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USA Pro Challenge 2015: Stage 2

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Welcome to Cyclingnews' live coverage of stage 2 of the USA Pro Challenge.

We're back again for the USA Pro Challenge, stage 2 is a big one from Steamboat Springs to the uphill finish to Arapahoe Basin.

Riders have just 2.1km of neutral today, then it's game on for the 185.5km stage that has three big climbs - the Rabbit Ears Pass cat 2 climb comes at km 18.7, so it's pretty much straight up from the gun.

The peloton is being led to the start line by a horse in Steamboat Springs. There are lots of spectators waiting to see who will get the quicker start...

The horse doesn't get to race the cyclists- they just roll off the line to head out for their neutral lap.

Race leader Taylor Phinney (BMC) added an incredible exclamation point to his comeback yesterday by winning the stage, but we don't think he'll be contending for victory again today.

The race is on, and off they go!

In addition to Rabbit Ears Pass, they have two more big climbs today - Ute Pass (Cat 3) comes at 50km to go, and then of course the category 1 finishing climb to Arapahoe Basin, which is 7.9km long.

The first few kilometers are flat, and the field is going flat out as they head toward the Rabbit Ears Pass climb. 10 riders get a slight lead.

The first climb is 11.5km in length. KOM leader Jonny Clarke spoke to Cyclingnews this morning. 

And Summerhill is in the 10 rider move that seems to be the one!

180km remaining from 186km

Brown has an issue and signals for neutral support to come up.

178km remaining from 186km

Most of the riders in the breakaway were split out in the second or third pelotons yesterday, only Summerhill made the front group, so he's our virtual leader on the road.

The nine leaders are looking smooth going up the climb, Brenes is closing on them while Dilley has vanished.

Brenes is working his way through the team cars, which were called into the gap between the breakaway and the peloton. He's just about there. 

175km remaining from 186km

It's a wide open road, but luckily there's not much wind on this side of the pass. They can begin to see the view of the valley below, and it's definitely starting to feel like altitude.

175km remaining from 186km

173km remaining from 186km

Once again the blight of doping has sullied the sport of cycling. This time it's Giampaolo Caruso (Katusha) who tested positive for EPO in a reanalysis of an out-of-competition test from March 27, "based on new scientific developments", the UCI says. 

172km remaining from 186km

The second doping positive for Katusha, an MPCC team, should mean they are suspended for the month, like the Androni team. That would put them out of the Vuelta a España, where Caruso was due to race with Joaquim Rodriguez.

168km remaining from 186km

We have another abandon - Corentin Cherhal (Novo Nordisk) dropped out. The team already lost Nicolas Lefrancois yesterday. Guy Sagiv (Cycling Academy) and Josh Berry (Axeon) also dropped out yesterday, while Keegan Swirbul didn't start the race.

Molina's effort to bridge is hurting now, and he's struggling to keep hold of the break as they head over the Rabbit Ears Pass.

The leaders still have 100 miles to go, so it's a long day in the saddle that has started fast and furious. The peloton has closed in to 1:30 now, and the descent will help them easily hold that gap.

There is no immediate respite for the leaders as they crest the KOM, the road rolls along the ridge over 9000ft in altitude for about 12km before starting the gradual descent.

The riders are enjoying a cool moment on the top of the pass, it's only in the 50's F and dropping. We're reading that four riders tried to bridge - BMC's Schär, Kreuziger (Tinkoff), Didier (Trek) and Turek (Cycling Academy), but they were caught back.

Correction - regarding Caruso, his positive will not keep Katusha from the Vuelta a España, because the MPCC rules now exclude the Grand Tours from self suspension. Additionally, the sample of Caruso's that was retested dates back to 2012, so that also excludes self-suspension.

However, new UCI rules could still hurt Katusha - the UCI rules state that two doping case notifications in one year mean the team will be suspended for a period of time to be determined by the UCI. Unlike the case of Androni earlier this year, the UCI press release did not state that it was considering the period of suspension.

