Australian Lachlan Morton of EF Education First outsprinted his breakaway companion at the line to win Stage 5 presented by University of Utah Health in a thrilling photo finish at Canyons Village at Park City Mountain. Morton, who won the 2016 Tour of Utah, scored his fourth career stage win in Utah Saturday in a time of 3 hours and 5 minutes.

Photo Galleries:

• 2019 Tour of Utah Stage 5 Photo Essay by Cathy Fegan-Kim
• 2019 Tour of Utah Stage 5 Gallery by Dave Richards

Morton made his way into the 11-rider breakaway, which escaped early in the 85.1-mile (137-kilometer) stage. The steep slopes of Olympic Parkway at Utah Olympic Park are where Morton and Hayden McCormick (NZL) of Team BridgeLane launched their attack and blazed a trail to the finish line together.

“I’m not normally one to look at the finish, but I had a feeling. So five minutes before the start, I went and rode the last 300 meters,” Morton said about scoping out the uphill finish at Canyons Village at Park City Mountain. “The only chance to come around is in the last 50 (meters). Very perfect timing for me, which I’d love to say that I planned, but sometimes luck falls that way and you get the win.”

In a hard-fought sprint, McCormick took second place by a tire-width difference. The battle for third place was taken by Simone Velasco (NIPPO-Vini Fantini-Faizanè), who outmaneuvered the chase group which included Stage 4 winner and teammate Marco Canola and Evan Huffman (Rally UHC Cycling). Velasco crossed the line 18 seconds behind the winner.

“Today I wanted to try and get the KOM jersey, which was the main goal of the day. Obviously, I tried to win the stage. It was a good day, nice to redeem myself a little bit after yesterday,” said McCormick, who was leading Stage 4 in Salt Lake City on Friday and posted one lap early to fall four minutes behind the eventual winner. On Saturday, he claimed the Utah Office of Tourism King of the Mountain jersey.

Belgian Ben Hermans of Israel Cycling Academy retained his Larry H. Miller Group of Companies Leader’s yellow jersey by finishing safely in 16th place. With little change in the overall standings, Hermans holds a 46-second lead over James Piccoli (Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling), and a 1 minute, 10 second margin over Niklas Eg (Trek-Segafredo). Finishing in 14th place, João Almeida (Hagens Berman Axeon) moved up one spot in sixth overall and retained the WCF Insurance Best Young Rider jersey. Morton’s teammate and 2015 Tour of Utah champion Joe Dombrowski moved up from sixth to fifth in the G.C.

Stage 5 presented by University of Utah Health started and finished in Canyons Village at Park City Mountain. The breakaway escaped early from the 101-rider field and pushed the gap to over four minutes as they raced pass Rockport Reservoir. The move included Morton, Velasco, Canola, Huffman, Bernat Font Mas (303 Project), Matt Zimmer (DC Bank Pro Cycling Team), Michael Rice (Hagens Berman Axeon), Travis McCabe (Worthy Pro Cycling), and two Team BridgeLane riders, McCormick and Dylan Sunderland. The last rider to join the move, Sam Boardman (Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling) has to chase a 90-second deficit before connecting after the second KOM.

With McCormick the highest-placed rider on G.C. at 13 minutes and 59 seconds down, the Israel Cycling Academy was quite happy to let the break go up the road.

“I wasn’t feeling very good the first few days of this race,” Morton said. “But then last night, all of a sudden it just clicked and all of a sudden I was thinking I feel really good. So in the team meeting, [team director] Fabrizio said I could try for the breakaway so I just went with everything. We didn’t just roll away, we kept a really hard pace for 15 k[ilometers] or so, until they just gave up on us. We were left with 10. I just felt really good all day. When you get into breakaway situations, sometimes when you feel pretty good is when you make mistakes because you try to do too much. So I thought I’ll go one time on the hill, pick my moment, just get me to the top. I’m not super punchy but I can sustain a decent pace,.”

Having missed the move, Brendan Rhim (Arapahoe l Hincapie) gave chase but never made much headway before sitting up to rejoin the field.

With 20 kilometers to go, the gap was still holding at over four minutes but the cooperation stared to disintegrate. With 13 kilometers to go, Sunderland attacked the break and grew his gap to 20 sec in four kilometers. Behind him, no one was willing to give chase. Then, with 8 kilometers to go, Morton attacked on the left side of the road, riding in the dirt. McCormick, McCade and Canola jumped on his wheel. So Morton hit it again and this time, only McCormick was able to cover his acceleration.

“The BridgeLane guys played it really smart, and as I would expect from an Australian team, they’re always pretty cagey. So my only play was to try to get rid of one of them before the top, and just take one to the line. That’s how it played out,” added Morton.

Not long after, Morton with McCormick on his wheel caught and passed Sunderland. Behind them, after a look of looking at each other, Huffman started to give chase. He was joined by Velasco and Canola but the trio never closed the gap.

