August 18/14 22:44 pm - US Pro Challenge: Stage 1 results and report
Posted by Editoress on 08/18/14
The UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team began the 7-stage USA Pro Challenge today with phenomenal success in the mountain town of Aspen, Colorado. In an opening stage nearly identical to stage 1 of the 2013 race, UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team rider and Colorado resident Kiel Reijnen sprinted to victory before screaming crowds after almost 2 hours and 30 minutes of intense racing. The riders rolled out of Aspen at 2:40 pm and began the first of three 32.7-kilometer laps around the scenic and mountainous Aspen and Snowmass area, totaling 97.6 kilometers with 6 KOM competitions and 3 sprint competitions.
Colorado native Danny Summerhill’s enthusiasm for the race was apparent when he attacked the field and went clear just a few kilometers into the race. Danny was joined by six others shortly after and the group began to build their advantage, carving out a lead of one minute by the time they raced through Aspen to complete their first lap. Danny surged through the arch first, claiming the race’s first intermediate sprint competition. By the second lap through Aspen, the breakaway’s advantage had been reduced by only 5 seconds, with Summerhill sprinting again to take the second intermediate sprint competition. The sprint teams began an organized chase and reduced the gap to just 25 seconds with 24 kilometers remaining, causing the breakaway to splinter. “When the peloton started closing in, I knew that the second part of my job was about to start, and that was to help position Kiel for the finish,” said Summerhill, who was later awarded the most aggressive rider jersey for his tenacious and selfless riding from start to finish.
Chris Jones and Jonny Clarke took massive pulls at the front of the group, keeping the race fast and narrowing the field for Reijnen. The breakaway was also reduced to just one rider, who would be overtaken by multiple counterattacks in the final lap. Two hours of hard racing began to take its toll on the riders as the group was thinned to just a few dozen. Once the group split, UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling teammate Lucas Euser fought to keep Reijnen safely at the front of the group and in favorable position for the final corners. Kiel followed an attack led by competitor, friend, and fellow Colorado local Alex Howes. Rounding the final turns, the two riders fought for position before launching tremendously long sprints for the line. Kiel timed his jump perfectly, accelerating through the finishing arch with his arms raised in victory.
Having raced onto the podium on this course in 2013, Kiel Reijnen had the full support of this UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team, pacing him through the climbs, sheltering him from the wind, and keeping his food and fluid supplies replenished. Sporting director and general manager Mike Tamayo commented, “The plan today was simple. 100% Kiel. We wanted a rider in the breakaway to save bullets for the finale. We knew we had to get Kiel into the final KOM in great position to save his legs. After that, it was about gambling a bit to see how it played out, knowing we had the bullets to use in the end.” Kiel’s victory earned not only the stage win, but also the yellow jersey for the overall race leader, the green jersey for the sprint leader, and the blue jersey for the best Colorado rider. After stage 1 of the USA Pro Challenge, the UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team is in possession of 4 of the available 6 category jerseys, making this an incredible day for the team.
Reflecting on the day, Kiel concluded, “The whole team should be up here with me today. Having a teammate drop out of the break to help position me for the finish, what more can you ask for? The team was incredible, all of them. We race a lot of important races, but for me, this is the most important race on my calendar. Being a Colorado local, it’s hard to describe what it means to take this stage win and the leader’s jersey on Colorado soil in front of all these Colorado fans.”
