Colorado Classic 2017 – Stage 3 [PARTIAL STAGE]

August 12, 2017

Colorado Classic 2017 – Stage 3 – Denver : 130 km

The Colorado Classic is a four-stage cycling race to be held for the first time in 2017. The race is designated as 2.HC and will be part of the UCI America Tour. The race will be 313 miles (504 km) in length.

Serghei Tvetcov (Jelly Belly-Maxxis) claimed the third stage of the Colorado Classic on Saturday ahead of BMC’s Manuel Senni after the duo attacked a much-reduced peloton before the final mountain sprint and then working together to hold off the chasers for more than 50 kilometers all the way to Denver.

Tvetcov has been an important rider for his Continental team – before moving to Androni for two seasons before returning, he earned plenty of TV time on the attack in the major races, and also finished third overall in the USA Pro Challenge in 2014. He’s won several time trials, but it’s been years since he last put his arms up in the air at the end of a road stage.

“A victory in cycling is so hard. You never know, you can prepare the whole year and crash once and the whole preparation is done,” Tvetcov said. “I told my directors, I have good form, but I need luck. If I have luck then there are going to be results. So finally today I have good luck, it was a perfect scenario for both Manuel and me.”

The pair latched onto a gutsy attack from third placed Peter Stetina (Trek-Segafredo), bridging across to an earlier breakaway. But after the first mountain sprint, Stetina, 11 seconds behind on GC, had become enough of a threat that Cannondale-Drapac had to pull back the move.

Tvetcov, who lives near Denver and trains regularly on these roads, attacked before the second mountain sprint, knowing that his intimate knowledge of the descent would give him an advantage. Senni joined him, and proved equally formidable going downhill. The pair gained more than a minute on the chasing group on the descent.

Thanks to their cooperation, the pair were able to parlay a friendly tailwind into a 54-second advantage at the line, where Senni sportingly allowed Tvetcov to lead over the line for the stage victory. Senni took over control of the overall race lead, lifting the jersey off the shoulders of TJ Eisenhart (Holowesko-Citadel).

“It’s something special – it’s my first time in a press conference,” Senni said after donning the blue leader’s jersey and meeting the press. “I have been working for the team, and now I am trying to get some results while I have a chance. I went to Tour of Utah and worked for the team, and here they gave me a chance to play my cards. And today, I have in my DNA to attack, attack, attack – and it was a good day.

“I also found a very strong guy, who was really good in the descent and on the flat he really helped a lot. I’m happy for him he gets this victory today.”

Thanks to his breakaway on stage 2, Tvetcov also claimed the mountains jersey to add to his title of Best Colorado Rider, while Jhonatan Narvaez (Axeon Hagens Berman) remains best young rider.

UnitedHealthcare’s Travis McCabe won the sprint for third among the chasers ahead Marco Canola (Nippo – Vini Fantini), adding enough points to take the points jersey.

“It should have come back together, but sometimes it doesn’t go the way you planned. Serghei and Senni were incredibly strong today,” McCabe said. “They attacked over the last KOM and held it at about a minute the entire way.

“Today was a sleeper. Everyone was expecting it to be hard, but they weren’t expecting it to be that hard. And with the rain and the way the race played out it was such a small field in the end and that’s when those breakaways succeed. Got to give it to Serghei and Senni, they’re incredibly strong riders. I’m pleased with third.”

How it unfolded

The 91 remaining riders in the Colorado Classic departed the RiNo district of Denver under sunny skies and in summery conditions. But with only 127.8 kilometres ahead of them, two mountains to climb, and a general classification with the top three within 11 seconds of each other, the peloton was attentive to any attack. There were numerous attempts to form a breakaway, including a kilometer zero attack and subsequent abandon by Tour of Utah podium finisher James Piccoli (Elevate-KHS), but it wasn’t until the base of the Gap Road climb that a group could get an advantage.

The intermediate sprint that came 9.4 kilometres in could have been a point for Howes and Eisenhart to battle for time bonuses, but Travis McCabe (UHC) took the top spot over Jhonatan Narváez (Axeon Hagens Berman) and John Murphy (Holowesko-Citadel).

There were 13 riders in an attack that finally went clear on Coal Creek Canyon Road, including Silvan Dillier (BMC Racing Team), Gregory Daniel (Trek-Segafredo), Seid Lizde and Valerio Conti (UAE Team Emirates), Christopher Butler and Gonzalo Serrano Rodríguez (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Gavin Mannion and Jonathan Clarke (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling), Danny Pate (Rally Cycling), Nigel Ellsay (Silber Pro Cycling), Alex Hoehn (Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling), Jean Claude Uwizeye (Team Rwanda Cycling) and Yuma Koishi (Nippo-Vini Fantini), but the latter crashed as the gap was being established and was picked up by the peloton as he remounted.

