August 6/14 21:11 pm - Tour of Utah: Stage 2

Posted by Editoress on 08/6/14
 

BMC Racing Team’s Michael Schär survived in the original breakaway of Stage 2 presented by iON Camera to win the second stage of the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah.  Covering the 130.7-mile course from Panguitch to Torrey in five hours and three minutes, Schär held off both leg cramps and a furious chase group of 34 riders to win the stage.

Jure Kocjan (Team Smartstop presented by CyLance) finished second, just two seconds behind Schär. With a time bonus, this vaulted the Slovenian into the Larry H. Miller Dealerships Overall Leader’s yellow jersey.

“It was a really tough day for me today. I knew I had come out good (from) the Tour de France.  I had a good climb and I had good legs, and normally I do better the higher we go,” said Schär, who finished 7th on General Classification at the 2013 Tour of Utah, calling today’s Stage 2 presented by iON Camera the hardest of his career. “All of a sudden I had (leg) cramps…I had the worst cramps in my life and in the end I could hardly pedal.  Moments like that, it's more about the mind and not about the body, you really have to suffer through that.”

For a second day in a row, Kocjan finished on the second step of the podium, but secured the G.C. lead and pulled on the Utah Sports Commission Sprint jersey. “I was very motivated for today's stage. I knew that last year on the same stage 60 riders came to the sprint, so I knew that if I could make the climb with the first group probably I would be the fastest man,” Kocjan said. “It’s not going to be easy. We’ll try tomorrow to defend the yellow jersey.”

There were several changes to the General Classification today, with Tvetcov moving from 10th to third overall. Kiel Reijnen (UnitedHealthcare) is fourth and Tanner Putt (Bissell Development Team) moves from eighth to fifth overall. Former Tour de France champion Cadel Evans (BMC Racing Team) enters the Top 10 with a sixth position, 12 seconds behind Kocjan.

The 121-rider peloton faced blue skies and crosswinds as it rolled out of rural Panguitch and passed the national landmarks of Bryce Canyon National Park, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and Capitol Reef National Park. The unrelenting course challenged riders with 10,162 feet of elevation gain punctuated by a rugged Cat 3 climb to the Hogsback Summit outside Escalante. Utah’s trademark red rock canyons gave way to thick growth of aspen, pine and pinion juniper trees as the field ventured into the Dixie National Forest before the finish in Torrey.

Results from the second stage in Utah,USA