Meanwhile, under pressure by the Rally UHC Cycling team, the peloton shattered on the steep slopes of the final KOM. Kyle Murphy (Rally UHC Cycling) upped the pace with Piccoli and Hermans on his wheel. Then,Keegan Swirbul and his Worthy teammate Serghei Tvetcov followed Almeida attacked before cresting, looking to gain a few seconds in the G.C. which they did. Showing complete control, Hermans managed to get a few seconds on Piccoli and Eg.

McCormick is planning another day in the break to defend his KOM jersey, though he admits it will be difficult “It will be hard to be honest,” he said. “I have to loop at the points but it wouldn’t surprise me if Ben [Hermans] took it. I’ll try my best to keep and I’ll probably have to go in the breakaway.”

In his third day in a breakaway, McCabe collected top points in the two intermediate sprints and finished 10th on the stage to solidify his lead in the Utah Sports Commission Sprint jersey competition. Kevin Vermaerke (USA) of Hagens Berman Axeon was voted the America First Credit Union Fan Favorite, in the category of Most Promising Rookie.

Morton Wins the Sprint – Video by Bill Johnson:

Stage 6 presented by Utah Sports Commission brings back the overall finish to Park City on Sunday, Aug. 18. It is the 10th year Park City has served as a host city, and seventh time it will host the final stage of the Tour. The 78.2-mile (125.9-kilometer) route will pass through Kamas and Midway before the final attacks on the unrelenting asphalt of Empire Pass, encountering road pitches of 10 to 20 percent. The hors categorie (above category) summit of Empire Pass is the final KOM and the highest point of the race for the week, at 9,700 feet above sea level. A blistering descent down Marsac Avenue leads to the finish in front of historically massive crowds along Upper Main Street in Park City.

RESULTS AND STANDINGS

 Stage 5 presented by University of Utah Health- Top 10

1. MORTON Lachlan (AUS) EF EDUCATION FIRST 3:05:54
2. MCCORMICK Hayden (NZL) TEAM BRIDGELANE 3:05:54 +0:00:00
3. VELASCO Simone (ITA) NERI SOTTOLI SELLE ITALIA KTM 3:06:12 +0:00:18
4. CANOLA Marco (ITA) NIPPO-VINI FANTINI-FAIZANE’ 3:06:12 +0:00:18
5. HUFFMAN Evan (USA) RALLY UHC CYCLING 3:06:12 +0:00:18
6. SUNDERLAND Dylan (AUS) TEAM BRIDGELANE 3:06:20 +0:00:26
7. RICE Michael (AUS) HAGENS BERMAN AXEON 3:06:23 +0:00:29
8. BOARDMAN Samuel (USA) WILDLIFE GENERATION PRO CYCLING P/B MAXXIS 3:06:23 +0:00:29
9. ZIMMER Matthew (USA) DC BANK PRO CYCLING TEAM 3:06:25 +0:00:31
10. FONT MAS Bernat (ESP) 3O3 PROJECT 3:06:43 +0:00:49

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION (After Stage 5)

1. HERMANS Ben (BEL) ISRAEL CYCLING ACADEMY 15:34:34
2. PICCOLI James (CAN) ELEVATE-KHS PRO CYCLING 15:35:20 +0:00:46
3. EG Niklas (DEN) TREK-SEGAFREDO 15:35:44 +0:01:10
4. MURPHY Kyle (USA) RALLY UHC CYCLING 15:36:22 +0:01:48
5. DOMBROWSKI Joseph Lloyd (USA) EF EDUCATION FIRST 15:36:42 +0:02:08
6. ALMEIDA João (POR) HAGENS BERMAN AXEON 15:37:08 +0:02:34
7. STETINA Peter (USA) TREK-SEGAFREDO 15:37:21 +0:02:47
8. CRADDOCK Lawson (USA) EF EDUCATION FIRST 15:37:44 +0:03:10
9. BRITTON Robert (CAN) RALLY UHC CYCLING 15:38:27 +0:03:53
10. BADILATTI Matteo (SUI) ISRAEL CYCLING ACADEMY 15:38:49 +0:04:15

AWARD JERSEYS

• Larry H. Miller Group of Companies Overall leader – Ben Hermans (BEL) of Israel Cycling Academy
• Utah Sports Commission Sprint leader – Travis McCabe (USA) of Worthy Pro Cycling
• Utah Office of Tourism King of the Mountain – Hayden McCormick (NZL) of Team BridgeLane
• WCF Insurance Best Young Rider – João Almeida (POR) of Hagens Berman Axeon
• Larry H. Miller Dealerships Most Aggressive Rider – Lachlan Morton (AUS) of EF Education First
• America First Credit Union Fan Favorite – Kevin Vermaerke (USA) of Hagens Berman Axeon

FULL RESULTS
2019 Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah Stage 5 – Canyons Village at Park City Mountain – presented by University of Utah Healthcare

August 16, 2019 – Salt Lake City, Utah – Cycling West caught up with Tanner Putt (ARAPAHOE|HINCAPIE POWERED BY BMC) after stage 4 of the 2019 Tour of Utah.  The team placed third, and Tanner talks about his role for the day, while his fan club looked on.

