Difficult Day of Racing Gives Riders a Taste of the Climbing Ahead
MT. CRESTED BUTTE, COLO. (August 23, 2011) – Enthusiastic crowds welcomed the field of 130 cyclists to Mt. Crested Butte for the Stage 1 finish of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge today, as Levi Leipheimer (USA) of Team RadioShack showed an impressive finish taking the stage win and claiming the lead in the general classification and sprint competitions. Known for his climbing skills and after a first place finish in this year’s Tour of Switzerland and Tour of Utah, Leipheimer is a fan favorite in American cycling.
“I am very happy to get the win and get the Quiznos Leader Jersey,” said Leipheimer. “We’re all proud to get this jersey and win the first stage of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge.”
Leipheimer attacked out of the lead group on the steep mile-long trek up to Mt. Crested Butte ski station, as he out-climbed Sergio Luis Henao (COL) of Gobernacion de Antioquia by four seconds and Frank Schleck (LUX) of team Leopard-Trek by seven seconds. By winning, Leipheimer added a 10-second bonus to his overall time and leads fellow American Christian Vande Velde of Garmin-Cervelo by 11 seconds. American Tejay Van Garderen of HTC-Highroad and Tour de France winner Cadel Evans (AUS) of BMC Racing Team remain in third and fourth respectively.
“All of a sudden there were attacks,” Leipheimer (37) explained. “Andy Schleck went, Cadel Evans was up there and then my teammate Ivan Rovny did a fantastic job. I can’t say enough about him. We brought Andy Schleck back with just one kilometer to go. Rovny continued to pull really hard and I know he wanted to stop but I kept telling him to ‘Go! Go! Go!’ At 500 meters to go Frank Schleck put in a little attack and I followed him. I looked under my arm and I saw no one on my wheel. I knew it was rather early to go but I went for it anyway and it worked out. I’ve never won a stage like that with an explosive effort so in my old age I guess I’m learning some new tricks. I grew up in Butte, Montana and it’s a mile high plus I’ve spent the last three weeks at altitude in Park City, Utah. I feel like I’m acclimated and ready to race hard here in Colorado.”
With warm weather, blue skies and a picturesque backdrop, Stage 1 of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge got underway in Salida this morning with an outpouring of support from local residents and visiting fans. After a neutral start that included two laps through the city, the race headed out of town on a 99.4-mile route to Mt. Crested Butte.
Early in the stage, Bradley White (USA) of UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team, Will Dickeson (AUS) of Jelly Belly Pro Cycling Team, Jay Thomson (RSA) of Bissell Pro Cycling Team and Eduard Alexander Beltran (COL) of UNE-EPM formed a break that would stick for a good part of the race and in the first 25 miles built more than a five-minute lead.
After heading over rolling hills the route took the riders to their first climb of the race – Monarch Pass (11,315 ft.). Lined with throngs of cheering fans, some of whom had camped out to catch a glimpse of the top riders in the world, the first King of the Mountains (KOM) competition of the race was taken by Beltran. Following the KOM, Dickeson and Beltran eventually fell back, leaving White and Thomson in the lead.
“There was a bit of a headwind and I was kind of in the break,” said White. “We dropped the first two guys in the descent and we weren’t sure if we should wait for them. We decided to ride and were going to see if they would come back, but they didn’t.”
After a fast decent on which the riders reached speeds of 60 mph on one inch of rubber, they crossed a slightly uphill, windy valley leading into Gunnison, all while battling strong, up to 20 mph headwinds. Once in Gunnison, the location of tomorrow’s start, the riders faced the first Smashburger Sprint Line, which was taken by White, at which point they took a sharp right and headed north to Crested Butte. A gradual climb, the course then wrapped around the historic town heading up a steep, but short climb to the small ski community.
With 15 km to go, the peloton caught the break and the race was on to the finish. At 5 km the riders reached the second and final Smashburger Sprint Line of the day and the points went to Elia Viviani (ITA) of Liquigas. Heading up the hill to the finish line the group saw several attacks, which eventually lead to a first place finish for Leipheimer.