There's an attack in the breakaway - looks like Marcotte isn't happy with the effort on the descent - he's going 94km/h!

Marcotte's move didn't work, but the breakaway has regained their previous losses and is back to 2:50 on the bunch.

142km remaining from 186km

The UCI also today posted the final Continental Tour classifications that will determine the number of riders each country will get for the elite men's road race at the World Championships in Richmond, Virginia. 

131km remaining from 186km

The wind is picking up, giving both peloton and leaders a tail or cross-tailwind. The gap is at 4:20 to the peloton.

122km remaining from 186km

SmartStop is looking to perform here in Colorado. They brought in a new sponsor for the year, Cylance, and have a new look with green in place of the blue and yellow. 

 

The riders are now being buffeted by crosswinds and it has hurt their gap.

111km remaining from 186km

106km remaining from 186km

The tiny town of Kremmling only has a population of 1500 but it seemed half of them were out to see the race. Nice crowds.

In Kremmling the Blue River and Muddy Creek join the headwaters of the Colorado River, and the race is heading out along the Colorado. 

94km remaining from 186km

Race radio is reporting that BMC's Damiano Caruso and Tinkoff's Eduard Beltran crashed in the feed zone, but both riders are up and going again.

It seems the climbing and altitude have claimed another rider as Antonio Sampedro Angulo of the Cycling Academy Team has abandoned the race.

Lachlan Morton (Jelly Belly) put in an aggressive ride on the last climb in the race's opening stage. He is familiar with today's final climb.

In just a few kilometers, the pavement will end and riders will be on the dirt for 22km of fun and games!

The leaders are heading back up from about 7500ft climbing to 9570ft by the time they crest Ute Pass. It's a pretty gradual climb, thankfully, but there are some steep pitches along the way. 

74km remaining from 186km

We've put together some provisional Worlds allocation numbers for the elite men's road race, thanks to our long-time friend Tomas Nilsson. The UCI should be announcing these soon.

The leaders are cruising along the dirt, surely Summerhill is enjoying himself more than the others. Some cars are being pulled out between the break and field, but the gap is still 2:45. Often officials will clear out unnecessary cars like VIP or media from the gap before a tricky descent, so we might have a fun one ahead.

The dirt and gravel is starting to take its toll. There are numerous calls for service.

66km remaining from 186km

Still another 9km of dirt ahead.

Interested in the race and want to discuss it with your fellow Cyclingnews readers? Join the USA Pro Challenge discussion on our forum here.

The extremely high altitude at today's finish can be pretty dangerous for those not used to the thin air. The race tech guide warns of Acute Mountain Sickness - headache, nausea, vomiting, as well as High Altitude Pulmonary Edema, a very dangerous altitude sickness that feels like pneumonia but can be fatal.

57km remaining from 186km

The dirt road is very smooth, it's packed down with a chemical treatment to keep it from getting too dusty, so it's no Paris-Roubaix. 

Phew! The leaders jump off the dirt and back onto good, solid tarmac with 56km left to race.

Daniel Barry i struggling at the back of the breakaway, which is leaving him behind on the start of the climb to Ute Pass. He wont' be the only one left behind - a Caja Rural rider is dropping off, too. 5km to go to the KOM.

Barry is well and truly dropped, and it's not a Caja Rural, it's Marcotte - we were thrown off by the green. He's back in the cars behind the breakaway and dropping anchor.

A third rider is losing contact, too.

There is still no concerted effort in the field as BMC, Trek, Cannondale and Tinkoff-Saxo patrol the front. 1:45 to the leaders.

The third rider being left by the breakaway is Fisher.

51km remaining from 186km

A descent for the peloton has finally lined out the chase, with BMC at the front for Taylor Phinney, as well as Bookwalter and Rohan Dennis. They're just keeping them at a reasonable advantage - 2:50.

Routley launches a big attack for the KOM points, keeping that jersey in the team. He gets it ahead of Summerhill then considers pushing on alone.

