Tour of Utah 2019 – Stage 4 [FULL STAGE]

August 16, 2019

Tour of Utah 2019 – Stage 4 – Salt Lake City – Salt Lake City : 86,5 km

Much like the race profiles that have characterised its routes over the past 15 years, the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah, which begins August 12 at Snowbird Resort, has had an up-and-down trajectory in its ability to attract UCI WorldTour teams. The 2.HC race has seen its roster rise to as many as seven top-tier teams, and then sink as low as two. This year appears to be one of the ebbs in that flow, as the 2019 race – no doubt affected by the loss of the Colorado Classic men’s race the following week – drew just EF Education First and Trek-Segafredo. Nevertheless, the race boasts three returning champions and a rider who wore the yellow jersey at the Tour de France for two days last month. The 2019 race route, although centered near the Salt Lake City hub at the north end of the state, should supply plenty of challenges, obstacles and drama on the way to crowing the 2019 winner, as well as showing off Utah’s famed natural beauty.

Marco Canola (Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane) repeated his 2017 victory on the Salt Lake City stage at the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah Friday evening, out-kicking Travis McCabe (Worthy Pro Cycling) over the uphill finish in front of the Utah State Capitol. Brendan Rhim (Arapahoe-Hincapie) finished third.

James Piccoli (Elevate-KHS), second overall, launched an attack on the final climb, hoping to gain back some time on race leader Ben Hermans (Israel Cycling Academy), but the Canadian rider fell short, finishing seventh on the stage and on the same time as Hermans and the rest of the group.

Hermans continues to lead Piccoli by 44 seconds, with Niklas Eg (Trek-Segafreo) in third at 1:06.

Canola attended the podium ceremony bearing the bandages from a severe crash at the end of stage 1 earlier in the week. He said the win was a nice redemption after suffering though the preceding days.

“Three days ago I couldn’t think about the win because I had a big crash, and the motivation was at the ground,” the Italian said. “So I’m really, really happy.”

Canola’s team worked through the majority of the race to bring back a large breakaway that included McCabe and his Worthy pro Cycling teammate Serghei Tvetcov, as well as several other dangerous sprinters. Tvetcov then joined another four-rider move at the end of the last lap that pressured the field well inside the final kilometre.

“The last kilometre was really hard, because there was a teammate of Travis’ in the front and he went so fast,” Canola said. “I was thinking, ‘No I cannot make it because it was too much,’ but then at 400 metres to go fortunately he slowed down so I could breathe.

“I took a big breath and just 200 metres to go I saw a Canel’s rider go for the sprint. I saw Travis go on the left, and I went on the right. I pushed everything out. And when I saw my front wheel the first one, I knew it could be my day. Until that moment I wasn’t thinking about the win, only to push hard. In the last 20 metres I felt again this great feeling to win here in Salt Lake.”

How it unfolded

Friday’s fourth stage at the Tour of Utah took place on an urban circuit around the State Capitol in Salt Lake City. The short-but-fast 86.5km stage 1,360 metres over eight laps of the 10.8km course. The uphill finish provided a challenge for the sprinters on a course that had been won previously by Michael Matthews and Canola.

Sprint points and time bonuses were available at the start/finish with five laps to go, three laps to go and one lap to go.

Groups flew off the front in the opening kilometres, with a move of six initially forming off the front as others tried to bridge. The leaders had 10 seconds going through the start/finish at the end of the first lap as Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM led the chase.

The six riders up front were Ben Wolfe (Arapahoe-Hincapie), Connor Schunk (Aevolo), Stephen Bassett (Wildlife Generation), Jacopo Mosca (Trek-Segafredo), Serghei Tvetcov (Worthy Pro Cycling), Ulises Castillo (Elevate-KHS) and Tony Baca (303 Project).

As other riders bridged briefly, the peloton pulled the move back, and the counter attacks started immediately. Another five-rider group formed and got a 10-second gap. Tvetcov, Bassett, Castillo and Wolfe were joined this time by Lawson Craddock. A large group was trying to bridge, however, and made contact with the leaders right before they started the third lap.

The size of the group was prohibitive, and the peloton was soon all back together on stage 3. The attacks started flying once more, and another group formed off the front, this time with about 20 riders. The peloton appeared ready to slow the pace a bit, and the gap to the leaders started going up.

Worthy Pro Cycling’s Tevtcov and McCabe attacked from the group and went off on their own, getting a quick separation of 10 seconds over a chase group of 12 and 20 seconds on the peloton.

