan | 2:25 |
| 37 Alessandro Bazzana (Ita) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | 2:34 |
| 38 Rubens Bertogliati (Sui) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | |
| 39 Oliver Zaugg (Sui) RadioShack-Nissan | both s.t. |
| 40 Craig Lewis (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team | 2:50 |
| 41 Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Astana Pro Team | 3:31 |
| 42 Artem Ovechkin (Rus) RusVelo | 3:39 |
| 43 Andres Miguel Diaz (Col) Team Exergy | 3:44 |
| 44 Cameron Wurf (Aus) Champion System Pro Cycling Team | 3:53 |
| 45 Pengda Jiao (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team | |
| 46 Javier Megias Leal (Esp) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | both s.t. |
| 47 Robigzon Leandro Oyola Oyola (Col) EPM-UNE | 4:10 |
| 48 Francisco Colorado (Col) EPM-UNE | 5:06 |
| 49 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Astana Pro Team | 5:31 |
| 50 Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | |
| 51 Julian Kyer (USA) Bissell Cycling | |
| 52 George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
| 53 Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team | all s.t. |
| 54 Moreno Moser (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 6:19 |
| 55 Alexander Mironov (Rus) RusVelo | 6:32 |
| 56 Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 6:56 |
| 57 Biao Liu (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team | 7:27 |
| 58 Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team | 7:56 |
| 59 Alex Howes (USA) Garmin - Sharp | 10:36 |
| 60 Christopher Jones (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 12:20 |
| 61 Benjamin King (USA) RadioShack-Nissan | |
| 62 Jorge Camilo Castiblanco Cubides (Col) EPM-UNE | |
| 63 Martin Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | |
| 64 Alex Candelario (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | |
| 65 Morgan Schmitt (USA) Team Exergy | |
| 66 Julien El Fares (Fra) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | |
| 67 Caleb Fairly (USA) Spidertech powered by C10 | |
| 68 Brian Vandborg Bach (Den) Spidertech powered by C10 | |
| 69 Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | |
| 70 Matt Cooke (USA) Team Exergy | |
| 71 Johann Tschopp (Sui) BMC Racing Team | all s.t. |
| 72 Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 13:41 |
| 73 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
| 74 Robert Förster (Ger) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | |
| 75 Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin - Sharp | |
| 76 Jeremy Vennell (NZl) Bissell Cycling | |
| 77 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Sharp | |
| 78 Michael Friedman (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | |
| 79 Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | |
| 80 Carter Jones (USA) Bissell Cycling | |
| 81 Tom Zirbel (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | |
| 82 Joey Rosskopf (USA) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | |
| 83 David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin - Sharp | |
| 84 Rafael Infantino Abreu (Col) EPM-UNE | |
| 85 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) BMC Racing Team | |
| 86 James Oram (NZl) Bontrager Livestrong Team | |
| 87 Ryan Eastman (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team | |
| 88 Ryan Roth (Can) Spidertech powered by C10 | |
| 89 Hugo Houle (Can) Spidertech powered by C10 | |
| 90 Arkimedes Arguelyes Rodriges (Rus) RusVelo | all s.t. |
| 91 Lachlan David Morton (Aus) Garmin - Sharp | 24:42 |
| 92 Daniel Summerhill (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | s.t. |
| 93 Sergey Klimov (Rus) RusVelo | 27:06 |
| 94 Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Bissell Cycling | 28:09 |
| 95 Frank Pipp (USA) Bissell Cycling | s.t. |
| 96 Matt Brammeier (Irl) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | 28:16 |
| DNF Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team | |
| DNF Karl Menzies (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | |
| DNF Jake Keough (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | |
| DNF Jeffry Louder (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | |
| DNF Gang Xu (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team | |
| DNF Andrew Bajadali (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | |
| DNF Fred Rodriguez (USA) Team Exergy | |
| GC | |
| 1 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | 25:39:50 |
| 2 Christian Vandevelde (USA) Garmin - Sharp | at 0:09 |
| 3 Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team | 0:21 |
| 4 Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team | s.t. |
| 5 Ramiro Rincon Diaz (Col) EPM-UNE | 0:22 |
| 6 Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan | 0:26 |
| 7 Peter Stetina (USA) Garmin - Sharp | 0:38 |
| 8 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team | 0:41 |
| 9 Ivan Rovny (Rus) RusVelo | s.t. |
| 10 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 0:52 |
| 11 Matthew Busche (USA) RadioShack-Nissan | s.t. |
| 12 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) RadioShack-Nissan | 0:53 |
| 13 Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack-Nissan | 0:57 |
| 14 Mathias Frank (Sui) BMC Racing Team | 1:18 |
| 15 Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin - Sharp | s.t. |
| 16 Lucas Euser (USA) Spidertech powered by C10 | 1:20 |
| 17 Christopher Butler (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team | 1:35 |