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling press release
Results from the first stage in Colorado, USA
| Stage 1: Aspen Circuit Race, 97.6 km | |
| 1 Kiel Reijnen (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 2:26:35 |
| 2 Alex Howes (USA) Team Garmin-Sharp | at s.t. |
| 3 Ben Hermans (Bel) BMC Racing Team | 0:03 |
| 4 Carter Jones (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | |
| 5 Matthew Busche (USA) Trek Factory Racing | |
| 6 Javier Megias Leal (Esp) Team Novo Nordisk | all s.t. |
| 7 Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team | 0:12 |
| 8 Joseph Rosskopf (USA) Hincapie Sportswear Development | |
| 9 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
| 10 Lucas Euser (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | |
| 11 Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
| 12 Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
| 13 Serghei Tvetcov (Rou) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis | |
| 14 Frank Schleck (Lux) Trek Factory Racing | |
| 15 Peter Stetina (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
| 16 Thomas Danielson (USA) Team Garmin-Sharp | |
| 17 Julian Kyer (USA) Team SmartStop | |
| 18 Clement Chevrier (Fra) Bissell Development Team | |
| 19 Bartosz Huzarski (Pol) Team Netapp-Endura | |
| 20 Rob Britton (Can) Team SmartStop | |
| 21 Tiago Machado (Por) Team Netapp-Endura | all s.t. |
| 22 Jens Voigt (Ger) Trek Factory Racing | 0:15 |
| 23 Riccardo Zoidl (Aut) Trek Factory Racing | |
| 24 Chris Butler (USA) Hincapie Sportswear Development | both s.t. |
| 25 Janier Alexis Acevedo Colle (Col) Team Garmin-Sharp | 0:20 |
| 26 Gregor Muhlberger (Aut) Team Netapp-Endura | 0:54 |
| 27 James Oram (NZl) Bissell Development Team | |
| 28 Charles Planet (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk | |
| 29 Bruno Pires (Por) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
| 30 Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
| 31 Ruben Zepuntke (Ger) Bissell Development Team | |
| 32 Phillip Gaimon (USA) Team Garmin-Sharp | |
| 33 Robbie Squire (USA) Jamis-Hagens Berman p/b Sutter Home | |
| 34 Patrick Konrad (Aut) Team Netapp-Endura | |
| 35 Carson Miller (USA) Jamis-Hagens Berman p/b Sutter Home | |
| 36 Lachlan Norris (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | |
| 37 Tom Zirbel (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | |
| 38 Tanner Putt (USA) Bissell Development Team | all s.t. |
| 39 Yannick Eijssen (Bel) BMC Racing Team | 0:59 |
| 40 Michael Torckler (NZl) Team SmartStop | |
| 41 Cameron Wurf (Aus) Cannondale | both s.t. |
| 42 Joonas Henttala (Fin) Team Novo Nordisk | 1:33 |
| 43 Benjamin King (USA) Team Garmin-Sharp | |
| 44 Joseph Lewis (Aus) Hincapie Sportswear Development | |
| 45 Ivan Basso (Ita) Cannondale | all s.t. |
| 46 Ian Burnett (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis | 1:39 |
| 47 Daniel Eaton (USA) Bissell Development Team | s.t. |
| 48 David de la Cruz Melgarejo (Esp) Team Netapp-Endura | 1:57 |
| 49 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Team Garmin-Sharp | |
| 50 Adam Phelan (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | |
| 51 Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | |
| 52 Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | |
| 53 Laurent Didier (Lux) Trek Factory Racing | |
| 54 Oscar Clark (USA) Hincapie Sportswear Development | |
| 55 Dion Smith (NZl) Hincapie Sportswear Development | |
| 56 Jonathan Clarke (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | |
| 57 Markel Irizar Aranburu (Esp) Trek Factory Racing | |
| 58 Benjamin Day (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | |
| 59 Ryan Anderson (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | |
| 60 Caleb Fairly (USA) Team Garmin-Sharp | |
| 61 Richard Handley (GBr) Rapha Condor JLT | |
| 62 Gavin Mannion (USA) Team Garmin-Sharp | |
| 63 Elia Viviani (Ita) Cannondale | |
| 64 Matej Mohoric (Slo) Cannondale | |
| 65 Isaac Bolivar Hernandez (Col) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | |
| 66 Jai Crawford (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | |
| 67 Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Jamis-Hagens Berman p/b Sutter Home | |
| 68 Jesse Anthony (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | |
| 69 Alexander Candelario (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | |
| 70 Jacob Rathe (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis | all s.t. |
| 71 Christopher Jones (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 3:10 |
| 72 David Lozano Riba (Esp) Team Novo Nordisk | 3:16 |
| 73 Calvin Watson (Aus) Trek Factory Racing | 3:23 |
| 74 Kristian House (GBr) Rapha Condor JLT | |
| 75 Bjorn Selander (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | |
| 76 Travis McCabe (USA) Team SmartStop | all s.t. |
| 77 Cristiano Salerno (Ita) Cannondale | 3:34 |
| 78 Martin Kohler (Sui) BMC Racing Team | |
| 79 Hayden Roulston (NZl) Trek Factory Racing | |
| 80 Ian Crane (USA) Jamis-Hagens Berman p/b Sutter Home | |
| 81 Daniel Alexander Jaramillo Diez (Col) Jamis-Hagens Berman p/b Sutter Home | |
| 82 Keegan Swirbul (USA) Bissell Development Team | |
| 83 Luis Romero Amaran (Cub) Jamis-Hagens Berman p/b Sutter Home | |
| 84 Bernard Sulzberger (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | |
| 85 Stephen Leece (USA) Jamis-Hagens Berman p/b Sutter Home | |
| 86 Darren Lapthorne (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | |
| 87 Hugh Carthy (GBr) Rapha Condor JLT | |
| 88 Jose Joao Pimenta Costa Mendes (Por) Team Netapp-Endura | |
| 89 Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Team Netapp-Endura | |
| 90 Tyler Magner (USA) Hincapie Sportswear Development | all s.t. |
| 91 Nathan Van Hooydonck (Bel) Bissell Development Team | 5:15 |
| 92 Alan Marangoni (Ita) Cannondale | |
| 93 Steve Fisher (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis | |
| 94 Luis Enrique Davila (Mex) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis | |
| 95 Toms Skujins (Lat) Hincapie Sportswear Development | |
| 96 Daniel Whitehouse (NZl) Rapha Condor JLT | |
| 97 Kirk Carlsen (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis | |
| 98 Elliott Porter (GBr) Rapha Condor JLT | |
| 99 Rasmus Guldhammer (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
| 100 Gregory Daniel (USA) Bissell Development Team | |
| 101 Jesper Hansen (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
| 102 Scott Zwizanski (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | |
| 103 Zach Bell (Can) Team SmartStop | |
| 104 Edward King (USA) Cannondale | |
| 105 Robin Carpenter (USA) Hincapie Sportswear Development | |
| 106 Jeffry Louder (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | |
| 107 Michael Cuming (GBr) Rapha Condor JLT | |
| 108 Leopold König (Cze) Team Netapp-Endura | |
| 109 Michael Rogers (Aus) Tinkoff-Saxo | all s.t. |
| 110 Scott Ambrose (NZl) Team Novo Nordisk | 8:46 |
| 111 Daniel Summerhill (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | |
| 112 Rick Zabel (Ger) BMC Racing Team | |
| 113 Michel Koch (Ger) Cannondale | |
| 114 Matt Cooke (USA) Jamis-Hagens Berman p/b Sutter Home | |
| 115 Johnathan Freter (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis | |
| 116 Michael Mørkøv (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo | all s.t. |
| 117 Eric Marcotte (USA) Team SmartStop | 11:52 |
| 118 Mike Friedman (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | |
| 119 Jordan Kerby (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | |
| 120 Martijn Verschoor (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk | |
| 121 Aaron Perry (NZl) Team Novo Nordisk | |
| 122 Edward Beltran Suarez (Col) Tinkoff-Saxo | all s.t. |
| 123 Joshua Berry (USA) Team SmartStop | 12:11 |
| 124 Tom Moses (GBr) Rapha Condor JLT | |
| 125 Jure Kocjan (Slo) Team SmartStop | |
| 126 Kevin de Mesmaeker (Bel) Team Novo Nordisk | all s.t. |
| OTL Graham Briggs (GBr) Rapha Condor JLT | |
| DNF Fred Rodriguez (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis |
Jersey Winners
• Smashburger Leader Jersey – Kiel Reijnen (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
• Lexus Sprint Jersey – Kiel Reijnen (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
• Sierra Nevada King of the Mountains Jersey – Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Jamis-Hagens Berman p/b Sutter Home
• Colorado State University Best Young Rider Jersey – Clement Chevrier (FRA) Bissell Development Team
• FirstBank Most Aggressive Rider Jersey – Danny Summerhill (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
• Colorado National Guard Best Colorado Rider Jersey – Kiel Reijnen (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
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