By Lyne Lamoureux – SALT LAKE CITY (AUGUST 16, 2019) – Marco Canola of NIPPO-Vini Fantini-Faizanè surged to victory in a thrilling Stage 4 presented by America First Credit Union at the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah on Friday. 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.

“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 (Worthy 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 Utah Sports Commission Sprint leader jersey.

Photo Galleries:

• 2019 Tour of Utah Stage 4 Gallery by Dave Richards
• 2019 Tour of Utah Stage 4 Photo Essay by Cathy Fegan-Kim

Interview:

• Interview with Tanner Putt after Stage 4 of the 2019 Tour of Utah

“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.”

Video of the finishing sprint by Lisa Hazel:

“The goal of the race today for us was to have representation in the break, and then for me to sit back and sprint at the end,” said Rhim about his Arapahoe Hincapie powered by BMC team strategy. Two of his teammates are from Utah, TJ Eisenhart and Tanner Putt. “TJ (Eisenhart) got into the break. We had some good representation. He would have been a good guy if the break had made it. I sat back, waited, waited, waited and then sprinted with 300 meters to go. It was a good day.”

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

Huge crowds turned out along the 6.7-mile (10.8-kilometer) 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 kilometers) and a total of 4,460 feet of elevation gain.

Attacks started immediately from the start of the shortest stage of the week. Breakaways formed and re-formed with small groups off the front swelling to unmanageable sizes.

“The race has been pretty chaotic. I think that after Powder Mountain, everybody was expecting that the break would roll, and people would let it go but so far that’s not been the case. Everyone wants to be in the break and everyone’s willing to race for the break as long as it takes,” Rhim explained.

Time and time again, riders went off the front, establishing a small gap before re-absorbed and going on the attack once again.  By the end of the second lap, a massive group of 20 riders split off the front. The group included McCabe and his team mate Serghei Tvetcov, who took advantage of the situation to jump away and go for the sprint points at the end of the third lap.  Another chase and re-shuffle and the 16-rider break of the day was established. Joining McCabe and Tvetcov in the front group were Alex Hoehn (Aevolo), Efren Santos (Canel’s-Specialized), Eder Frayre (DC Bank Pro Cycling Team), Kevin Vermaerke (Hagens Berman Axeon), Jacopo Mosca (Trek-Segafredo), Umberto Marengo (Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM), TJ Eisenhart (Arapahoe Hincapie), Ty Magner (Rally UHC Cycling) , TonyBaca (303 Project), and Edwin Avila (Israel Cycling Academy). The move also included EF Education duo of Alex Howes and Jimmy Whelan, and Ulises Castilloand Stephen Bassett of Elevate – KHS Pro Cycling.

“The team plan was to have people in the break, preferably not me but it worked out that way,” McCabe explained. “It got established pretty quickly, everyone was working well together, and we had Serghei up there. It looked like a promising break, we thought that it would stick to the line. NIPPO-Vini Fantini wasn’t happy with it, brought it back to the point where Canola could bridge across.”

Behind NIPPO-Vini Fantini-Faizanè were all in for Canola. The whole team set the pace at the front of the field, keeping the gap at 1:20 halfway through the stage. With three laps to go, and the gap under the minute mark, all cooperation ceased in the breakaway. Vermaerke & Bassett attacked, Whelan countered and then Avila & Castillo took a flyer.

“The break was really hard to catch because there were many strong riders in front. But we stayed together, we know that were strong enough to bring it all back together on the last climb and then, in the last two laps, I had to try to go alone but really I felt really good today. I know that I had at full gas only on the last lap so I managed really good the race,” Canola said.

With two laps to go, Canola bridged up to the break where attacks continued to fly. On his wheel was Hayden McCormick (Team Bridgelane). Confused about laps, McCormick continued solo at the front, to put his hands up at one lap to go thinking he had won the race. The field came back together on the final lap.

Almeida & Fiorelli jumped from the decimated peloton with 7 kilometers with Tvetcov and Wolfe giving chase. Almeida was all in, head down but it was all back together at the bottom of the climb. Piccoli accelerated at the front with McCabe on his wheel and Canola sitting in fifth position.

“It was really hard the last kilometer, because we took the last kilometer, there was a team mate of Travis in front and he went so fast. I was thinking about no I cannot make it because it was too much and then at 400 meters to go, fortunately he slowed down so I could breathe,” Canola said.

With 200 meters to go, McCabe and Pablo Andrés Alarcon Cares (Canel’s Specialized) started their sprint.

Canola continued, “I pushed everything out [of my mind], when I saw my front wheel was the first one, I could understand that it could be my day. Until that moment I wasn’t thinking about the win, only to push hard and in the last 20 meters.”

