August 16/19 21:23 pm - Boivin 5th in Stage 4 at Tour of Utah

Posted by Editoress on 08/16/19
 

Marco Canola (NIPPO-Vini Fantini-Faizanè) surged to victory in a thrilling Stage 4 at the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah. In a fast and furious circuit race, the Italian claimed his second victory in downtown Salt Lake City in three years, in a time of 1 hour and 56 seconds.  Guillaume Boivin (Israel Cycling Academy) was the top Canadian in fifth, followed by James Piccoli (Elevate KHS) in seventh.

"The director said we have to win today. We have one more chance and we have to take it. We have to ride like a strong team, and we wanted to bring it all together on the last climb. I felt again this great feeling to win here in Salt Lake. It's really fantastic for me. I like this city. It's really perfect for me," said Canola, who had one leg entirely wrapped from a crash on Stage 1 presented Larry H. Miller Group of Companies. "Three days ago, I couldn't think to win again, because I had a big crash, so I'm really, really happy. It was really hard today to beat Travis (McCabe)."

In a hard-fought sprint, second place went to four-time Tour of Utah stage winner Travis McCabe (Floyd's Pro Cycling). Brendan Rhim (Arapahoe l Hincapie powered by BMC) rolled across the line in third. With points at the line and top points in two of three intermediate sprints, McCabe took over the Sprint leader jersey.

"That was a big goal coming into this week. I won it in 2017 and 2018 so we're going to try to take it again for the third time," said McCabe about the Sprint classification jersey. "A win would have been fantastic, but Canola knows this course better than I do. It's his second time winning it. I'm happy that he took it and glad that I was able to come away with second after spending two hours in a miserable break."

Overall race leader Ben Hermans (Israel Cycling Academy) finished ninth and retained the Overall Leader jersey. With little change in the overall standings, Hermans continues to hold a 44-second advantage over James Piccoli, and 1 minute, 6 seconds lead over Nilkas Eg (Trek-Segafredo).

Huge crowds turned out along the 6.7-mile (10.8-kilometre) course, including on the steep ascent of State Street that extends from the iconic Eagle Gate to the Utah State Capitol. After eight laps, the 102 riders completed 53.7 miles (86.5 kilometres) and a total of 4,460 feet of elevation gain. A group of 16 riders escaped, but the decimated field led by NIPPO-Vini Fantini-Faizane was back together in the final kilometer to battle for the top step of the podium.

"I think it allows people to come off work, watch a brutal race that is two hours long. We had people lined up on the course the entire time. It's a great afternoon environment and then it gets people out in the city. I think doing it at night is a pretty cool experience and I hope that the Tour of Utah does it again next year," added McCabe about the stage being held from 5:55 to 8 p.m. MT.

Results from the fifth stage in Utah

Piccoli Wins Tour of Utah Prologue

Piccoli Loses Lead at Utah After Poorly Timed Puncture

Piccoli 2nd after Stage 2 of Tour of Utah

Piccoli Holds On To Second After Stage 3 at Utah