“Today was a great day of racing that really gave the riders and fans a taste of what’s ahead in the coming days,” said Shawn Hunter, co-chairman and CEO of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. “The USA Pro Cycling Challenge is going to take everyone to new heights, allowing us to showcase all the state has to offer while pushing the riders to their limit.”
Leipheimer claimed the Quiznos Leader Jersey and the Smashburger Sprint Jersey. Van Garderen kept the Sheets Best Young Rider’s Jersey. The Exergy Most Aggressive Jersey went to Bradley White (USA) of UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team. And the Nissan King of the Mountain (KOM) Jersey was awarded to Beltran Suarez for his performance on Monarch Pass.
Results:
STAGE CLASSIFICATION 1
Distance: 158,800 km
Leader’s time: 4h29’22”
Average: 35,372 km/h
Salida to Crested Butte / Mt. Crested Butte
TUESDAY, 23, 2011
Pl Bib Name First Name Team Nat B P Split Pl Bib Name First Name Team Nat B P Split
1 11 LEIPHEIMER Levi RSH USA B:10″ 00″
2 151 HENAO MONTOYA Sergio GOB COL B:06″ 04″
3 22 SCHLECK Frank LEO LUX B:04″ 07″
4 1 EVANS Cadel BMC AUS ‘ ‘
5 36 VANDEVELDE Christian GRM USA ‘ ‘
6 41 *VAN GARDEREN Tejay THR USA ‘ ‘
7 153 ACEVEDO CALLE Janier GOB COL 10″
8 71 GESINK Robert RAB NED ‘ ‘
9 152 SEVILLA RIBIERO Oscar GOB ESP ‘ ‘
10 31 DANIELSON Tom GRM USA 18″
11 81 SUTHERLAND Rory UHC AUS ‘ ‘
12 26 PIRES Bruno LEO POR 23″
13 156 OSPINA Carlos GOB COL ‘ ‘
14 168 CASTANEDA Jaime EPM COL 28″
15 155 MONTIEL Rafael Anibal GOB COL ‘ ‘
16 3 BOOKWALTER Brent BMC USA ‘ ‘
17 66 DIDIER Laurent SBS LUX ‘ ‘
18 111 EUSER Lucas CSM USA ‘ ‘
19 113 MCCARTY Jonathan Patrick CSM USA ‘ ‘
20 32 HESJEDAL Ryder GRM CAN ‘ ‘
21 2 HINCAPIE George BMC USA ‘ ‘
22 5 LOUDER Jeffry BMC USA ‘ ‘
23 17 ROVNY Ivan RSH RUS ‘ ‘
24 162 SUAREZ Juan Pablo EPM COL ‘ ‘
25 165 INFANTINO ABREU Rafael EPM COL ‘ ‘
26 112 *DE LUNA Flavio CSM MEX ‘ ‘
27 161 BAEZ Giovany EPM COL ‘ ‘
28 158 *MONTOYA Cristhian GOB COL ‘ ‘
29 24 LUND Anders LEO DEN ‘ ‘
30 121 BALDWIN Christopher BPC USA ‘ ‘
31 23 DENIFL Stefan LEO AUT ‘ ‘
32 53 DUGGAN Timothy LIQ USA ‘ ‘
33 147 HAGMAN Alex JBC USA 40″
34 72 CLEMENT Stef RAB NED 44″
35 93 BERTOGLIATI Rubens TT1 SUI ‘ ‘
36 64 LARSSON Gustav SBS SWE ‘ ‘
37 35 STETINA Peter GRM USA ‘ ‘
38 167 *BELTRAN SUAREZ Eduard EPM COL ‘ ‘
39 131 DÍAZ Andrés Miguel XRG COL ‘ ‘
40 15 *KING Benjamin RSH USA ‘ ‘
41 13 *BENNETT George RSH NZL ‘ ‘
42 91 EFIMKIN Alexander TT1 RUS 55″
43 43 GRETSCH Patrick THR GER 01’00”
44 55 OSS Daniel LIQ ITA ‘ ‘
45 21 SCHLECK Andy LEO LUX ‘ ‘
46 163 PEDRAZA MORALES Walter EPM COL ‘ ‘
47 27 VOIGT Jens LEO GER 01’11”
