Back again to the testers as the Tour of Utah uses the Millar Motorsport track to see who is the fastest against the clock.
It is the kindest of weather as we have experienced all race the late in the year race date has seen the riders experience an early winter in the Mormon State.
There is really two races on show today, one for the stage and expect the usual time trialling suspects to come to the fore. There is also the race for the overall and afters yesterdays rather strange stalemate several riders will feel they have a shot at the overall. Just a reminder here are the standings:
Early on though it is those pure time testers on show as Algirdas Mockus
sets the early standard with a time of 20.26 over the 14km circuit.
There are no intermediate checks out there on what is a really bleak day as Europeans dominate the early going. Lukasz Bodnar
had a good performance on the first day but cannot overhaul Mockas setting a time of 20.30
However Thom Van Dulmen
is on top form eclipsing Mockas by five seconds.
His new best time of 20.21 is going to really test Australian Shaun Higgerson. Two other riders go close before he gets going in Stephen Gallagher
and Aleksandr Arekejev
They set 20.27 and 20.24 and look set for strong top ten finishes today. Here comes Shaun Higgerson
though.
He blazes through the finish line with 20.11 a full ten seconds quicker than Van Dulman. Dyson’s star man looks in great shape in the run up to that time trial in Canada just a few days after this.
Sort of riding in his slipstream is Frederik Wilman
who sets a time of 20.25 which is only behind Higgerson, Van Dulman and Arekejev.
That sort of wraps up the stage, but none of the listed riders so far are GC contenders having lost touch on Mount Nebo yesterday.
Towards the end of the climb a group of riders who would have counted themselves as GC contenders managed to get gapped as the final kilometre sprint got going. It was a tough day for UPC, who really have been freewheeling towards the end of this season.
Remmert Wielinga
produces a good ride today of 20.34.
His teammate Isidro Nozal
gets a time of 20.34 as well. Both will move up into the top ten on GC as a result.
It’s a good rider for Franklin Chacon
as well for another team really mired with a poor season. He also sets a time of 20.34 to move up into the GC top ten.
Andreas Klöden
sadly fails to set the world alight with his time trial.
But having been up there in the top twelve yesterday, his average time of 20.44 is far better than most of the sinewy mountain goats around him on GC.
However his big TTing rival today was Anthony Colby
who knows that this is perhaps his big career moment.
It’s a determined effort from the 33 year old who sets a time of 20.39. It means that Colby has 13 seconds on Klodi, but what about the two riders ahead of him?
Edgar Restrepo
Struggles home with a time of 21.11.
It’s a loss of 32 seconds on Colby as he slips behind both he and Klodi.
Gilberto Sampaio
does better.
He sets a time of 21.02 losing 23 seconds on Colby and slipping behind the American by five seconds.
It’s a case of job done by Colby, who has tomorrows awkward criterium and the nasty final day up Snowbird to look forward to.
