American McCabe Sprints to Biggest Career Win at Stage 4 of 2016 Tour of Utah
Morton Retains Yellow Jersey for Overall Race Lead With Three Stages Remaining
By Lyne Lamoureux
August 4, 2016 – Kearns, Utah – American Travis McCabe of the Holowesko | Citadel Racing Team presented by Hincapie Sportswear edged out his competitors in the chaotic bunch sprint to win Stage 4 presented by UnitedHealthcare at the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah. McCabe scored one of the biggest wins of his career in a time of three hours and 23 minutes in the township of Kearns, known for fast finishes in speed skating at the Utah Olympic Oval. A bike length separated McCabe from runner-up Kiel Reijnen (USA) of Trek-Segafredo and third-place finisher Sebastian Lucas Haedo (Argentina) of Team Jamis.
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“Second stage win feels great. Coming into today, our plan was to continue to put someone in the break. We put Joey Lewis out there so it put some pressure off us to have to chase. There are sprint teams that would work. We just sat and let them do all of the work. Trek did a lot of work. Silber was up there. Robin was there We just sat back and got out of everyone’s way. We tried to save it to the end. Robin said he was feeling really good and would give it a go at the end. The last three laps when we came to the circuits, a small group went. Robin was there so again it took the pressure off us. We just waited patiently. It was a pretty hectic finish. Coming into the final at 70km/hr, and it was a pretty choppy wind. The road was pretty beat up. It was a pretty much a patience game. I stayed in good position but not too forward. I think I jumped with 250 meters to go. I was able to hold it. It felt really good,” said McCabe, who finished third on Stage 2 presented by America First Credit Union on Tuesday.
It is the second stage win for the Holowesko l Citadel team, as teammate Robin Carpenter (USA) won Stage 2 in Torrey. McCabe said, “This is definitely one of the biggest wins I have had so far. There are very few times I beat Kiel in a sprint. This past week has been great for us. The stage two third place was a validation that I had the legs. I can jump and hold it. I was pretty confident coming into the last 500 meters. There were a lot of strong sprinters here. We were not sure how this was going to play out. You have Sebastian Haedo and Kiel. Eric Young is always such a huge threat. A win like this is big.”
Reijnen, the winner of stage 1 in the 2015 Tour of Utah, commented, “It was awesome this week to have the team behind me. I definitely came here stage hunting. I have not pulled that off yet. Hard work by the guys today to chase all day long. We were very committed to the sprint We had a lead out work, though it was a little tragic at the end. I did not get the stage win, lost the points jersey and the fan favorite all to one guy. What are you gonna do? It’s always good to be on the podium but when the guys work hard for you you want to win. We got another shot tomorrow.”
Australian Lachlan Morton of Jelly Belly presented by MAXXIS Cycling Team finished safely in the bunch and retained the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies Overall Leader jersey. “On paper today was one of the easier stage of the race. We knew it would be really fast. It was just a matter of letting the right breakaway go, which we managed to do after 20-30K,” he said. “We held it to about 3 minutes. We knew the sprinters teams would want to pull it back. It was pretty straight forward for us. There were a lot of sprinters who were motivated to go for the win so we just sat back and let them do their thing.”
With little change in the overall standings, Morton continues to hold a seven-second lead over Adrien Costa (USA) of Axeon Hagens Berman and a nine-second margin on Andrew Talansky (USA) of Cannondale-Drapac Pro Cycling. The time bonus for second place moved Reijnen into the top 10 in the general classification.
Stage winner McCabe takes over the Utah Sports Commission Sprint jersey and was voted the America First Credit Union Fan Favorite as Best Sprinter. Costa retained the Utah Office of Tourism King of the Mountain jersey and the Subaru Best Young Rider jersey.
The start of Stage 4 presented by UnitedHealthcare began on the corporate campus of IM Flash in Lehi. The 95.7-mile (154 km) route featured two Utah Sports Commission Sprint lines along the 28-mile stretch of the Mountain View Corridor (MVC) in the foothills of the Oquirrh Mountains. Four riders were left off the front by the last of the two and a half laps of the MVC freeway, but their four-minute lead eventually went down to 20 seconds with 12 miles to go.
Fans were treated to an action-packed finish along a four-mile circuit that finished adjacent to the Utah Olympic Oval, site of the long track speed skating events for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. The last survivor of the break, American Matthew Busche of UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team, put in a final solo attack, but it was to no avail. Busche was awarded the Larry H. Miller Dealerships Most Aggressive Rider jersey for his efforts.
