Tour of Utah, Stage 2 Recap & Results

Levi Leipheimer in the Leader’s Jersey at the Tour of Utah

Stage two of the Tour of Utah began cool and overcast and the weather only went downhill from there. The stage began in Thanksgiving Point and ended at Mount Nebo. Stage two covered 78.5 miles and ended with a steep mountain top finish.

Almost immediately after the neutral zone ended, a group of 12 riders made it off the front including Trek-LiveStrong’s Taylor Phinney and Ben King. Also included in this break were Frank Pipp (Bissell), Ivan Dominguez (Jamis/Sutter Home), Andres Pereyra (Jamis/Sutter Home), Taylor Kneuven (Rio Grande), Jay Thompson (Fly-V). This group managed to build up a lead of approximately 1:30 over the peloton. After going through the feed zone, this breakaway group was caught by the peloton, who was lead by Team Holowesko Partners.

Immediately following this, Phinney, Andres Diaz (Exergy), Shawn Milne (Team Type 1) and Max Jenkins (United Healthcare) managed to break back away. At the first set of sprint point, Phinney took the points without much contest. Milne took second and David Tanner (Fly-V) took third.

Around mile 39, BMC rider George Hincapie went down in a solo crash. He was taken to the Utah Valley Hospital in Provo. According to BMC Racing Team’s Dr. Max Testa, nothing was broken in the crash. Unfortunately, Big George still had to abandon the race.

The stage began relatively flat but picked up significantly around 45 miles into the day. Throughout the ride, the riders dealt with harsh hard crosswinds, especially leading up to the monster Mount Nebo climb, which ended at 9,300 feet.

Heading up the hill another large group of riders made a break, which included race leader Alex Dowsett. Fly-V Australia rider Darren Lill managed to launch the first successful solo attack on the climb. Following him, 2009 Tour of Utah winner rider Francisco Mancebo (Canyon Bicycles) launched his attack. Unfortunate for these riders, Team RadioShack rider, who is riding for Mellow Johnny’s in this race, Levi Leipheimer decided that the Nebo was where he was going to make his presence known. Levi managed to drop Mancebo with approximately 5 kilometers to go and went on to win solo at the top of Mount Nebo. Due to his daring ride today, Levi moves into first place overall at the Tour of Utah.

Stage 2 results
1.  Levi Leipheimer              (Mellow Johnny’s)                 3:11:43
2.  Francisco Mancebo           (Canyon Bicycles)                             + 0:51
3.  Ian Boswell                       (Bissell Pro Cycling)                          + 0:52
4.  Darren Lill                                    (Fly V Australia)                                + 1:00
5.  Phillip Zajicek                   (Fly V Australia)                                + 1:18
10. Tim Roe                          (Trek-Livestrong)                            + 2:00

General Classification after Stage 2
1.  Levi Leipheimer              (Mellow Johnny’s)             6:40:36
2.  Francisco Mancebo           (Canyon Bicycles)                  + 0:56
3.  Darren Lill                                    (Fly V Australia)                    + 1:16
4.  Ian Boswell                       (Bissell Pro Cycling)              + 1:16
5.  Phillip Zajicek                   (Fly V Australia)                    + 1:34

Trek-LiveStrong Stage 2:
10. Time Roe              +2:00
26. Joe Dombrowski  +6:01
51. Alex Dowsett       +12:32
52. Ben King              +12:32
57. Julian Kyer           +13:19
86. Taylor Phinney     +17:46

Trek-LiveStrong General Classification
8. Tim Roe                  +2:20
42. Joe Dombrowski  +11:54
43. Alex Dowsett       +11:55
47. Ben King              +12:57
49. Julian Kyer           +13:36
100. Taylor Phinney   +34:36

By Fitzalan Gorman, staff writer

Photo by Everardo Keeme Photography