48 44 PATE Danny THR USA 01’13”
49 86 JONES Christopher UHC USA 01’20”
50 164 ORTIZ CARO Edwar Stiber EPM COL 01’26”
51 56 *SAGAN Juraj LIQ SVK ‘ ‘
52 61 STEENSEN André SBS DEN ‘ ‘
53 57 SZMYD Sylvester LIQ POL ‘ ‘
54 154 RAMIREZ Alejandro GOB COL 01’37”
55 157 ALVAREZ Oscar GOB COL ‘ ‘
56 54 KING Edward LIQ USA ‘ ‘
57 8 *BUTLER Christopher BMC USA ‘ ‘
58 141 HERNANDEZ Sergio JBC USA ‘ ‘
59 6 BEYER Chad BMC USA ‘ ‘
60 94 KOBZARENKO Valeryi TT1 UKR ‘ ‘
61 95 MEGIAS LEAL Javier TT1 ESP ‘ ‘
62 166 PIAMONTE Carlos EPM COL ‘ ‘
63 46 ROULSTON Hayden THR NZL ‘ ‘
64 105 *LUDVIGSSON Tobias SKS SWE ‘ ‘
65 106 *RIES Philipp SKS GER ‘ ‘
66 134 COOKE Matt XRG USA 01’46”
67 125 BRITTON Rob BPC CAN 02’03”
68 136 SALAS Sébastien XRG CAN ‘ ‘
69 102 *BONNIN Thomas SKS FRA ‘ ‘
70 114 *BOILY David CSM CAN ‘ ‘
71 18 HERMANS Ben RSH BEL ‘ ‘
72 45 LEWIS Craig THR USA ‘ ‘
73 104 OOSTLANDER Sander SKS NED 02’12”
74 51 BASSO Ivan LIQ ITA ‘ ‘
75 92 EFIMKIN Vladimir TT1 RUS ‘ ‘
76 38 *SUMMERHILL Daniel GRM USA ‘ ‘
77 146 POWERS Jeremy JBC USA ‘ ‘
78 128 JACQUES-MAYNES Ben BPC USA ‘ ‘
79 14 DEIGNAN Philip RSH IRL ‘ ‘
80 7 *ROE Timothy BMC AUS ‘ ‘
81 73 NIERMANN Grischa RAB GER 02’34”
82 96 CALLEGARIN Daniele TT1 ITA 02’51”
83 98 CALABRIA Fabio TT1 AUS ‘ ‘
84 75 WEENING Pieter RAB NED 03’15”
85 74 TEN DAM Laurens RAB NED ‘ ‘
86 33 LLOYD Daniel GRM GBR 03’22”
87 132 ALZATE ESCOBAR Carlos XRG COL 03’45”
88 148 HAMLTON Nic JBC CAN ‘ ‘
89 133 RODRIGUEZ Fred XRG USA B:01″ ‘ ‘
90 122 PIPP Frank BPC USA ‘ ‘
91 142 *LOUTIT Alastair JBC AUS ‘ ‘
92 16 MCCARTNEY Jason RSH USA ‘ ‘
93 126 MACH Paul BPC USA ‘ ‘
94 124 *DAHLHEIM Andrew BPC USA ‘ ‘
95 117 RANDELL Andrew CSM CAN ‘ ‘
96 85 HEGYVARY Adrian UHC USA ‘ ‘
97 103 REIMER Martin SKS GER ‘ ‘
98 63 NAVARRO GARCIA Daniel SBS ESP ‘ ‘
99 115 LANGLOIS Bruno CSM CAN ‘ ‘
100 143 VAN ULDEN Bernard JBC USA ‘ ‘
101 116 PARISIEN Francois CSM CAN ‘ ‘
102 47 VELITS Peter THR SVK ‘ ‘
103 107 HUPOND Thierry SKS FRA ‘ ‘
104 97 DUGAN William TT1 USA ‘ ‘
105 84 FRATTINI Davide UHC ITA ‘ ‘
106 52 *CIMOLAI Davide LIQ ITA ‘ ‘
107 34 PETERSON Thomas GRM USA ‘ ‘
108 25 MORTENSEN Martin LEO DEN ‘ ‘
109 62 VANDBORG BACH Brian SBS DEN ‘ ‘
110 123 VENNELL Jeremy BPC NZL ‘ ‘
111 48 NORRIS Lachlan THR AUS ‘ ‘
112 76 VAN WINDEN Dennis RAB NED ‘ ‘
113 88 ZWIZANSKI Scott UHC USA ‘ ‘
114 65 MORKOV Michael SBS DEN ‘ ‘
115 58 *VIVIANI Elia LIQ ITA B:03″ 04’20”
116 135 JOHNSON Sam XRG USA 04’25”
117 82 CLARKE Jonathan UHC AUS 05’16”
118 101 VAN HUMMEL Kenny Robert SKS NED ‘ ‘
119 138 APPLEQUIST Kai XRG USA ‘ ‘
120 118 ROTH Ryan CSM CAN ‘ ‘
121 144 DICKESON William JBC AUS ‘ ‘
122 37 ZABRISKIE David GRM USA 05’20”
123 145 HANSON Kenneth JBC USA 05’58”
124 83 FÖRSTER Robert UHC GER B:03″ 06’06”
125 127 THOMSON Jay Robert BPC RSA B:02″ 07’25”
126 42 FAIRLY Caleb THR USA ‘ ‘
127 87 WHITE Bradley UHC USA B:03″ ‘ ‘
128 12 MURAVYEV Dmitriy RSH KAZ ‘ ‘
129 137 *SLACK Erik XRG USA ‘ ‘
Hors Délai
130 4 *BARTON Chris BMC USA 5h00’00” 30’38”
1 rider(s).
23/08/2011 – 17:15:27
Timing – Photo Finish – Results : MATSPORT TIMING 04.76.52.53.60 – http://www.matsport.fr
**********************************************
General Classification After Stage 1:
Distance: 167,100 km
Leader’s time : 4h37’47”
Average: 36,071 km/h
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION STAGE 1
Salida to Crested Butte / Mt. Crested Butte
TUESDAY, 23, 2011
Pl Bib Name First Name Team Nat Time Split Pl Bib Name First Name Team Nat Time Split
1 11 LEIPHEIMER Levi RSH USA 4h37’47” 00″
2 36 VANDEVELDE Christian GRM USA 4h37’58” 11″
3 41 *VAN GARDEREN Tejay THR USA 4h38’04” 17″
4 1 EVANS Cadel BMC AUS ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
5 71 GESINK Robert RAB NED 4h38’17” 30″
6 3 BOOKWALTER Brent BMC USA 4h38’21” 34″
7 81 SUTHERLAND Rory UHC AUS 4h38’22” 35″
8 2 HINCAPIE George BMC USA 4h38’24” 37″
9 31 DANIELSON Tom GRM USA ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
10 5 LOUDER Jeffry BMC USA 4h38’28” 41″
11 22 SCHLECK Frank LEO LUX 4h38’29” 42″
12 152 SEVILLA RIBIERO Oscar GOB ESP 4h38’31” 44″
13 151 HENAO MONTOYA Sergio GOB COL 4h38’32” 45″
14 17 ROVNY Ivan RSH RUS 4h38’39” 52″
15 156 OSPINA Carlos GOB COL 4h38’40” 53″
16 32 HESJEDAL Ryder GRM CAN ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
17 43 GRETSCH Patrick THR GER 4h38’49” 01’02”
18 15 *KING Benjamin RSH USA ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
19 72 CLEMENT Stef RAB NED ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
20 161 BAEZ Giovany EPM COL 4h38’50” 01’03”
21 23 DENIFL Stefan LEO AUT ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
22 162 SUAREZ Juan Pablo EPM COL ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
23 153 ACEVEDO CALLE Janier GOB COL ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
24 64 LARSSON Gustav SBS SWE 4h38’54” 01’07”
25 35 STETINA Peter GRM USA 4h38’55” 01’08”
26 53 DUGGAN Timothy LIQ USA ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
27 165 INFANTINO ABREU Rafael EPM COL 4h38’57” 01’10”
28 121 BALDWIN Christopher BPC USA 4h38’58” 01’11”
29 113 MCCARTY Jonathan Patrick CSM USA ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
30 66 DIDIER Laurent SBS LUX 4h39’00” 01’13”
31 24 LUND Anders LEO DEN 4h39’05” 01’18”