Finishing in the main group, João Almeida (POR) of Hagens Berman Axeon remained in seventh overall and retained the WCF Insurance Best Young Rider jersey. Very dynamic in the breakaway, Hayden McCormick (NZL) of Team BridgeLane was awarded the Larry H. Miller Dealerships Most Aggressive Rider jersey. Bernat Font Mas (ESP) of 303 Project was voted the America First Credit Union Fan Favorite, in the category of Most Inspiring Comeback.

For the first time in race history, Canyons Village at Park City Mountain will host both the start and finish on Saturday, Aug. 17 forStage 5 presented by University of Utah Health. A winding trail across Summit County will take the race past Jordanelle and Rockport reservoirs for a total 85.1 miles (137 kilometers) and 5,236 feet of climbing. The route will twist around Kimball Junction for a possible General Classification shakeup in the final KOM through Utah Olympic Park.

RESULTS AND STANDINGS

Stage 4 presented by America First Credit Union – Top 10

1. CANOLA Marco (ITA) NIPPO-VINI FANTINI-FAIZANE’ 1:56:54
2. MCCABE Travis (USA) WORTHY PRO CYCLING 1:56:54
3. RHIM Brendan (USA) ARAPAHOE-HINCAPIE POWERED BY BMC 1:56:54
4. ALARCÓN CARES Pablo Andrés (CHI) CANEL’S – SPECIALIZED 1:56:54
5. BOIVIN Guillaume (CAN) ISRAEL CYCLING ACADEMY 1:56:54
6. STETINA Peter (USA) TREK-SEGAFREDO 1:56:54
7. PICCOLI James (CAN) ELEVATE-KHS PRO CYCLING 1:56:54
8. DOMBROWSKI Joseph Lloyd (USA) EF EDUCATION FIRST 1:56:54
9. HERMANS Ben (BEL) ISRAEL CYCLING ACADEMY 1:56:54
10. EASTER Griffin (USA) 3O3 PROJECT 1:56:54

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION (After Stage 4)

1. HERMANS Ben (BEL) ISRAEL CYCLING ACADEMY 12:27:18
2. PICCOLI James (CAN) ELEVATE-KHS PRO CYCLING 12:28:02 +0:00:44
3. EG Niklas (DEN) TREK-SEGAFREDO 12:28:24 +0:01:06
4. MURPHY Kyle (USA) RALLY UHC CYCLING 12:29:04 +0:01:46
5. STETINA Peter (USA) TREK-SEGAFREDO 12:29:20 +0:02:02
6. DOMBROWSKI Joseph Lloyd (USA) EF EDUCATION FIRST 12:29:22 +0:02:04
7. ALMEIDA João (POR) HAGENS BERMAN AXEON 12:30:06 +0:02:48
8. CRADDOCK Lawson (USA) EF EDUCATION FIRST 12:30:35 +0:03:17
9. BRITTON Robert (CAN) RALLY UHC CYCLING 12:30:40 +0:03:22
10. BADILATTI Matteo (SUI) ISRAEL CYCLING ACADEMY 12:31:12 +0:03:54

AWARD JERSEYS

• Larry H. Miller Group of Companies Overall leader – Ben Hermans (BEL) of Israel Cycling Academy
• Utah Sports Commission Sprint leader – Travis McCabe (USA) of Worthy Pro Cycling
• Utah Office of Tourism King of the Mountain – Alex Howes (USA) of EF Education First
• WCF Insurance Best Young Rider – João Almeida (POR) of Hagens Berman Axeon
• Larry H. Miller Dealerships Most Aggressive Rider – Hayden McCormick (NZL) of Team BridgeLane
• America First Credit Union Fan Favorite – Bernat Font Mas (ESP) of 303 Project

FULL RESULTS
2019 Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah Stage 4 – Salt Lake City Circuit – presented by America First Credit Union

Cycling West presents Dave Richards’ photo gallery of Stage 3 of the 2019 Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah. The stage traveled 85.9 miles with 5895 feet of climbing from Antelope Island to a first ever finish in North Salt Lake.

[Show as slideshow]

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By Lyne Lamoureux – NORTH SALT LAKE, Utah (August 15, 2019) – Using the final kilometer as a launch pad, Ben Hermans of Israel Cycling Academy accelerated away from his main competitors for a masterful solo victory on Stage 3 presented by BYUtv Thursday at the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah. The Belgian claimed his second stage victory in two days in a time of 3 hours and 20 seconds, and increased his overall lead in the seven-day event, known as “America’s Toughest Stage Race.”

Photo Galleries:

• 2019 Tour of Utah Stages 2 & 3 Gallery by Steven Sheffield
• 2019 Tour of Utah Photo Essay by Cathy Fegan-Kim
• 2019 Tour of Utah Stage 3 Gallery by Dave Richards

Biding his time on the tough 85.9-mile (138.3 kilometer) course, Hermans used the steep incline on the third and final finishing circuit in North Salt Lake to launch his attack. He quickly caught and passed the final two riders up the road, Kyle Murphy of Rally UHC Cycling and Lawson Craddock of EF Education First, to continue alone to the finish line.

