August 19/13 21:00 pm - US Pro Challenge: Stage 1 Report and Results
Posted by Editoress on 08/19/13
The 2013 USA Pro Challenge started off with a bang as 128 riders, hailing from 31 countries, rolled out of Aspen to embark on a circuit race that would prove to pack a punch. After three 22-mile laps, with 3,080 ft. of climbing per lap, Peter Sagan (Cannondale Pro Cycling) pulled out the win after an all-out sprint to the finish. Greg van Avermaet (BMC Racing Team) took home second in the stage and Kiel Reijnen (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team) claimed third.
Peter Sagan wins
"With the No. 1 and 2-ranked riders in the world racing in the 2013 USA Pro Challenge, we knew the competition would be tough, and Sagan really proved that today," said Shawn Hunter, CEO of the USA Pro Challenge. "The crowds along the entire route in Aspen and Snowmass were unbelievable. The fans here are just so passionate about the sport. They blew all of my expectations out of the water."
Comprised of three circuits that included a total of two Clif Bar sprint lines and four Nissan King of the Mountains competitions, the stage gave the riders a taste of what lies ahead over the next six days.
After two short, neutral laps through Aspen, the race got off to an exciting start with a seven-man breakaway. But the break would prove to be short lived, as they were caught again within the first three miles of the race.
The non-stop action continued though with an immediate counter-attack from Craig Lewis (Champion System Pro Cycling Team), Matt Cooke (Jamis-Hagens Berman p/b Sutter Homes) and Ian Burnett (Jelly Belly p/b Kenda) within the first 30 minutes of the race that stuck for most of the stage.
As the cyclists began lap two, the competition started heating up with sprint and King of the Mountains (KOM) points on the line. At the first Clif Bar sprint line, which was at the end of the first circuit in Downtown Aspen, Burnett crossed the line first, followed by Lewis and Cooke. As the race rolled on and the gap continued to grow, the riders approached the first Nissan KOM competition in Snowmass (Cat. 4) where Cooke made it to the top first, followed by Lewis then Burnett. The second Nissan KOM of the day at McLain Flats (Cat. 4), which was 14.5 miles into the second circuit, saw repeat results.
Heading into the final lap of the day, with the break still intact, the second sprint in Aspen saw Lewis cross the line first, followed by Burnett and Cooke. With the pressure building, the peloton started closing the gap with Cannondale Pro Cycling leading the chase through town to the roaring cheers of fans lining the route.
Quickly approaching the third Nissan KOM of the day, again in Snowmass, Cooke pulled away from his breakaway companions to make it to the top first, followed by Burnett, then Lewis. At just under 10 miles from the finish, and RadioShack Leopard Trek setting the pace, the chase was on and the peloton began closing in on the break. One by one the three riders were swallowed back up into the field, but just prior to that, Cooke claimed the last Nissan KOM competition, followed by Lachlan David Morton (Team Garmin-Sharp) and Chris Baldwin (Bissell Pro Cycling).
Just as Cooke was caught, a follow-up attack was made by seven riders, which quickly dwindled to two – George Bennett (RadioShack Leopard Trek) and Carter Jones (Bissell Pro Cycling). With just more than half a mile to go, BMC Racing Team led the chase trying to set up for the sprint finish, but in the end Sagan turned up the gas and crossed the finish line first.
"I’m very happy. I’m thankful for my teammates and the support from the fans," said Sagan. "I felt good today. I came here two weeks ago to adjust to the altitude and I think it really helped me prepare for the race."
In a near sweep of the jerseys Sagan took the Smashburger Leader Jersey, Clif Bar Sprint Jersey and Colorado State University Best Young Rider Jersey. Cooke was awarded the Nissan King of the Mountains Jersey. The FirstBank Most Courageous Rider Jersey went to Lewis after riding in the break for most of the day.
Press release
Results from the first stage in Colorado
| Stage 1: Aspen Circuit Race, 97.6 km |
|
| 1 Peter Sagan (Svk) Cannondale Pro Cycling | 2:26:00 |
| 2 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team | |
| 3 Kiel Reijnen (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team | |
| 4 Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack Leopard | |
| 5 Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
| 6 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling | |
| 7 Rory Sutherland (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | |
| 8 Lucas Euser (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team | |
| 9 Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin-Sharp | |
| 10 Christopher Baldwin (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling | |
| 11 Gregory Brenes Obando (CRc) Champion System Pro Cycling Team | |
| 12 Lawson Craddock (USA) Bontrager Cycling Team | |
| 13 Tanner Putt (USA) Bontrager Cycling Team | |
| 14 Janier Alexis Acevedo Calle (Col) Jamis-Hagens Berman | |
| 15 Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack Leopard | |
| 16 Andy Schleck (Lux) RadioShack Leopard | |
| 17 Lachlan David Morton (Aus) Garmin-Sharp | all s.t. |
| 18 Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) Sky Procycling | 0:05 |
| 19 Jesse Anthony (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | |
| 20 Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | |
| 21 George Bennett (NZl) RadioShack Leopard | |
| 22 Darwin Atapuma (Col) Colombia | |
| 23 Javier Megias Leal (Esp) Team Novo Nordisk | |
| 24 Christian Vandevelde (USA) Garmin-Sharp | |
| 25 Carter Jones (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling | |
| 26 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Garmin-Sharp | |
| 27 Jeffry Louder (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team | |
| 28 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
| 29 Tiago Machado (Por) RadioShack Leopard | |
| 30 Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team | |
| 31 David Lozano Riba (Esp) Team Novo Nordisk | |
| 32 David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin-Sharp | |
| 33 Mathias Frank (Sui) BMC Racing Team | |
