It was a fantastic win, however nobody was there to witness it as
the American fans had boycotted the rest of the race after
a Frenchman, Romain Feillu, won the 1st stage.

Even the news reporters were deeming it as the 1st attack by the on soil.
A little far-fetched, but I guess they do have to sell the news nowadays.

But, back to me. I'm now in yellow, so will the fans come back to support me
or will they stay away and continue to shun me for using PEDs?

There is only one way to find out...

Here is the conclusion of the Tour of Utah.

--- *** --- *** --- *** ---



If I stay alert then this short 55km stage shouldn't matter in terms of GC.



I line up at the start line, I can see a few fans. That's cool.
But, as we got to the final lap around Salt Lake City...



The whole city was out on the street cheering me on! This is incredible!
Never underestimate what nationalistic pride can do during war time.
I'm going to take it they have forgiven me for my past mistake?

Probably not completely, but I'll take it because I have never
had this many people cheering me on before.



My team wasn't strong enough to pull back the morning breakaway,
but I didn't loss any time to my GC rivals so no harm done.

The Queen stage is up tomorrow, hopefully the fan support remains the same.

I need to be at my best to have any chance of holding off Joseph Dombrowski.



My team has to be strong as well, and they are. We pick up the breakaway
as we power up the cat. 1 climb before the real climb to the finish.



But, I'm not going to wait until then. I have trained my downhill ability so much
and now it's time to prove I'm the best complete stage racer in the USA.

Come and get me Dombrowski!



Here he comes...



As we reach the downhill it's a lead group of 4.
Dombrowski, Mandri, Warbasse, and me.



I had the numbers on my side but Warbasse is gassed and drops off.
Wait, why I'm I wasting my energy leading this fools?



That's better. Dombromski needs 5+ minutes for yellow, Madri only needs 2'30".
Game on!



Joe doesn't mess around and quickly puts in a hard attack.



I'm struggling. Not sure if it's good thing that a devil is yelling at me to go faster.



Dombromski is just too good. Mandri is right behind him for 2nd. Start the clock.



Tick, tick, tick... I stop the clock at 1'13". Great! I keep yellow easily.
One more stage to go and it isn't going to get any easier.

I have a 1'30" lead over 2nd place Mandri and about 4 minutes on Dombrowski.
Trying to stop me from winning my 2nd stage race of the season is
the Park City climb and a dangerous downhill leading into the finish.



The team didn't even bother putting effort in the chasing the breakaway.



We were more concerned about dominating the pace on the final climb.



What is this!?! Domb and Mandri can't keep up.



5kms from the top. Warbasse is firing on all cylinders. I look back and
see the Mandri struggling so I tell Larry to leave me and go for the stage win.
He worked so hard for me all tour it's the least I could do for him.

See Craddock, teammates can all get along if you play nice.



I just wish somebody would have told me over the race radio how
far the breakaway was actually ahead of the race.
The cameras even missed them crossing over the line.



Warbasse comes home for 9th. 8 minutes behind the winner.



Oh well. It doesn't matter because Mandri and Dombrowski couldn't catch me!

I have won the 2017 Tour of Utah!!!!!!!!

As you would expect I had to take a drug test right after I got off my bike.

No doubt about the EXP points, but my form is rapidly dropping.

After I'm done signing autographs and taking selfies with my "fans"
I'm off to Colorado for my final race of the season.

The next race report will include Stages 1-3 of USA Pro Cycling Challenge:

EXP - Mountain (x2), Downhill / Form - Downhill, Prologue

Oh whoops, I just forget to type your downhill point... Trying to multi-task.

#TheGooseIsLoose and this:

On my "who to follow" bar is Zooey Deschanel and Max Greenfield... :o How did that get there? :p

— Mre (@Mresuperstar) March 19, 2014

One final picture... ... ... Glad that's finally over with.
I got on my bike and starting riding back to the team bus,
but before I couldn't get there and relax I was stopped once again.

This time by an old acquaintance.

"What are you doing in Utah?" He responded, "I wanted your autograph."

Funny guy. His sarcasm always had a way of catching me off guard.

"Seriously, though. Why? I haven't seen you since the funeral."

"I was driving through and thought I should stop by.
I got a gift for you and it's taking up space in my hauler."



Paul went into the back of his semi-truck and pulled out a Schwinn bicycle.
It looked very familiar but it was brand new. I looked at him and ask.

"What's that?"

"What do you mean, it's your grandfather's Schwinn. I had it refurbished."

"But I auctioned that off to some stranger. How did you get back?"

"That stranger was a fellow truck driver I got to buy it for me.
I know you wanted to get rid of it and continue on your journey and
I didn't want to interfere with that, especially right after your dad passed.

But, this bicycle is part of your family history and it truly belongs with you.
So, can you please take it back and promise not to get rid of it again?"



I couldn't say no to that. As much as I hate to admit it,
perhaps the Schwinn is more valuable than it's extravagant monetary worth.

It took my dad (through the help of Paul) over a decade to help me accept that.
I fought this notion even after my dad passed away and it finally clicked.
Some things are more valuable than cold hard cash...

This Schwinn isn't just a bike, it's a piece of history. It's our family heirloom.



When I first met Paul, I thought he had a half a brain. I mean,
he picked me up on the side of the road and drove me from Kansas to California.

But, as it turns out, he (and my dad) were watching over me the entire time.
Protecting me and the family history. A scarecrow watching over it's cornfield.