Summerhill brings the rest of the breakaway back to Routley, with Brown in there. He's Cannondale's GC man, after Italian Davide Formolo struggled with the altitude.

47km remaining from 186km

The breakaway is on a very quick section of the descent from Ute Pass, streaming along with the view of a big, big mountain ahead. Summerhill is splitting the break with his descending prowess.

Brenes managed to make it back in the breakaway. Heis in a full aero tuck, sitting on his top tube and is still losing ground, he just doesn't weigh enough to keep up. Miller bridges back to his teammate after being distanced.

KOM 2 results:

The breakaway has settled on 9 riders, now 3:02 in front of the BMC-led field. Fisher has been caught by the break, but Marcotte is reportedly still in no-man's land.

Marcotte is in front of the field just waiting to be swept up. It's another perfect Colorado day, but clouds are beginning to build.

37km remaining from 186km

Up in the breakaway, the cooperation is starting to fall apart. Brown looks around for anyone to pull through but Molina takes his time coming around. Once he does, they start rolling again.

BMC is starting to line out the peloton with Killian Frankiny setting the pace. The Swiss rider is doing an internship with the team. They need to start picking it up, the gap is 2:31 and there's some discussion amongst the BMC riders.

34km remaining from 186km

The sprint comes with 18.9km to go, so they have a bit of riding to do. Carpenter is trying to get the pace going in the breakaway, but some of the riders are taking sluggish pulls.

32km remaining from 186km

BMC is doing all of the work in the chase, but don't discount the little Trek rider tucked in back there. Julian Arredondo is an excellent climber, he's fine with altitude, being from Colombia, and he put in a very impressive sprint yesterday so he's feeling feisty.

Danny Summerhill pulls out the race itinerary to see where the sprint is, perhaps. Once again, showing his bike handling and multi-tasking skills.

Other riders to look out for are Chris Anker Sörensen (Tinkoff-Saxo), Daniel Jaramillo (Jamis), and of course the BMC riders Bookwalter and Dennis. UHC's Janez Brajkovic looked strong yesterday, but how is his climbing?

25km remaining from 186km

After hours spent in the middle of nowhere, the riders are now enjoying the cheers of the crowds. Leaders see 5km to the sprint.

The time board gives the breakaway its gap, 2:25, and this is important because there are no race radios for the riders in the peloton, as this is not a WorldTour event.

Brown heads off in search of the sprint bonus, but Summerhill marks the move.

There are no time bonuses either in the intermediate sprints or finish in the USA Pro Challenge, so there's only the cash prize on the sprint to fight over.

We have to say that no prize could ever top the most aggressive rider award at the Arctic Race of Norway. Each stage a rider was given 500kg of frozen salmon! 

Brown has a gap, and the Axeon rider Daniel is trying to pull him back.

Brown doesn't necessarily want to go it alone to the finish, but he wants to jettison some of the dead weight in the breakaway.

19km remaining from 186km

BMC is back at the head of the chase, 2:12 behind the two leaders. 

The Cannondale car comes with a late bottle for Brown - they're inside the final 20km, so surely the officials extended the feed from the cars. Daniel is calling for his car, too.

16km remaining from 186km

They're on a very fast schedule today, averaging around 25mph.

Brown and Daniel chose wisely, they've pulled out a 2:40 lead on the bunch, while their chasers are falling further behind, almost a minute back.

Brenes is being caught by the peloton which is led by Hincapie now that Carpenter is out of the lead. BMC isn't ready to concede yet, so they come up to drag race them.

11km remaining from 186km

Or Norris, rather. 1:20 to the chasers but we think that's inaccurate. They seem closer to being caught.

The Cannondale car is giving advice to Brown - Charly Wegelius is directing the team in Colorado.

7km remaining from 186km

The climb begins gradually, the road still wide open and smooth. It needs to be to funnel the thousands of skiers that come to Arapahoe Basin eight months out of the year to ski.

Daniel can't match the Cannondale rider, but he's not giving up. He's riding like Quintana chasing Froome, slowly ticking his way back up to Brown.

Back in the field, