USA Pro Cycling Challenge Update: Tejay Wins!

Yesterday the USA Pro Cycling Challenge wrapped up in Denver, Colorado on a flat and fast stage that favored the sprinters. It was a fitting way to end the seven day event that continues to improve every year and grow in prominence on the cycling calendar. As usual, the race offered plenty of climbing and altitude for the riders to contend with, but the course was set-up this year to let the sprinters shine as well and one man certainly took good advantage of those opportunities.

As we suspected on Friday, it was going to be tough to catch Tejay van Garderen, who held a 30 second lead over his closest rivals. Saturday and Sunday's stages were not conducive for others to try to make up that time so it seemed a foregone conclusion that he would head for the finish line with the Yellow Jersey on his back. That proved to be accurate and van Garderen went home as the winner. Second place went to his BMC teammate Mathias Frank while Tom Danielson of Garmin-Sharp locked down third place.

In the race for the other jerseys, it was Peter Sagan of Cannondale who proved to be too tough to beat in the points competition. The sprinter walked away with a victory on four of the seven stages, including yesterday's final ride through Denver. The award for the best young rider in the race when to Garmin-Sharp's Lachlan Morton and the King of the Mountain jersey was awarded to American Matt Cooke riding on Team Jamis-Hagens Berman Presented by Sutter Home (how's that for a mouthful?).

That wraps up another great race for this three-year old event that has become a popular one with riders. Each year, the USA Pro Cycling Challenge continues to draw some of the best riders in the world and the future for the event seems bright. Lets hope the race is around for a long time to come.

USA Pro Cycling Challenge Update: Tejay Leads Heading Into The Weekend

As I mentioned a few days ago, the USA Pro Cycling Challenge is underway in Colorado where some of the best bike riders in the world are squaring off on a course that offers plenty of climbing at altitude. It has been a solid week of riding already, but yesterday's stage was one that put the real contenders out front and ready to duel for the win.

Heading into the weekend there is a familiar name at the top of the leaderboard as American Tejay van Garderen holds a 4 second lead over his teammate on Team BMC Mathias Frank. In third place sits Janier Alexis Acevedo Calle, 30 seconds of the pace, while Tom Danielson and Lachlan Morton, both of Garmin-Sharp are further back in 4th and 5th place respectively.

Tejay has been riding well this week and he looked very strong and confidant on yesterday's leg during which he took over the Yellow Jersey. It'll be tough to beat him as the riders turn towards Denver, which will host the final leg of the race on Sunday. That one is designed for the sprinters to take center stage, which means if anyone is going to crack van Garderen, they had better do it today or tomorrow.

Today's stage is a short one. It a 16 km (10 mile) time trial that is tougher than it sounds. The first half of the ride will be fairly flat and fast, while the second half is all uphill. In fact, it climbs about 516 meters (1694 ft) in the last 8 km (5 miles). Considering the fact that Tejay is viewed as the best time trialist amongst the top contenders and he's a strong climber, he shouldn't give up much ground today.


That leaves Saturdays 185 km (115 mile) stage 6 between Loveland and Fort Collins as the place for someone to make a move. It features plenty of climbing (more than 3657 meters/12,000 ft) but potential headwinds could make the riders feel the pain even more than those numbers indicate. It also happens to be a down-hill finish, which would allow any potential contenders to be easily swept up. In short, it's tough to see anyone catching van Garderen as this point, but it isn't over until it's over.

In the race for the other jerseys, Cannonadale's Peter Sagan is the current leader in the Sprint category while Matt Cooke is the King of the Mountain and Morton is the Best Young Rider. Whether or not any of them will be able to hold on to those honors will also be learned this weekend.

It has been another exciting race this far. Great to know that the event continues to get great crowds lining the roads and plenty of fans following along at home. Lets hope this race stays healthy for years to come.

USA Pro Cycling Challenge Underway

No, I haven't forgotten that the USA Pro Cycling Challenge is currently going on in Colorado, it has just been a busy week at Adventure Blog world headquarters and I haven't had a chance to really mention the race yet. It has been a spirited couple of days to say the least with the riders battling each other out on the course while struggling to adapt to the altitude, which is a hallmark of the event, which has become the premiere bike race in North America.

Heading into today's third stage Lachlan Morton of Team Garmin-Sharp is the current leader. He holds down a two second lead over Mathias Frank of BMC and an 11 second lead over Peter Sagan of Cannondale. Sagan sprinted to a victory in Stage 1 while Frank rode to a solo victory in yesterday's second stage.

The third stage of the race will take place today with a 170 km (105 mile) ride from Breckenridge to Steamboat Sprigs. It features a long tough climb up Rabbit Ears Pass but it will mostly be a fast and furious down hill affair with the sprint teams looking for a victory at the end of the day. This is one of the few stages that actually drops in elevation as the riders go on.

Morton isn't just in the Yellow Jersey of the overall leader but he is currently at the top of the Best Young Rider category as well. Sagan leads the points category that traditionally goes to the top sprinter, while the King of the Mountain Jersey is currently on the back of American Matt Cooke who rides for Team Jamis/Hagens Berman presented by Sutter Home (How's that for a mouthful?). Team BMC leads the way in the team competition.

There are five more stages to go, including today's Stage 3. The race will wrap up on Sunday with a fast 116 km (72  mile) flat finale on the streets of Denver that will favor the sprinters.

Americans Sweep Podium At USA Pro Cycling Challenge

American riders once again claimed the top three positions at the USA Pro Cycling Challenge which concluded yesterday with a short time trial on the streets of Denver, Colorado. The seventh, and final stage, capped a week of racing through the Rocky Mountains on a course that featured 50,000 feet of climbing and plenty of altitude.

The first place finisher was Christian Vande Velde of Team Garmin-Sharp-Baracuda. He finished 21 seconds ahead of Tejay Van Garderen of Team BMC Racing and 24 seconds in front of defending champ Levi Leipheimer of Omega-Pharma-Quickstep.

The 863-mile long race was a fast and furious one all week long with daring breakaways and tough showdowns on Colorado's mountain slopes. Throughout the week Vande Velde and Van Garderen challenged one another for the lead with virtually no difference in their times. Yesterday Vande Velde managed to finish the 9.5 mile (15.2km) time trial ahead of Van Garderen, giving him the victory on the final day.

It seems it was another successful year for the fledgling race, which got off to a great start in 2011 and was viewed as an excellent event again this year. Hopefully the future is bright for this race, which has attracted some great riders from all over the world.

Congrats to Vande Velde on a well deserved win.

Americans Share Lead In USA Pro Cycling Challenge

It has been an eventful week on the roads of Colorado where the USA Pro Cycling has been a fast and furious affair thus far. After three stages, the top of the leaderboard is dominated by American riders, while 25 cyclists sit less than one minute off the lead.

The race got off to a good start on Monday with a long 126-mile leg. That stage was won by Tyler Farrar of Team Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda, who was happy to ride well following a crash-prone outing in the Tour de France last month. Tuesday's Stage 2 went to Tejay Van Garderen of BMC Racing while yesterday's win went to Tom Danielson, also of Garmin-Sharp. That means during all three days of racing, American riders have crossed the finish line in front.

The overall standings have Christian Vandevelde and Garderen in a virtual tie atop the leaderboard with Ivan Rovny of RusVelo. RusVelo is a new Russian squad that was created last year and are starting to show some promise out on the road. Defending champ Levi Leiphimer, who now rides for Omega Pharma-Quick-Step is sitting in fourth place just eight seconds off the lead.

Today's Stage 4 is a 97.2-mile ride (156.4km) ride from beautiful Aspen to Beaver Creek that includes a climb as high as 12,095 feet (3686 meters) on Independence Pass early on in the race. Over the first three days the pace has been fast, despite plenty of climbing and altitude, and today is likely to be no different. Considering how many riders are within striking distance of the lead, the race remains a wide open affair that will probably be decided in the individual time trial scheduled for Sunday in Denver.

I'm glad to see the race is living up to the legacy that was set down last year. The course is tough, but still allows riders to be aggressive and it remains very competitive as we head into the second half. I'm sure that a number of the American riders are hoping to once again take the win on home soil but we'll have to wait to see how it all plays out.

USA Pro Cycling Challenge Set To Begin Today

The second edition of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge will get underway today in Durango, Colorado where some of the top rider in the world will embark on what is becoming America's premiere cycling event. The race will last all week long, culminating with an individual time trial on the streets of Denver next Sunday.

After just one year, the race has already earned itself a reputation for being amongst the tougher short events on the cycling circuit. Riding in Colorado will always present challenges of course, particularly with the higher altitudes – much of the race takes place above 10,000 feet (3048 meters) – and loads of climbing. This year's course is 683 miles in length and features more than 50,000 feet of vertical gain.

The peloton features plenty of big names once again this year. 2011 Tour de France winner Cadel Evans returns once again, as does defending champ Levi Leipheimer. Evan's teammate Tejay Van Garderen, who is coming off a strong showing at last month's Tour, will also be riding, as will Vincenzo Ibali, George Hincapie, Taylor Phinney and a host of others.

Today's opening stage runs from Durango to Telluride and covers some 126 miles. The Riders will face a tough climb above 10,000 feet on Lizard Head Pass before making a screaming descent toward the finish line down the other side.

Look for regular update on the race throughout the week. It looks like it should be another great week for cycling in the U.S.