32 26 PIRES Bruno LEO POR 4h39’06” 01’19”
33 27 VOIGT Jens LEO GER 4h39’07” 01’20”
34 93 BERTOGLIATI Rubens TT1 SUI ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
35 111 EUSER Lucas CSM USA 4h39’10” 01’23”
36 13 *BENNETT George RSH NZL 4h39’11” 01’24”
37 168 CASTANEDA Jaime EPM COL ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
38 44 PATE Danny THR USA 4h39’13” 01’26”
39 147 HAGMAN Alex JBC USA ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
40 55 OSS Daniel LIQ ITA 4h39’15” 01’28”
41 112 *DE LUNA Flavio CSM MEX 4h39’16” 01’29”
42 131 DÍAZ Andrés Miguel XRG COL 4h39’18” 01’31”
43 155 MONTIEL Rafael Anibal GOB COL 4h39’19” 01’32”
44 21 SCHLECK Andy LEO LUX 4h39’25” 01’38”
45 167 *BELTRAN SUAREZ Eduard EPM COL 4h39’31” 01’44”
46 91 EFIMKIN Alexander TT1 RUS 4h39’39” 01’52”
47 158 *MONTOYA Cristhian GOB COL 4h39’41” 01’54”
48 57 SZMYD Sylvester LIQ POL 4h39’51” 02’04”
49 86 JONES Christopher UHC USA 4h39’56” 02’09”
50 46 ROULSTON Hayden THR NZL ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
51 54 KING Edward LIQ USA 4h39’59” 02’12”
52 163 PEDRAZA MORALES Walter EPM COL 4h40’04” 02’17”
53 61 STEENSEN André SBS DEN 4h40’06” 02’19”
54 95 MEGIAS LEAL Javier TT1 ESP 4h40’07” 02’20”
55 56 *SAGAN Juraj LIQ SVK ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
56 94 KOBZARENKO Valeryi TT1 UKR 4h40’10” 02’23”
57 18 HERMANS Ben RSH BEL 4h40’12” 02’25”
58 164 ORTIZ CARO Edwar Stiber EPM COL 4h40’14” 02’27”
59 166 PIAMONTE Carlos EPM COL 4h40’15” 02’28”
60 134 COOKE Matt XRG USA 4h40’17” 02’30”
61 114 *BOILY David CSM CAN 4h40’18” 02’31”
62 125 BRITTON Rob BPC CAN ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
63 8 *BUTLER Christopher BMC USA 4h40’21” 02’34”
64 38 *SUMMERHILL Daniel GRM USA 4h40’22” 02’35”
65 105 *LUDVIGSSON Tobias SKS SWE 4h40’23” 02’36”
66 141 HERNANDEZ Sergio JBC USA 4h40’27” 02’40”
67 157 ALVAREZ Oscar GOB COL ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
68 6 BEYER Chad BMC USA 4h40’30” 02’43”
69 104 OOSTLANDER Sander SKS NED 4h40’33” 02’46”
70 128 JACQUES-MAYNES Ben BPC USA 4h40’38” 02’51”
71 14 DEIGNAN Philip RSH IRL ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
72 106 *RIES Philipp SKS GER 4h40’39” 02’52”
73 45 LEWIS Craig THR USA 4h40’42” 02’55”
74 154 RAMIREZ Alejandro GOB COL 4h40’45” 02’58”
75 146 POWERS Jeremy JBC USA 4h40’50” 03’03”
76 7 *ROE Timothy BMC AUS 4h40’53” 03’06”
77 51 BASSO Ivan LIQ ITA ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
78 136 SALAS Sébastien XRG CAN 4h40’55” 03’08”
79 92 EFIMKIN Vladimir TT1 RUS 4h41’02” 03’15”
80 73 NIERMANN Grischa RAB GER 4h41’24” 03’37”
81 98 CALABRIA Fabio TT1 AUS 4h41’38” 03’51”
82 132 ALZATE ESCOBAR Carlos XRG COL 4h41’47” 04’00”
83 85 HEGYVARY Adrian UHC USA 4h41’48” 04’01”
84 33 LLOYD Daniel GRM GBR 4h41’49” 04’02”
85 116 PARISIEN Francois CSM CAN 4h41’51” 04’04”
86 88 ZWIZANSKI Scott UHC USA 4h41’54” 04’07”
87 74 TEN DAM Laurens RAB NED 4h41’56” 04’09”
88 102 *BONNIN Thomas SKS FRA ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
89 96 CALLEGARIN Daniele TT1 ITA 4h42’00” 04’13”
90 122 PIPP Frank BPC USA ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
91 117 RANDELL Andrew CSM CAN 4h42’01” 04’14”
92 48 NORRIS Lachlan THR AUS 4h42’03” 04’16”
93 65 MORKOV Michael SBS DEN 4h42’05” 04’18”
94 123 VENNELL Jeremy BPC NZL 4h42’06” 04’19”
95 25 MORTENSEN Martin LEO DEN 4h42’07” 04’20”
96 148 HAMLTON Nic JBC CAN 4h42’09” 04’22”
97 133 RODRIGUEZ Fred XRG USA ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
98 52 *CIMOLAI Davide LIQ ITA ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
99 47 VELITS Peter THR SVK 4h42’12” 04’25”
100 143 VAN ULDEN Bernard JBC USA ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
101 63 NAVARRO GARCIA Daniel SBS ESP 4h42’13” 04’26”
102 142 *LOUTIT Alastair JBC AUS ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
103 75 WEENING Pieter RAB NED 4h42’14” 04’27”
104 16 MCCARTNEY Jason RSH USA 4h42’15” 04’28”
105 126 MACH Paul BPC USA 4h42’16” 04’29”
106 84 FRATTINI Davide UHC ITA ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
107 115 LANGLOIS Bruno CSM CAN 4h42’17” 04’30”
108 34 PETERSON Thomas GRM USA 4h42’18” 04’31”
109 62 VANDBORG BACH Brian SBS DEN 4h42’21” 04’34”
110 97 DUGAN William TT1 USA 4h42’30” 04’43”
111 124 *DAHLHEIM Andrew BPC USA 4h42’33” 04’46”
112 107 HUPOND Thierry SKS FRA 4h42’42” 04’55”
113 58 *VIVIANI Elia LIQ ITA 4h42’43” 04’56”
114 135 JOHNSON Sam XRG USA 4h42’52” 05’05”
115 76 VAN WINDEN Dennis RAB NED 4h42’53” 05’06”
116 103 REIMER Martin SKS GER 4h43’02” 05’15”
117 118 ROTH Ryan CSM CAN 4h43’15” 05’28”
118 37 ZABRISKIE David GRM USA 4h43’24” 05’37”
119 82 CLARKE Jonathan UHC AUS 4h43’29” 05’42”
120 144 DICKESON William JBC AUS 4h43’40” 05’53”
121 138 APPLEQUIST Kai XRG USA 4h43’55” 06’08”
122 83 FÖRSTER Robert UHC GER 4h43’57” 06’10”
123 101 VAN HUMMEL Kenny Robert SKS NED 4h44’06” 06’19”
124 145 HANSON Kenneth JBC USA 4h44’43” 06’56”
125 127 THOMSON Jay Robert BPC RSA 4h45’35” 07’48”
126 87 WHITE Bradley UHC USA 4h45’42” 07’55”
127 12 MURAVYEV Dmitriy RSH KAZ 4h45’48” 08’01”
128 42 FAIRLY Caleb THR USA 4h46’05” 08’18”
129 137 *SLACK Erik XRG USA 4h46’28” 08’41”
23/08/2011 – 17:15:47
Timing – Photo Finish – Results : MATSPORT TIMING 04.76.52.53.60 – http://www.matsport.fr