They were allowed a 20-second lead, but the group was too big to cooperate, and soon Conti, Clarke and Ellsay attacked and created a three-rider move that would stay clear as the rest were absorbed by the field. Marco Canola (Nippo-Vini Fantini) bridged across from the peloton before the climb kicked in, and joined up to make four leaders.

As the pack hit five kilometres to the top, a group attacked that included third-placed Peter Stetina (Trek-Segafredo), with Sepp Kuss (Rally), Manuel Senni (BMC), and Serghei Tvetcov (Jelly Belly), and before they reached the dirt section of the summit they joined up with the four ahead. The move from Stetina put pressure on Cannondale-Drapac and Holowesko-Citadel on the climb.

Dark clouds amassed over the summit, and light rain began to fall as winds whipped across the pass, creating a sketchy situation for the race on the dirt. Kuss, Senni and Ellsay were dropped before the summit, leaving only five in the front group, Stetina, Conti, Canola, Clarke and Tvetcov.

Canola nabbed the maximum points over the crest on Gap Road, followed by Tvetcov, Stetina, Clarke and Conti. The rain picked up in earnest on the descent to the feed zone, and with lightning cracking in the distance, Senni bridged across to the leaders over over the top. But Cannondale-Drapac were keen to keep Stetina from threatening Howes’ position and reeled the leaders in before the second KOM.

Senni and Tvetcov attacked before the second climb and gained a sizeable lead on the tricky descent, which was wet from the rain storm that had blown through.

A large group of pursuers continued to chase both the two leaders and the thunderstorm into Denver, splashing through puddles en route to the second sprint in Wheat Ridge with 13.4 kilometres to go. The pair had more than a minute as they reached the bottom of the descent, and despite the sizable chase group, that would be more than enough for Tvetcov to nab the day and Senni the race lead.

