photo credits @ BMC Racing
Brent Bookwalter claimed stage 2 of this year’s USA Pro Challenge today, marking BMC Racing’s second stage victory in a row.
The waning moments of today’s race, saw Nate Brown attack during the final climb to Arapahoe basin. However, the Cannonade-Garmin was caught in the last kilometer, while Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing) ultimately led his teammate to victory.
“To be honest I wasn’t sure I’d won,” said Bookwalter. “I was following Rohan’s wheel, and with 500 meters to go, I caught my breath, chucked it into the big ring, and gave everything I had to line, going for seconds. There was no time to celebrate.”
Race Highlights
The day’s breakaway group had been reduced to just 9 riders, as the race summited the second categorized climb of the day – Ute Pass.
With 12 miles remaining, Greg Daniel (Axeon) and Nate Brown (Cannondale-Garmin) attack the breakaway group, which was still holding onto a two minute lead over the peloton.
However, inside the final five miles, Brown decided to make a go of it on his own, while the rest of the breakaway was caught.
As the race tackled the climb to Arapahoe Basin, Calvin Watson (Trek Factory Racing) attacked from out of the peloton. However, he was quickly reclaimed by the group. From there, Janier Acevedo (Cannondale-Garmin) initiated a counter-attack, but just as his predecessor, he too was quickly reeled back in.
With two miles remaining, Brown’s advantage over the chase had fallen to 1:21. And, with just one kilometer to go, his lead had been diminished to a mere 15 seconds.
Meanwhile, Dennis was busy driving the pace of the peloton from behind with fierce determination.
With 700 meters left, Brown was caught. And, from there, Bookwalter attacked during the final 300 meters and drove home the victory for BMC.
“It was brutal out there,” said Brown. “Came up a K short, but that’s racing. … I knew we had to go — you might as well go and give it a shot.”
Stage 2 Results USA 1 BOOKWALTER, Brent (BMC RACING) 4:37:04 AUS 2 DENNIS, Rohan (BMC RACING) + 6 GBR 3 CARTHY, Hugh (CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA) + 10 AUS 4 CLARKE, Jonathan (UNITEDHEALTHCARE) USA 5 SQUIRE, Robbie (HINCAPIE RACING TEAM) + 13 AUS 6 MORTON, Lachlan David (JELLY BELLY P/B MAXXIS) + 25 ESP 7 ROSON GARCIA, Jaime (CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA) + 27 ITA 8 FORMOLO, Davide (TEAM CANNONDALE – GARMIN) + 31 COL 9 ARREDONDO MORENO, Julian David (TREK FACTORY RACING) + 33 FRA 10 BERNARD, Julien (TREK FACTORY RACING) + 38
General Classification after Stage 2 USA 1 BOOKWALTER, Brent (BMC RACING) 8:16:10 AUS 2 DENNIS, Rohan (BMC RACING) + 6 AUS 3 CLARKE, Jonathan (UNITEDHEALTHCARE) + 10 GBR 4 CARTHY, Hugh (CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA) USA 5 SQUIRE, Robbie (HINCAPIE RACING TEAM) + 13 AUS 6 MORTON, Lachlan David (JELLY BELLY P/B MAXXIS) + 25 ESP 7 ROSON GARCIA, Jaime (CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA) + 27 ITA 8 FORMOLO, Davide (TEAM CANNONDALE – GARMIN) + 31 COL 9 ARREDONDO MORENO, Julian David (TREK FACTORY RACING) + 33 FRA 10 BERNARD, Julien (TREK FACTORY RACING) + 38
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