| 18 Javier Eduardo Gomez Pineda (Col) EPM-UNE | 1:36 |
| 19 Gavin Mannion (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team | 1:50 |
| 20 Carlos Fernando Piamonte Rodriguez (Col) EPM-UNE | 1:53 |
| 21 Michael Creed (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | 2:23 |
| 22 Timothy Duggan (USA) Liquigas-Cannondale | 2:37 |
| 23 Christopher Baldwin (USA) Bissell Cycling | 2:47 |
| 24 Kiel Reijnen (USA) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | 3:33 |
| 25 George Bennett (NZl) RadioShack-Nissan | 4:15 |
| 26 Dmitry Kozontchuk (Rus) RusVelo | 4:17 |
| 27 Benjamin Day (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 4:54 |
| 28 Francisco Colorado (Col) EPM-UNE | 4:55 |
| 29 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 5:40 |
| 30 Eduard Alexander Beltran Suarez (Col) EPM-UNE | 6:39 |
| 31 Cameron Wurf (Aus) Champion System Pro Cycling Team | 6:41 |
| 32 Robigzon Leandro Oyola Oyola (Col) EPM-UNE | 6:57 |
| 33 Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan | 8:25 |
| 34 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Astana Pro Team | 12:58 |
| 35 Oliver Zaugg (Sui) RadioShack-Nissan | 13:12 |
| 36 Craig Lewis (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team | 13:36 |
| 37 Rory Sutherland (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 14:12 |
| 38 Rafael Infantino Abreu (Col) EPM-UNE | 15:23 |
| 39 Alex Howes (USA) Garmin - Sharp | 16:05 |
| 40 Johann Tschopp (Sui) BMC Racing Team | 19:22 |
| 41 Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 20:01 |
| 42 George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team | 20:10 |
| 43 Carter Jones (USA) Bissell Cycling | 20:58 |
| 44 Michael Friedman (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | 22:23 |
| 45 Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team | 24:23 |
| 46 Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team | 25:16 |
| 47 Jorge Camilo Castiblanco Cubides (Col) EPM-UNE | 25:50 |
| 48 Julian Kyer (USA) Bissell Cycling | 26:48 |
| 49 Pengda Jiao (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team | 27:42 |
| 50 Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | 27:45 |
| 51 Serghei Tvetcov (Mda) Team Exergy | 27:49 |
| 52 Alexander Mironov (Rus) RusVelo | 28:32 |
| 53 Alessandro Bazzana (Ita) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | 28:44 |
| 54 Alex Candelario (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | 30:33 |
| 55 Sergey Firsanov (Rus) RusVelo | 32:56 |
| 56 Andres Miguel Diaz (Col) Team Exergy | 34:19 |
| 57 Benjamin King (USA) RadioShack-Nissan | 34:58 |
| 58 Moreno Moser (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 35:50 |
| 59 Tom Zirbel (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | 38:45 |
| 60 Christopher Jones (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 39:38 |
| 61 Caleb Fairly (USA) Spidertech powered by C10 | 40:09 |
| 62 Artem Ovechkin (Rus) RusVelo | 42:05 |
| 63 Javier Megias Leal (Esp) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | 42:06 |
| 64 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team | 43:21 |
| 65 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) BMC Racing Team | 44:13 |
| 66 Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Astana Pro Team | 44:23 |
| 67 Martin Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | 44:52 |
| 68 Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | 46:58 |
| 69 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Sharp | 50:11 |
| 70 Jeroen Hoorne (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | 50:33 |
| 71 Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team | 52:12 |
| 72 Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 54:33 |
| 73 Arkimedes Arguelyes Rodriges (Rus) RusVelo | 56:56 |
| 74 Rubens Bertogliati (Sui) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | 57:04 |
| 75 Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin - Sharp | 58:44 |
| 76 Julien El Fares (Fra) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | 1:00:41 |
| 77 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 1:01:13 |
| 78 Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | 1:02:02 |
| 79 Joey Rosskopf (USA) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | 1:02:02 |
| 80 David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin - Sharp | 1:03:24 |
| 81 Brian Vandborg Bach (Den) Spidertech powered by C10 | 1:03:37 |
| 82 Jeremy Vennell (NZl) Bissell Cycling | 1:04:25 |
| 83 Matt Cooke (USA) Team Exergy | 1:04:49 |
| 84 Hugo Houle (Can) Spidertech powered by C10 | 1:04:58 |
| 85 Ryan Eastman (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team | 1:05:29 |
| 86 Biao Liu (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team | 1:06:13 |
| 87 Ryan Roth (Can) Spidertech powered by C10 | 1:07:12 |
| 88 Robert Förster (Ger) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 1:07:53 |
| 89 Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Bissell Cycling | 1:11:50 |
| 90 Morgan Schmitt (USA) Team Exergy | 1:11:51 |
| 91 James Oram (NZl) Bontrager Livestrong Team | 1:12:01 |
| 92 Daniel Summerhill (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 1:12:30 |
| 93 Frank Pipp (USA) Bissell Cycling | 1:13:22 |
| 94 Lachlan David Morton (Aus) Garmin - Sharp | 1:19:12 |
| 95 Matt Brammeier (Irl) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | 1:24:01 |
| 96 Sergey Klimov (Rus) RusVelo | 1:26:37 |
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