“Our team was under pressure, but we never lost control of the race. Our team was really strong and I didn’t have to do much until the last kilometer. On the last kilometer, I made a good attack for 30 seconds and I could make a gap. This was enough for a stage win,” Hermans said. “I only was thinking about the win in the last kilometer. (In) the last two kilometers, I saw that all the guys were pretty empty and I still had really powerful legs.”

Murphy held on for second place, crossing the line seven seconds back. Niklas Eg of Trek-Segafredo was third, eight seconds behind Hermans.

“I wanted to win so bad, but Hermans is just a machine. I’m happy,” said Murphy, who was awarded the Larry H. Miller Dealerships Most Aggressive Rider jersey for his efforts.

The fourth day of racing provided bright sunshine with unrelenting high temperatures and 5,895 feet of elevation gain. Stage 3 presented by BYUtv started at Antelope Island State Park, which sits on the largest island in the Great Salt Lake. Fast and furious racing marked the first half of the race with non-stop attacking. No group was able to establish a gap more than 15 seconds before being reeled back in by the field. Then an hour into the race, a massive group of 20 riders managed to escape and quickly grew their gap to 40 seconds. Immediately, Israel Cycling Academy massed at the front of the field to control the move.

“You always have to think that if you are in this situation, in a front group with 20 riders, what would happen? I was many times there with 20 riders and nobody wants to pull. Everybody is looking at each other so you know that they’re going to slow down. If we just chase, they’re going to come back,” Hermans said. “And suddenly we got help from the team of Piccoli because they wanted bonus seconds for the win. From this moment, I knew that it was easier to control. For sure, my team mates had to do a lot of work there, it’s not easy to chase a group of 20.”

With the help of Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling, the dangerous was re-absorbed five miles later. Counter-attacks flew off the front immediately led by the Rally UHC Cycling team. Finally at the halfway mark, the break was established. The move included Alex Howes (EF Education First), Lorenzo Fortunato (Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM), Nigel Ellsay (Rally UHC Cycling), Travis McCabe (Worthy Pro Cycling) and Marco Canola (NIPPO-Vini Fantini-Faizanè). A few miles later, Hayden McCormick (Team BridgeLane) bridged across to make it six riders up the road

Happy with the combination, Israel Cycling Academy settled in at the front of the field and let the break go. The gap went up to two minutes with 32 miles to go bringing Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling back to the front. Hermans and his team were happy to let them do the hard work of setting tempo.

The gap hovered around the two minute mark as the break entered the first of three very difficult finishing circuits. Every time around the circuit which included the punishing Eagle Ridge climb, the high pace set by Piccoli and his team dispatched more riders off the back. Hermans was happy to sit on Piccoli’s wheel and watch.

Inside of 15 kilometers to go, the gap to the break was down to 25 seconds. Craddock made the first decisive attack from the shattered peloton, bringing Murphy with him. Not long after, the pair caught the three remaining riders in the break.

Piccoli set a fast pace the final time up Eagle Ridge climb but was not able to drop Hermans. It was Hermans who launched the final attack to drop his closest challenger in the General Classification, James Piccoli (CAN) of Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling, then catch and pass Craddock and Murphy for the win.

“I didn’t know this rider before but from my teammates I heard that he is very punchy, explosive so when he went and the first minute he could not drop me, I was pretty confident that he couldn’t drop me afterwards,” Hermans said of Piccoli’s acceleration. “So in the second part of the climb, I just waited my moment and I attacked him to gap him again and to get a little bit more advantage in the general classification.”

How hard was today’s stage? “Hard, hot, fast, disgusting, steep,” Murphy replied. “We rode awesome. Everyone was all over this bike race. We had Nigel in the break. Gavin [Mannion] crashed and he was still an MVP teammate. We had ice and water when no one else did. We rocked it”

Hermans increased his lead in the General Classification (G.C.) to 44 seconds over Piccoli, and 1 minute and 6 seconds on Eg. Murphy moved up two spots to fourth overall, 1 minute and 46 seconds down. Finishing 10th on the stage, João Almeida (POR) of Hagens Berman Axeon, remained in seventh overall, and retained the WCF Insurance Best Young Rider jersey.

“It’s not in the pocket, there are three stages to go. You can always have bad luck or a bad moment,” Hermans stated. “For the moment, it looks really good. I never underestimate my contenders. I will still have to look at Piccoli.”

Howes chased and captured all three KOM of the day to claim the Utah Office of Tourism King of the Mountain jersey.

“It was pretty flat the first part of the stage. It was super fast. We were coming off the island just ripping along. You could tell that a lot of people wanted to be in the breakaway,” said Howes, who was wearing the Stars-and-Stripes jersey for the first time this summer as U.S. Pro Road Race National Champion. “Our team in particular, we wanted to put a little bit of pressure on Israel Cycling Academy and make sure that Ben was really up to snuff to hold the jersey, and he certainly seems to be.”

Finishing sixth on the stage, Craddock claimed the Utah Sports Commission Sprint leader jersey. The American was hunting for his first pro stage win, and his team is trying to get him to the top of the podium.

“We’re really trying to get that here,” Craddock’s team mate Howes explained. “We tried hard the first stage, we tried today. But we’ve been knocking on that door, he’s been second, he’s been fifth. First is right around the corner, we’re just looking for the corner.”

A four-time stage winner in Utah, Travis McCabe (USA) of Worthy Pro Cycling, was voted the America First Credit Union Fan Favorite in the Best Sprinter category.

Stage 4 presented by America First Credit Union returns to downtown Salt Lake City for the 12th time in Tour history on Friday. The traditional circuit course is back for a third time with the start/finish line on East Capitol Boulevard next to the Utah State Capitol. The peloton will make eight circuits on Friday, beginning at 5:55 p.m. MT.

RESULTS AND STANDINGS

 Stage 3 p/b BYUtv – Top 10

1. HERMANS Ben (BEL) ISRAEL CYCLING ACADEMY 3:20:27
2. MURPHY Kyle (USA) RALLY UHC CYCLING 3:20:34 +0:00:07
3. EG Niklas (DEN) TREK-SEGAFREDO 3:20:35 +0:00:08
4. SWIRBUL Keegan (USA) WORTHY PRO CYCLING 3:20:35 +0:00:08
5. PICCOLI James (CAN) ELEVATE-KHS PRO CYCLING 3:20:35 +0:00:08
6. CRADDOCK Lawson (USA) EF EDUCATION FIRST 3:20:38 +0:00:11
7. DOMBROWSKI Joseph Lloyd (USA) EF EDUCATION FIRST 3:20:48 +0:00:21
8. BADILATTI Matteo (SUI) ISRAEL CYCLING ACADEMY 3:21:03 +0:00:36
9. BOWDEN Scott (AUS) TEAM BRIDGELANE 3:21:03 +0:00:08
10. ALMEIDA João (POR) HAGENS BERMAN AXEON 3:21:09 +0:00:42

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION (After Stage 3)

1. HERMANS Ben (BEL) ISRAEL CYCLING ACADEMY 10:30:24
2. PICCOLI James (CAN) ELEVATE-KHS PRO CYCLING 10:31:08 +0:00:44
3. EG Niklas (DEN) TREK-SEGAFREDO 10:31:30 +0:01:06
4. MURPHY Kyle (USA) RALLY UHC CYCLING 10:32:10 +0:01:46
5. STETINA Peter (USA) TREK-SEGAFREDO 10:32:26 +0:02:02
6. DOMBROWSKI Joseph Lloyd (USA) EF EDUCATION FIRST 10:32:28 +0:02:04
7. ALMEIDA João (POR) HAGENS BERMAN AXEON 10:33:02 +0:02:38
8. BRITTON Robert (CAN) RALLY UHC CYCLING 10:33:36 +0:03:12
9. CRADDOCK Lawson (USA) EF EDUCATION FIRST 10:33:41 +0:03:17
10. BADILATTI Matteo (SUI) ISRAEL CYCLING ACADEMY 10:34:08 +0:03:44

AWARD JERSEYS

• Larry H. Miller Group of Companies Overall leader – Ben Hermans (BEL) of Israel Cycling Academy
• Utah Sports Commission Sprint leader – Lawson Craddock (USA), EF Education First
• Utah Office of Tourism King of the Mountain- Alex Howes (USA), EF Education First
• WCF Insurance Best Young Rider – João Almeida (POR) of Hagens Berman Axeon
• Larry H. Miller Dealerships Most Aggressive Rider – Kyle Murphy (USA), Rally UHC Cycling
• America First Credit Union Fan Favorite – Travis McCabe (USA), Worthy Pro Cycling

2019 Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah Stage 3 – Antelope Island to North Salt Lake – presented by BYU TV & BYU Radio

By Lyne Lamoureux – POWDER MOUNTAIN, Utah (August 14, 2019) – Belgian Ben Hermans of Israel Cycling Academy powered away from an elite group of riders to win Stage 2 presented by Monster Hydro on Wednesday at the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah. Hermans, who finished second overall in 2018, soloed to victory on the final epic climb to Powder Mountain Resort in a time of 3 hours and 37 minutes. The stage win put him in the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies Overall Leader’s jersey.

Photo Galleries

• 2019 Tour of Utah Stage 2 Gallery by Dave Richards
• 2019 Tour of Utah Stage 2 Gallery by Cathy Fegan-Kim

“I knew I had to be in really good shape on this climb. You can make a lot of time, you can lose a lot of time, on this climb. I hoped for the best legs. I had really good feeling on the climb, so I’m happy I was able to take the win,” said Hermans, who finished second on the Powder Mountain stage in 2014.

Hermans dropped Canadian James Piccoli of Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling with four kilometers to go from the 8,900-foot summit after the pair had caught Peter Stetina (Trek-Segafredo). Piccoli, winner of the Prologue presented by Zions Bank, crossed the line 20 seconds behind Hermans. Trek-Segafredo’s Niklas Eg finished third on the stage, 35 seconds down.

“Peter Stetina attacked quite hard and I knew that I had to set my tempo and look at the other guys. I kept my tempo until five or four K (kilometers) to go. From there, I knew that the chance was big that I could win the stage. It was still hard to get to the finish,” Hermans added.

Stetina attacked the dwindling peloton on the bottom slope of one of the steepest roads in Utah to take a 20-second lead on Eg, Piccoli, Hermans and 2015 Tour of Utah overall winner Joe Dombrowski (EF Education First). Hermans and Piccoli took up the chase to catch and drop the lone American off the front on a bid for glory. Stetina held on for fourth place.

“Today we had an extra bit of motivation,” said Piccoli who lost the leader’s jersey after Stage 1. He was penalized 20 seconds for drafting after suffering a mechanical, dropping him in the standings. “We had come to see this climb, Powder Mountain, we knew how tough it was and we knew that we could make up a lot of time today. Despite the penalty yesterday, I think we showed that we’re ready to fight for the rest of the week.”

“I always want to do the best I can here. I think there is lots to play for, and the team is going to do everything we can to continue fighting and to race strong,” continued Piccoli who was awarded the Larry H. Miller Dealerships Most Aggressive Rider jersey.

The third day of racing at the Tour of Utah included 7,316 feet of climbing and shook up the overall standings. Hermans surged from 10th place to first place with a 26-second lead on Piccoli. Eg moved to third place, 52 seconds down with his teammate Stetina in fourth place. Dombrowski, who finished fifth on the stage, is now in fifth place overall. Rally Cycling’s Kyle Murphy (USA) dropped two spots to sixth place, while his teammate Rob Britton (CAN) moved up four spots to eighth place. João Almeida (POR) is now seventh overall and remains in the WCF Insurance Best Young Rider jersey.

“It’s difficult to compare the last two years,” said Hermans when asked to compare his current form to 2018 race. “Last year, Sepp Kuss was really strong. I don’t know if I could have beat him this year if he would have been here in shape. But of course, my form is good this year. I’m leading this race now and I’ll try to keep the jersey.”

Eg identified Stage 5 and Stage 6 as upcoming opportunities for his team. “I think tomorrow is also going to be a really hard day. I think it will be hard racing throughout the week every day.”

Lawson Craddock (USA) of EF Education First, who wore the leader’s jersey after Stage 1, dropped to ninth on G.C., 2 minutes and 56 seconds off the lead. Serghei Tvetcov (ROM) of Worthy Pro Cycling dropped from second place to 23rd overall.

The 84.4-mile (135.8-kilometer) stage began in Brigham City. After 25 miles of dynamic racing, including the first intermediate sprint in Brigham City, the six-rider breakaway was established. The break of the day included Mexican champion Ignacio Prado (Canel’s-Specialized), Travis Samuel (DC Bank Pro Cycling Team), Austin Stephens (303 Project) and Dauner | AKKON duo of Mika Heming and Christopher Heider. U.S. Collegiate Varsity Road Race champion Cade Bickmore (Aevolo) spent almost 25 miles in no man’s land trying to bridge up to the break before sitting up to rejoin the field.

Behind them, the field was quite happy with the combination of riders and teams up the road, allowing the gap to grow to 2 minutes.

Prado and Samuel battled it out for the second intermediate sprint in North Ogden and the North Ogden Divide KOM with Prado taking top points in both. Finally, with less than 50 miles to go, team EF Education First with yellow jersey Craddock came to the front of the field to control the pace. US road champion Alex Howes flew the Stars & Stripes jersey at the front of the peloton for the next 25 miles or so.

The gap was over three minutes by the time the break contested the third intermediate sprint. Once again, Prado took top points ahead of Heider and Samuel.

The pace accelerated in both the break and peloton with 22 miles to go. Under Prado’s impetus, Quirby then Stephens dropped out of the break while Howes had the field strung out behind him. The gap was down to 1:30 at the 20 kilometer marker.

Not long after, the gap fell below the one minute mark, and only Heming and Samuel were left in the front group. The two continuously attacked each other for the next two miles, vying for the Most Aggressive jersey, before being reeled in. They paid dearly for their efforts, however, as both Samuel and Heming finished outside of the time limit. Prado was also another rider that was time cut.

The field was all back together at the bottom of the brutal 8.6-mile climb with gradients rising to 16 percent to the summit of Powder Mountain. Teams were lining up at the front to keep their G.C. contenders in position for the tough finish. With 7 miles to go, Oscar Sanchez of Canel’s-Specialized attacked but was not able to stay away while riders were dropping like flies at the back.

