Trek-LiveStrong, the RadioShack U-23 development team, raced today in the Tour of Utah prologue. In addition to the youth team, one Team RadioShack rider rode in prologue, Levi Leipheimer. Leipheimer rode under Lance Armstrong’s Mellow Johnny’s race team.
The Tour of Utah is a six-day race across the Utah countryside and over the Rocky Mountain Wasatch Range. The entire race covers 325 miles and 30,000 feet of climbing.
The prologue was a 2.8-mile out and back course around the Utah State Capital. The route followed the Bonneville Boulevard that featured a very slight incline/decline with a tight turnaround that caused numerous riders to fall. At the end of the route was a hard left turn into a descent at the finish.
The Trek-LiveStrong U-23 team is stacked with champions ranging from brilliant climbers to excellent time trialist. Despite its youth, this team should be able to hold its own in this major professional race.
Taylor Phinney, who recently suffered a knee injury during the Tour of Denmark, is a world champion American cyclist who in 2010 won the U-23 Paris-Roubaix and the Individual Pursuit at the UCI Track Cycling World Championship. Rider Alex Dowsett recently came off from a time trail win at the U-23 European Championship. Standout climbers on the team include Utah native Tim Roe and Aussie Ben King. Chase Pinkham grew up around Salt Lake City, making this a hometown race for the young rider. The group is lead by director Axel Merckx.
After riding a 6:07 on the course, British Time trial champion and Trek-Livestrong rider Alex Dowsett moved into first place. Dowsett was knocked out of the first place position by none other than teammate Taylor Phinney, who finished in 6:02.
Phinney was able to hold on to the lead and Dowsett’s time was strong enough to maintain second. There really isn’t a better way to start America’s Toughest Stage Race than by having Trek-LiveStrong going 1-2 during the Prologue of the Tour of Utah.
Prologue results:
1. Taylor Phinney Trek-LIVESTRONG 6:02.59
2. Alex Dowsett Trek-LIVESTRONG 6:05.45
3. Brent Bookwalter BMC Racing Team 6:13.79
4. Rory Sutherland UnitedHealthcare Pro 6:14.13
5. Robert Lea On The Rivet p/b Ion 6:15.07
By Fitzalan Gorman, staff writer
Where did Levi finish?
Translate the Comment