Tvetcov and McCabe started lap 4 with three riders trying to bridge, 10 riders at 15 seconds and the peloton at one minute. The bridging riders were Alex Hoehn (Aevolo), Effren Santos (Canel’s Specialized) and James Whelan (EF Education First).

The new lead group of five continued to hold 15 seconds over the chase, but the gap to the peloton went up to 40. The chasing group soon caught the leaders, however, and the group of the front grew to 16.

The new lead group of 16 included Whelan, McCabe, Tvetcov, Castillo, Santos, Bassett, Baca, Hoehn, Mosca, Alex Howes (EF Education First), TJ Eisenhart (Arapahoe-Hincapie), Eder Frayer (DC Bank), Edwin Avila (Israel Cycling Academy), Umberto Marengo (Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM), Kevin Vermaerke (Hagens Berman Axeon) and Ty Magner (Rally UHC).

None was a threat to the overall lead of Ben Hermans, so Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane took over the chase in the peloton for Canola.

The leaders started the fifth lap with one minute over the peloton, but halfway through the lap, the gap was down to 45 seconds.

McCabe, who took the maximum points with five to go, also claimed the sprint with three to go to solidify his points jersey lead. The leaders started the sixth lap with 40 seconds over the field, but the gap was down to 30 halfway through the lap.

Elevate’s Castillo jumped away from the break and was joined by Avila as the rest of the break lingered just behind. Castillo and Avilla started the penultimate lap with five seconds over the chase, Canola jumped out of the peloton as it got within 25 seconds and started a bridging effort with two other riders.

Canola and crew made contact with the leaders during lap 7 while the peloton closed to within 15 seconds. Mosca attacked the leader during the lap and went off the front solo, as Hayden McCormick (Team Bridgelane) who made the group with Canola, went off in pursuit. McCormick passed Mosca, who was caught by the rest of the breakaway.

The Bridgelane rider took the bell signalling one lap to go with a 30 second gap over 15 chasers and 45 seconds over the peloton.

McCormick’s time off the front ended when he mistakenly thought he won the stage with one lap to go. The New Zealand rider celebrated enthusiastically and then sat up, losing impetus as the chase group quickly closed in. McCormick emptied his tank with the move and was quickly back in the field.

Santos and Alec Cowan (Worthy Pro Cycling), who also joined the leaders with the Canola move, set off the front next. The peloton caught the rest of the break, while Cowan and Santos had 15 seconds.

The lead duo didn’t last long out front, as attacks from the field quickly swallowed them up. Best young rider Joao Almeida attacked next along with Filippo Fiorelli (Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizanè) and built 10 seconds to two chasers and 20 seconds to the field. Wolfe and Tvetcov were the two bridging riders.

Tvetcov and Wolfe joined Almeida and Fiorelli 3.2km to go and had a 25-second gap. Cooperation in the front fell apart, however, and the peloton had the gap down to 10 seconds. Then Worthy Pro Cycling led the peloton back to the leaders for McCabe.

The peloton made the catch with less than 1km to go, and the sprint finish was on.

Overall runner-up James Piccoli (Elevate-KHS) hit out to try and gain some time, and McCabe jumped on his wheel. Canel’s sprinter Pablo Alarcón jumped first, with McCabe and canola reacting. They were neck and neck as the line approached, but the Italian pulled past the American to take the win at the line.