Results :
1 Serghei Tvetcov (Rou) Jelly Belly-Maxxis 3:02:45
2 Manuel Senni (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:00:01
3 Travis McCabe (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 0:00:54
4 Marco Canola (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini
5 Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek-Segafredo
6 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:00:55
7 Alex Howes (USA) Cannondale-Drapac Pro Cycling
8 Valerio Conti (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
9 Miguel Ángel Benito (Esp) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:00:57
10 Jhonnatan Manuel Navaez Prado (Ecu) Axeon Hagens Berman
11 Taylor Eisenhart (USA) Holowesko-Citadel p/b Hincapie Sportswear
12 Sepp Kuss (USA) Rally Cycling
13 Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
14 Simone Petilli (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
15 Luis Lemus (Mex) Israel Cycling Academy
16 Taylor Shelden (USA) Jelly Belly-Maxxis
17 Peter Stetina (USA) Trek-Segafredo
18 Edward Ravasi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
19 Jonathan Clarke (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 0:01:01
20 Christopher Butler (USA) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
21 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini
22 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Cannondale-Drapac Pro Cycling 0:01:05
23 Julien Bernard (Fra) Trek-Segafredo 0:01:12
24 Hugh Carthy (GBr) Cannondale-Drapac Pro Cycling 0:01:29
25 Didier Munyaneza (Rwa) Team Rwanda Cycling 0:12:48
26 Seid Lizde (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:13:01
27 Alex Hoehn (USA) Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling
28 Manuel Sola Arjona (Esp) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
29 Christopher Blevins (USA) Axeon Hagens Berman
30 Giacomo Berlato (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini
31 Ulises Alfredo Castillo Soto (Mex) Jelly Belly-Maxxis
32 Jean Paul Rene Ukiniwabo (Rwa) Team Rwanda Cycling
33 Jean Claude Uwizeye (Rwa) Team Rwanda Cycling
34 Guillaume Boivin (Can) Israel Cycling Academy
35 Gonzalo Serrano Rodriguez (Esp) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
36 Antonio Molina Canet (Esp) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
37 Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Israel Cycling Academy
38 William Clarke (Aus) Cannondale-Drapac Pro Cycling
39 Edward Anderson (USA) Axeon Hagens Berman
40 Guy Niv (Isr) Israel Cycling Academy
41 Mihkel Räim (Est) Israel Cycling Academy
42 Umberto Poli (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk
43 Tyler Williams (USA) Israel Cycling Academy
44 Eder Frayre Moctezuma (Mex) Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling
45 Daniel Jaramillo (Col) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
46 Julien Gagne (Can) Silber Pro Cycling
47 Joseph Schmaltz (USA) Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling
48 Yuma Koishi (Jpn) Nippo-Vini Fantini
49 Colin Joyce (USA) Rally Cycling
50 Silvan Dillier (Swi) BMC Racing Team
51 Joey Rosskopf (USA) BMC Racing Team
52 Daniel Eaton (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
53 Alan Marangoni (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini
54 Shane Kline (USA) Rally Cycling
55 Alexander Cowan (Can) Silber Pro Cycling
56 Nigel Ellsay (Can) Silber Pro Cycling
57 Taylor Phinney (USA) Cannondale-Drapac Pro Cycling
58 Joseph Lewis (Aus) Holowesko-Citadel p/b Hincapie Sportswear
59 Robert Britton (Can) Rally Cycling
60 Gregory Daniel (USA) Trek-Segafredo
61 Laurent Didier (Lux) Trek-Segafredo
62 Jacob Rathe (USA) Jelly Belly-Maxxis
63 Ruben Companioni (Cub) Holowesko-Citadel p/b Hincapie Sportswear
64 Logan Owen (USA) Axeon Hagens Berman
65 Gavin Mannion (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
66 Danny Pate (USA) Rally Cycling
67 Jose Alfredo Rodriguez Victoria (Mex) Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling 0:13:21
68 Keegan Swirbul (USA) Jelly Belly-Maxxis
69 Greg Henderson (NZl) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
70 Tom Bohli (Swi) BMC Racing Team
71 Justin Oien (USA) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
72 Matteo Moschetti (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
73 Martin Elmiger (Swi) BMC Racing Team
74 Sam Brand (GBr) Team Novo Nordisk
75 Miguel Bryon (USA) Holowesko-Citadel p/b Hincapie Sportswear 0:15:26
76 John Murphy (USA) Holowesko-Citadel p/b Hincapie Sportswear
77 Fabio Calabria (Aus) Team Novo Nordisk
78 Damiano Cima (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini
79 Ryan Roth (Can) Silber Pro Cycling
80 Bonaventure Uwizeyimana (Rwa) Team Rwanda Cycling
81 Stephen Clancy (Irl) Team Novo Nordisk
82 Evan Huffman (USA) Rally Cycling
83 Henrikus Van Ijzendoorn NED Team Novo Nordisk
84 Andrei Krasilnikau (Blr) Holowesko-Citadel p/b Hincapie Sportswear
85 Gasore Hategeka (Rwa) Team Rwanda Cycling 0:15:34
86 Angus Morton (Aus) Jelly Belly-Maxxis 0:15:35
DNF Lawson Craddock (USA) Cannondale-Drapac Pro Cycling
DNF Reid McClure (Can) Team Novo Nordisk
DNF Jonathan Brown (USA) Axeon Hagens Berman
DNF Michael Rice (Aus) Axeon Hagens Berman
DNF James Piccoli (Can) Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling

General Classification after Stage 3 :
1 Manuel Senni (Ita) BMC Racing Team 9:27:45
2 Serghei Tvetcov (Rou) Jelly Belly-Maxxis 0:00:15
3 Alex Howes (USA) Cannondale-Drapac Pro Cycling 0:00:31
4 Taylor Eisenhart (USA) Holowesko-Citadel p/b Hincapie Sportswear 0:00:33
5 Peter Stetina (USA) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:44
6 Sepp Kuss (USA) Rally Cycling 0:01:05
7 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:02:16
8 Miguel Ángel Benito (Esp) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:02:19
9 Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) UAE Team Emirates 0:02:21
10 Travis McCabe (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 0:02:28
11 Simone Petilli (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:02:33
12 Edward Ravasi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:02:47
13 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Cannondale-Drapac Pro Cycling 0:02:49
14 Hugh Carthy (GBr) Cannondale-Drapac Pro Cycling 0:02:57
15 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini 0:03:00
16 Christopher Butler (USA) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:03:48
17 Jonathan Clarke (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
18 Julien Bernard (Fra) Trek-Segafredo 0:05:06
19 Jhonnatan Manuel Navaez Prado (Ecu) Axeon Hagens Berman 0:08:04
20 Taylor Shelden (USA) Jelly Belly-Maxxis 0:08:06
21 Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek-Segafredo 0:09:52
22 Joey Rosskopf (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:15:46
23 Gavin Mannion (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
24 Nigel Ellsay (Can) Silber Pro Cycling 0:15:48
25 Joseph Lewis (Aus) Holowesko-Citadel p/b Hincapie Sportswear 0:15:59
26 Ruben Companioni (Cub) Holowesko-Citadel p/b Hincapie Sportswear
27 Valerio Conti (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:16:21
28 William Clarke (Aus) Cannondale-Drapac Pro Cycling 0:16:35
29 Marco Canola (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini 0:17:27
30 Robert Britton (Can) Rally Cycling 0:18:24
31 Antonio Molina Canet (Esp) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:20:08
32 Alexander Cowan (Can) Silber Pro Cycling 0:20:10
33 Eder Frayre Moctezuma (Mex) Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling 0:20:59
34 Gonzalo Serrano Rodriguez (Esp) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:21:56
35 Daniel Jaramillo (Col) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
36 Justin Oien (USA) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:22:20
37 Martin Elmiger (Swi) BMC Racing Team
38 Didier Munyaneza (Rwa) Team Rwanda Cycling 0:22:24
39 Taylor Phinney (USA) Cannondale-Drapac Pro Cycling 0:22:38
40 Jacob Rathe (USA) Jelly Belly-Maxxis 0:23:12
41 Gregory Daniel (USA) Trek-Segafredo 0:24:02
42 Guillaume Boivin (Can) Israel Cycling Academy 0:26:28
43 Silvan Dillier (Swi) BMC Racing Team 0:26:38
44 Laurent Didier (Lux) Trek-Segafredo 0:26:42
45 Tom Bohli (Swi) BMC Racing Team 0:27:02
46 Luis Lemus (Mex) Israel Cycling Academy 0:27:15
47 Logan Owen (USA) Axeon Hagens Berman 0:28:19
48 Jean Paul Rene Ukiniwabo (Rwa) Team Rwanda Cycling 0:28:27
49 Seid Lizde (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
50 Jean Claude Uwizeye (Rwa) Team Rwanda Cycling
51 Manuel Sola Arjona (Esp) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:28:28
52 Alex Hoehn (USA) Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling 0:29:00
53 Andrei Krasilnikau (Blr) Holowesko-Citadel p/b Hincapie Sportswear 0:29:03
54 Christopher Blevins (USA) Axeon Hagens Berman 0:29:05
55 Edward Anderson (USA) Axeon Hagens Berman
56 Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Israel Cycling Academy
57 Mihkel Räim (Est) Israel Cycling Academy 0:29:34
58 Colin Joyce (USA) Rally Cycling
59 Yuma Koishi (Jpn) Nippo-Vini Fantini
60 Keegan Swirbul (USA) Jelly Belly-Maxxis 0:29:54
61 Tyler Williams (USA) Israel Cycling Academy 0:30:41
62 Daniel Eaton (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 0:31:26
63 John Murphy (USA) Holowesko-Citadel p/b Hincapie Sportswear 0:31:48
64 Miguel Bryon (USA) Holowesko-Citadel p/b Hincapie Sportswear 0:31:59
65 Julien Gagne (Can) Silber Pro Cycling 0:33:05
66 Umberto Poli (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk 0:33:09
67 Greg Henderson (NZl) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 0:33:13
68 Ulises Alfredo Castillo Soto (Mex) Jelly Belly-Maxxis 0:34:16
69 Alan Marangoni (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini
70 Danny Pate (USA) Rally Cycling
71 Shane Kline (USA) Rally Cycling 0:34:31
72 Angus Morton (Aus) Jelly Belly-Maxxis 0:35:41
73 Gasore Hategeka (Rwa) Team Rwanda Cycling 0:35:55
74 Ryan Roth (Can) Silber Pro Cycling 0:36:05
75 Evan Huffman (USA) Rally Cycling 0:36:35
76 Stephen Clancy (Irl) Team Novo Nordisk 0:36:56
77 Joseph Schmaltz (USA) Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling 0:39:19
78 Sam Brand (GBr) Team Novo Nordisk 0:39:33
79 Guy Niv (Isr) Israel Cycling Academy 0:39:57
80 Matteo Moschetti (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:40:17
81 Henrikus Van Ijzendoorn NED Team Novo Nordisk 0:41:38
82 Giacomo Berlato (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini 0:41:48
83 Damiano Cima (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini 0:42:22
84 Jose Alfredo Rodriguez Victoria (Mex) Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling 0:44:29
85 Fabio Calabria (Aus) Team Novo Nordisk 0:47:27
86 Bonaventure Uwizeyimana (Rwa) Team Rwanda Cycling 0:58:30