With five miles to go, the field was done to 20 riders with Almeida suffering at the back and Tvetcov popped at the back. The showdown was approaching. Stetina made his move and Dombrowski was the first to respond. Hermans, Eg, Piccoli jumped on while Murphy was trying to claw his way back up to the group.

Stetina grew his gap to 20 seconds bringing Piccoli to the front of the chase group with Hermans on his wheel, Eg staying close and dropping Dombrowski. Piccoli and Hermans caught and quickly came around Stetina with 5 kilometers to go. Riding within himself, Eg was keeping a steady pace not far behind. With 3 kilometer to go, Hermans went solo, leaving Piccoli to chase behind him. Eg caught and passed Stetina on his way to third.

“I think the whole team did a really good job today. The guys protected Pete and I the whole way in to the climb. He launched in the climb, actually I thought he would go to the finish line but it was a little bit too long,” Eg said of Stetina’s attack. “But now, we’ve got cards to play on the G.C. And the next few days will be interesting for sure.”

In addition to the leader’s jersey, Hermans also claimed the Utah Office of Tourism King of the Mountain jersey. Stage 1 winner Umberto Marengo (ITA) of Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM retained the Utah Sports Commission Sprint jersey. Dombrowski was voted the America First Credit Union Fan Favorite jersey in the Best Climber category.

Stage 3 on Thursday, Aug. 15 begins for a fourth time at Antelope Island State Park. Most of the 5,895 feet of climbing on this 85.9-mile (138.3-kilometer) stage will be collected when the route skirts the Wasatch Mountains south of Layton, with three Category 3 climbs in the final 29 miles. Following a punchy KOM up the Bountiful Bench, the route follows a new southbound stretch of Bountiful Boulevard for finishing circuits in first-time host city North Salt Lake.

RESULTS AND STANDINGS

 Stage 2 presented by Monster Hydro – Top 10

1. HERMANS Ben (BEL) ISRAEL CYCLING ACADEMY 3:37:44
2. PICCOLI James (CAN) ELEVATE-KHS PRO CYCLING 3:38:04 +0:00:20
3. EG Niklas (DEN) TREK-SEGAFREDO 3:38:19 +0:00:35
4. STETINA Peter (USA) TREK-SEGAFREDO 3:38:42 +0:00:58
5. DOMBROWSKI Joseph Lloyd (USA) EF EDUCATION FIRST 3:39:10 +0:01:26
6. MURPHY Kyle (USA) RALLY UHC CYCLING 3:39:15 +0:01:31
7. BRITTON Robert (CAN) RALLY UHC CYCLING 3:39:20 +0:01:36
8. ALMEIDA João (POR) HAGENS BERMAN AXEON 3:39:38 +0:01:54
9. BADILATTI Matteo (SUI) ISRAEL CYCLING ACADEMY 3:40:21 +0:02:37
10. BOWDEN Scott (AUS) TEAM BRIDGELANE 3:40:36 +0:02:52

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION (After Stage 2)

1. HERMANS Ben (BEL) ISRAEL CYCLING ACADEMY 7:10:07
2. PICCOLI James (CAN) ELEVATE-KHS PRO CYCLING 7:10:33 +0:00:26
3. EG Niklas (DEN) TREK-SEGAFREDO 7:10:59 +0:00:52
4. STETINA Peter (USA) TREK-SEGAFREDO 7:11:17 +0:01:10
5. DOMBROWSKI Joseph Lloyd (USA) EF EDUCATION FIRST 7:11:40 +0:01:33
6. MURPHY Kyle (USA) RALLY UHC CYCLING 7:11:42 +0:01:35
7. ALMEIDA João (POR) HAGENS BERMAN AXEON 7:11:53 +0:01:46
8. BRITTON Robert (CAN) RALLY UHC CYCLING 7:11:54 +0:01:47
9. CRADDOCK Lawson (USA) EF EDUCATION FIRST 7:13:03 +0:02:56
10. BADILATTI Matteo (SUI) ISRAEL CYCLING ACADEMY 7:13:05 +0:02:58

AWARD JERSEYS

• Larry H. Miller Group of Companies Overall leader – Ben Hermans (BEL) of Israel Cycling Academy
• Utah Sports Commission Sprint leader -Umberto Marengo (ITA), Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM
• Utah Office of Tourism King of the Mountain- Ben Hermans (BEL) of Israel Cycling Academy
• WCF Insurance Best Young Rider – João Almeida (POR) of Hagens Berman Axeon
• Larry H. Miller Dealerships Most Aggressive Rider -James Piccoli (CAN), Elevate – KHS Pro Cycling
• America First Credit Union Fan Favorite -Joe Dombrowski (USA), EF Education First

2019 Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah Stage 2 – Brigham City to Powder Mountain – presented by Monster Hydro