Results :
1 Marco Canola (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane 1:56:54
2 Travis McCabe (USA) Worthy Pro Cycling
3 Brendan Rhim (USA) Arapahoe-Hincapie p/b BMC
4 Pablo Andrés Alarcon Cares (Chi) Canel’s-Specialized
5 Guillaume Boivin (Can) Israel Cycling Academy
6 Peter Stetina (USA) Trek-Segafredo
7 James Piccoli (Can) Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling
8 Joe Dombrowski (USA) EF Education First
9 Ben Hermans (Bel) Israel Cycling Academy
10 Griffin Easter (USA) 303 Project
11 Edwin Avila (Col) Israel Cycling Academy
12 Niklas Eg (Den) Trek-Segafredo
13 Lawson Craddock (USA) EF Education First
14 Kyle Murphy (USA) Rally UHC Cycling
15 Keegan Swirbul (USA) Worthy Pro Cycling
16 Dayer Quintana (Col) Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM
17 Gregory Daniel (USA) DC Bank Pro Cycling Team
18 Francesco Manuel Bongiorno (Ita) Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM
19 Lorenzo Fortunato (Ita) Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM 0:00:10
20 Rob Britton (Can) Rally UHC Cycling
21 Cade Bickmore (USA) Aevolo
22 João Almeida (Por) Hagens Berman Axeon
23 Scott Bowden (Aus) Team Bridgelane
24 Sven Thurau (Ger) Team Dauner-Akkon
25 Cole Davis (USA) Hagens Berman Axeon
26 Matteo Badilatti (Swi) Israel Cycling Academy
27 Simone Velasco (Ita) Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM
28 Dominik Bauer (Ger) Team Dauner-Akkon
29 Eder Frayre (Mex) DC Bank Pro Cycling Team
30 Gavin Mannion (USA) Rally UHC Cycling
31 Flavio de Luna (Mex) 303 Project 0:00:14
32 Efren Santos Moreno (Mex) Canel’s-Specialized 0:00:16
33 Alex Howes (USA) EF Education First
34 Juan Pedro Lopez Perez (Spa) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:22
35 Conor Schunk (USA) Aevolo 0:00:23
36 Alexander Cowan (Can) Worthy Pro Cycling 0:00:29
37 Sebastian Schönberger (Aut) Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM
38 Finn Gullickson (USA) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling p/b Maxxis
39 Umberto Marengo (Ita) Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM
40 Alex Hoehn (USA) Aevolo
41 Jacopo Mosca (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
42 Antoine Leplingard (Fra) DC Bank Pro Cycling Team
43 Nathan Earle (Aus) Israel Cycling Academy
44 Jean-Denis Thibault (Can) DC Bank Pro Cycling Team
45 Guy Niv (Isr) Israel Cycling Academy
46 Kevin Vermaerke (USA) Hagens Berman Axeon
47 Gabriel Francisco Rojas Campos (CRc) Aevolo
48 Ulises Alfredo Castillo Soto (Mex) Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling
49 Cullen Easter (USA) 303 Project 0:00:40
50 Edoardo Zardini (Ita) Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM 0:00:42
51 Nicolas Debeaumarche (Fra) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:45
52 Serghei Tvetcov (Rom) Worthy Pro Cycling
53 Filippo Fiorelli (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane
54 Francisco Lara Carbajal (Mex) Canel’s-Specialized 0:00:49
55 Scott McGill (USA) Aevolo 0:00:57
56 Tyler Lindorff (Aus) Team Bridgelane 0:01:03
57 Oscar Eduardo Sanchez Guarin (Col) Canel’s-Specialized 0:01:05
58 Benjamin Wolfe (USA) Arapahoe-Hincapie p/b BMC 0:01:09
59 Michael Rice (Aus) Hagens Berman Axeon 0:01:13
60 Kent Ross (USA) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling p/b Maxxis 0:01:17
61 Philipp Mamos (Ger) Team Dauner-Akkon
62 Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane 0:01:23
63 Matthew Zimmer (USA) DC Bank Pro Cycling Team 0:01:26
64 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane 0:01:39
65 Filippo Zaccanti (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane
66 James Whelan (Aus) EF Education First 0:01:44
67 Andzs Flaksis (Lat) Arapahoe-Hincapie p/b BMC
68 George Simpson (USA) Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling
69 Lachlan Morton (Aus) EF Education First 0:01:47
70 Hamish Schreurs (NZl) Israel Cycling Academy
71 Tony Baca (Mex) 303 Project 0:01:50
72 Justin Oien (USA) Arapahoe-Hincapie p/b BMC
73 Andrew Vollmer (USA) Aevolo 0:02:10
74 Eric Brunner (USA) Aevolo
75 Tanner Putt (USA) Arapahoe-Hincapie p/b BMC
76 Ayden Toovey (Aus) Team Bridgelane
77 Evan Huffman (USA) Rally UHC Cycling
78 Nigel Ellsay (Can) Rally UHC Cycling
79 Emerson Oronte (USA) Rally UHC Cycling
80 Jordan Cheyne (Can) Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling 0:02:16
81 Emile Jean (Can) Worthy Pro Cycling 0:02:27
82 Stephen Bassett (USA) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling p/b Maxxis
83 Leonel Palma Dajui (Mex) Canel’s-Specialized 0:02:36
84 Eric Young (USA) Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling 0:02:38
85 Noah Granigan (USA) Worthy Pro Cycling 0:02:40
86 Tyler Magner (USA) Rally UHC Cycling 0:03:12
87 Jonathan Clarke (Aus) Worthy Pro Cycling 0:03:26
88 Austin Stephens (USA) 303 Project 0:03:59
89 Isaiah Newkirk (USA) 303 Project 0:04:03
90 Sho Hatsuyama (Jpn) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane 0:04:10
91 Jose Alfredo Rodriguez Victoria (Mex) Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling 0:04:11
92 Oliver Flautt (USA) Team Dauner-Akkon 0:04:22
93 Hayden McCormick (NZl) Team Bridgelane
94 TJ Eisenhart (USA) Arapahoe-Hincapie p/b BMC 0:04:28
95 Camden Vodicka (USA) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling p/b Maxxis 0:04:44
96 Bernat Font Mas (Spa) 303 Project 0:00:10
97 Edward Anderson (USA) Hagens Berman Axeon 0:05:26
98 Samuel Boardman (USA) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling p/b Maxxis 0:05:56
99 Maxx Chance (USA) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling p/b Maxxis
100 Dylan Sunderland (Aus) Team Bridgelane 0:06:31
101 Thomas Revard (USA) Hagens Berman Axeon 0:08:29
102 Miguel Bryon (USA) Arapahoe-Hincapie p/b BMC 0:14:02