Busche noted, “It was a pretty hard start. I did not how long it was going to take . I thought it would go pretty quickly. It dragged on for awhile. Six of us got off the road and two guys came across. We just rolled and we knew we were not going get a huge lead. I think sprinters wanted their day today. We saw on stage 2 that even two guys could stay away. It was potentially a fruitless effort but you need to try. I was out there to give it a go.”
Friday, Aug. 5, features Stage 5 presented by Zions Bank, with 115.6 miles (186 km) from Antelope Island State Park to Bountiful. It is a repeat road race from 2015, with short, but very steep climbs and four Utah Office of Tourism King of the Mountain climbs — North Ogden Divide, Trappers Loop and the two ascents of the Bountiful Bench. The start at Antelope Island State Park, which sits on the largest island in the Great Salt Lake, will begin with two three-mile circuits on the island before crossing the seven-mile causeway to the mainland. Sprint lines will be staged at Hooper, Eden and Bountiful. The two nine-mile circuits in Bountiful return this year, which include a difficult climb on 400 North along the Bountiful Bench. Festivities in downtown Bountiful will be on Main Street at Center Street for the finish, with the peloton rolling in a northbound direction.
Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah Award Jerseys
Larry H. Miller Group of Companies Overall Leader jersey – Lachlan Morton (AUS), Jelly Belly presented by MAXXIS
Utah Sports Commission Sprint jersey – Travis McCabe (USA), Holowesko | Citadel Racing Team presented by Hincapie Sportswear
Utah Office of Tourism King of the Mountain jersey – Adrien Costa (USA), Axeon Hagens Berman
Subaru Best Young Rider jersey – Adrien Costa (USA), Axeon Hagens Berman
Larry H. Miller Dealerships Most Aggressive Rider jersey – Matthew Busche (USA), Cannondale-Drapac Pro Cycling
America First Credit Union Fan Favorite jersey – Travis McCabe (USA), Holowesko | Citadel Racing Team presented by Hincapie Sportswear
Results and Standings
www.tourofutah.com/race/results
Stage 4 presented by UnitedHealthcare – Top 10
- MCCABE Travis (USA), HOLOWESKO/CITADEL P/B HINCAPIE SPORTSWEAR – 3.23’47”
- REIJNEN Kiel (USA), TREK-SEGAFREDO – 3.23’47”
- HAEDO Lucas Sebastian (CUB), TEAM JAMIS – 3.23’47”
- CANOLA Marco (ITA), UNITEDHEALTHCARE PRO CYCLING TEAM – 3.23’47”
- YOUNG Eric (USA), RALLY CYCLING – 3.23’47”
- JOYCE Colin (USA), AXEON HAGENS BERMAN – 3.23’47”
- JARAMILLO DIEZ Daniel Alexander (COL), UNITEDHEALTHCARE PRO CYCLING TEAM – 3.23’47”
- RATHE Jacob (USA), JELLY BELLY pb MAXXIS – 3.23’47”
- ZABEL Rick (GER), BMC RACING TEAM – 3.23’47”
- DIBBEN Jonathan (GBR), CANNONDALE-DRAPAC PRO CYCLING – 3.23’47”
General Classification (After Stage 4) – Top 10
- MORTON Lachlan (AUS), JELLY BELLY PRESENTED BY MAXXIS – 14.54’40”
- COSTA Adrien (USA), AXEON HAGENS BERMAN – 14.54’47”
- TALANSKY Andrew (USA), CANNONDALE-DRAPAC PRO CYCLING – 14.54’49”
- ATAPUMA HURTADO Darwin (COL), BMC RACING TEAM – 14.56’12”
- ROSSKOPF Joseph (USA), BMC RACING TEAM – 14.56’12”
- BRITTON Rob (CAN), RALLY PRO CYCLING -14.56’12”
- EISENHART Taylor (USA), BMC RACING TEAM -14.56’14″
- CARPENTER Robin (USA), HOLOWESKO/CITADEL P/B HINCAPIE SPORTSWEAR -14.56’24″
- REIJNEN Kiel (USA), TREK-SEGAFREDO -14.58’41”
- POWLESS Neilson (USA), AXEON HAGENS BERMAN – 14.58’47”