| 34 Davila Luis (Mex) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda | |
| 35 Joshua Edmondson (GBr) Sky Procycling | |
| 36 Philip Deignan (Irl) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team | |
| 37 Christoper Butler (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team | |
| 38 Chad Beyer (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team | |
| 39 James Oram (NZl) Bontrager Cycling Team | |
| 40 Nathan Wilson (USA) Bontrager Cycling Team | all s.t. |
| 41 Benjamin King (USA) RadioShack Leopard | 0:17 |
| 42 Antoine Duchesne (Can) Bontrager Cycling Team | |
| 43 Luis Romero Amaran (Cub) Jamis-Hagens Berman | |
| 44 Matt Cooke (USA) Jamis-Hagens Berman | |
| 45 Tom Zirbel (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | all s.t. |
| 46 Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling | 0:32 |
| 47 Bruno Pires (Por) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | 0:44 |
| 48 Jesper Hansen (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | s.t. |
| 49 Danny Pate (USA) Sky Procycling | 1:07 |
| 50 Christopher Jones (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team | |
| 51 Ian Boswell (USA) Sky Procycling | both s.t. |
| 52 Julien Taramarcaz (Sui) BMC Racing Team | 2:16 |
| 53 Lawrence Warbasse (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
| 54 Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack Leopard | |
| 55 Alex Hagman (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda | |
| 56 James Driscoll (USA) Jamis-Hagens Berman | |
| 57 Robinson Eduardo Chalapud (Col) Colombia | all s.t. |
| 58 Nathan Brown (USA) Bontrager Cycling Team | 3:20 |
| 59 Connor O'Leary (USA) Bontrager Cycling Team | |
| 60 Edwin Avila (Col) Colombia | both s.t. |
| 61 Michael Torckler (NZl) Bissell Pro Cycling | 4:29 |
| 62 Joonas Henttala (Fin) Team Novo Nordisk | 4:59 |
| 63 Phillip Gaimon (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling | |
| 64 Hayden Roulston (NZl) RadioShack Leopard | |
| 65 Juan Pablo Suarez (Col) Colombia | |
| 66 Nikodemus Holler (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano | |
| 67 Tyler Wren (USA) Jamis-Hagens Berman | |
| 68 Benjamin Day (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team | |
| 69 Morgan Schmitt (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda | |
| 70 Kevin de Mesmaeker (Bel) Team Novo Nordisk | |
| 71 Edward King (USA) Cannondale Pro Cycling | |
| 72 Carson Miller (USA) Jamis-Hagens Berman | |
| 73 Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Jamis-Hagens Berman | |
| 74 Jeremy Vennell (NZl) Bissell Pro Cycling | |
| 75 Fabio Duarte (Col) Colombia | |
| 76 Julio Camacho (Col) Colombia | |
| 77 Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling | |
| 78 Chun Kai Feng (Tpe) Champion System Pro Cycling Team | |
| 79 Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano | |
| 80 Peter Kennaugh (GBr) Sky Procycling | |
| 81 Thomas Soladay (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | |
| 82 Michael Olsson (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano | |
| 83 Alex Candelario (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | |
| 84 Ryan Anderson (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | |
| 85 Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Colombia | |
| 86 Michael Friedman (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | |
| 87 Jonathan Clarke (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team | |
| 88 Serghei Tvetcov (Mda) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda | |
| 89 Ian Burnett (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda | |
| 90 Andrew Talansky (USA) Garmin-Sharp | |
| 91 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda | |
| 92 Sean Mazich (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda | |
| 93 Ryota Nishizono (Jpn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team | |
| 94 Gang Xu (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team | |
| 95 Alessandro Bazzana (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team | |
| 96 Marsh Cooper (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | |
| 97 Jonathan Patrick McCarty (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling | |
| 98 Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | |
| 99 Craig Lewis (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team | |
| 100 Davide Villella (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling | all s.t. |
| 101 Nic Hamlton (Can) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda | 6:41 |
| 102 Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Sky Procycling | |
| 103 Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling | |
| 104 Juraj Sagan (Svk) Cannondale Pro Cycling | |
| 105 Fu Shiu Cheung (HKg) Champion System Pro Cycling Team | |
| 106 Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano | |
| 107 Jay McCarthy (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | |
| 108 Nariyuki Masuda (Jpn) Cannondale Pro Cycling | |
| 109 Martijn Verschoor (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk | |
| 110 Thomas Damuseau (Fra) Team Argos-Shimano | |
| 111 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Team Argos-Shimano | |
| 112 Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano | |
| 113 Fabio Calabria (Aus) Team Novo Nordisk | |
| 114 Ryan Eastman (USA) Bontrager Cycling Team | |
| 115 Kirk Carlsen (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling | |
| 116 Rohan Dennis (Aus) Garmin-Sharp | |
| 117 David Millar (GBr) Garmin-Sharp | |
| 118 Timothy Duggan (USA) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | |
| 119 Stephen Cummings (GBr) BMC Racing Team | all s.t. |
| 120 Jason McCartney (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling | 9:58 |
| 121 Yann Huguet (Fra) Team Argos-Shimano | |
| 122 Andrea Peron (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk | |
| 123 Ken Hanson (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | |
| 124 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling | all s.t. |
| 125 Christopher Williams (Aus) Team Novo Nordisk | 12:45 |
| 126 Juan Jose Haedo (Arg) Jamis-Hagens Berman | 14:12 |
| 127 Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | s.t. |
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