General Classification after Stage 4 :
1 Ben Hermans (Bel) Israel Cycling Academy 12:27:18
2 James Piccoli (Can) Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling 0:00:44
3 Niklas Eg (Den) Trek-Segafredo 0:01:06
4 Kyle Murphy (USA) Rally UHC Cycling 0:01:46
5 Peter Stetina (USA) Trek-Segafredo 0:02:02
6 Joe Dombrowski (USA) EF Education First 0:02:04
7 João Almeida (Por) Hagens Berman Axeon 0:02:48
8 Lawson Craddock (USA) EF Education First 0:03:17
9 Rob Britton (Can) Rally UHC Cycling 0:03:22
10 Matteo Badilatti (Swi) Israel Cycling Academy 0:03:54
11 Scott Bowden (Aus) Team Bridgelane 0:04:04
12 Francesco Manuel Bongiorno (Ita) Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM 0:04:34
13 Keegan Swirbul (USA) Worthy Pro Cycling 0:05:06
14 Griffin Easter (USA) 303 Project 0:06:09
15 Dayer Quintana (Col) Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM 0:07:09
16 Alex Hoehn (USA) Aevolo 0:08:22
17 Juan Pedro Lopez Perez (Spa) Trek-Segafredo 0:08:51
18 Efren Santos Moreno (Mex) Canel’s-Specialized 0:09:00
19 Serghei Tvetcov (Rom) Worthy Pro Cycling 0:09:13
20 Eder Frayre (Mex) DC Bank Pro Cycling Team 0:09:14
21 Sebastian Schönberger (Aut) Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM 0:12:13
22 Andrew Vollmer (USA) Aevolo 0:12:35
23 Filippo Fiorelli (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane 0:12:47
24 Guillaume Boivin (Can) Israel Cycling Academy 0:12:54
25 Kevin Vermaerke (USA) Hagens Berman Axeon 0:12:59
26 Dominik Bauer (Ger) Team Dauner-Akkon 0:13:26
27 Lorenzo Fortunato (Ita) Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM 0:13:53
28 Hayden McCormick (NZl) Team Bridgelane 0:13:59
29 Gavin Mannion (USA) Rally UHC Cycling 0:14:01
30 Simone Velasco (Ita) Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM 0:14:02
31 Lachlan Morton (Aus) EF Education First 0:14:09
32 Gregory Daniel (USA) DC Bank Pro Cycling Team 0:15:24
33 Jacopo Mosca (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:15:25
34 Edward Anderson (USA) Hagens Berman Axeon 0:15:52
35 Pablo Andrés Alarcon Cares (Chi) Canel’s-Specialized 0:16:12
36 Bernat Font Mas (Spa) 303 Project 0:16:37
37 Guy Niv (Isr) Israel Cycling Academy 0:18:00
38 Flavio de Luna (Mex) 303 Project 0:19:59
39 Oscar Eduardo Sanchez Guarin (Col) Canel’s-Specialized 0:20:00
40 Nathan Earle (Aus) Israel Cycling Academy 0:20:38
41 Alex Howes (USA) EF Education First 0:22:37
42 Edwin Avila (Col) Israel Cycling Academy 0:22:57
43 Travis McCabe (USA) Worthy Pro Cycling 0:22:58
44 Conor Schunk (USA) Aevolo 0:23:51
45 Gabriel Francisco Rojas Campos (CRc) Aevolo 0:23:54
46 Alexander Cowan (Can) Worthy Pro Cycling 0:24:43
47 Jordan Cheyne (Can) Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling 0:25:24
48 Umberto Marengo (Ita) Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM 0:25:32
49 Marco Canola (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane 0:27:03
50 Filippo Zaccanti (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane 0:27:23
51 Edoardo Zardini (Ita) Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM 0:27:27
52 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane 0:28:43
53 Tyler Lindorff (Aus) Team Bridgelane 0:29:15
54 Benjamin Wolfe (USA) Arapahoe-Hincapie p/b BMC 0:30:10
55 Dylan Sunderland (Aus) Team Bridgelane 0:30:26
56 Cullen Easter (USA) 303 Project 0:31:11
57 Cade Bickmore (USA) Aevolo 0:31:15
58 TJ Eisenhart (USA) Arapahoe-Hincapie p/b BMC 0:31:41
59 Ulises Alfredo Castillo Soto (Mex) Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling 0:32:20
60 Brendan Rhim (USA) Arapahoe-Hincapie p/b BMC 0:33:13
61 Nicolas Debeaumarche (Fra) Trek-Segafredo 0:34:49
62 Matthew Zimmer (USA) DC Bank Pro Cycling Team 0:36:07
63 Cole Davis (USA) Hagens Berman Axeon 0:36:43
64 Michael Rice (Aus) Hagens Berman Axeon 0:36:49
65 Sho Hatsuyama (Jpn) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane 0:37:39
66 Emerson Oronte (USA) Rally UHC Cycling 0:38:12
67 James Whelan (Aus) EF Education First 0:38:28
68 Ayden Toovey (Aus) Team Bridgelane 0:38:43
69 Tony Baca (Mex) 303 Project 0:39:10
70 Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane 0:39:23
71 Tyler Magner (USA) Rally UHC Cycling 0:39:57
72 Justin Oien (USA) Arapahoe-Hincapie p/b BMC 0:40:43
73 Isaiah Newkirk (USA) 303 Project 0:40:52
74 Tanner Putt (USA) Arapahoe-Hincapie p/b BMC 0:41:01
75 Scott McGill (USA) Aevolo 0:41:05
76 Jean-Denis Thibault (Can) DC Bank Pro Cycling Team 0:41:09
77 Andzs Flaksis (Lat) Arapahoe-Hincapie p/b BMC 0:41:12
78 Stephen Bassett (USA) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling p/b Maxxis 0:41:16
79 Sven Thurau (Ger) Team Dauner-Akkon 0:42:06
80 George Simpson (USA) Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling 0:42:21
81 Thomas Revard (USA) Hagens Berman Axeon 0:42:26
82 Hamish Schreurs (NZl) Israel Cycling Academy 0:42:41
83 Evan Huffman (USA) Rally UHC Cycling 0:42:53
84 Noah Granigan (USA) Worthy Pro Cycling 0:42:54
85 Camden Vodicka (USA) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling p/b Maxxis 0:44:14
86 Philipp Mamos (Ger) Team Dauner-Akkon 0:45:14
87 Samuel Boardman (USA) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling p/b Maxxis 0:46:30
88 Kent Ross (USA) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling p/b Maxxis 0:46:45
89 Antoine Leplingard (Fra) DC Bank Pro Cycling Team 0:47:47
90 Oliver Flautt (USA) Team Dauner-Akkon 0:48:17
91 Jonathan Clarke (Aus) Worthy Pro Cycling 0:48:19
92 Emile Jean (Can) Worthy Pro Cycling 0:49:31
93 Eric Brunner (USA) Aevolo 0:50:41
94 Nigel Ellsay (Can) Rally UHC Cycling 0:50:44
95 Francisco Lara Carbajal (Mex) Canel’s-Specialized 0:51:01
96 Eric Young (USA) Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling 0:52:44
97 Jose Alfredo Rodriguez Victoria (Mex) Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling 0:53:27
98 Austin Stephens (USA) 303 Project 0:54:39
99 Finn Gullickson (USA) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling p/b Maxxis 0:54:47
100 Maxx Chance (USA) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling p/b Maxxis 0:54:56
101 Leonel Palma Dajui (Mex) Canel’s-Specialized 0:55:32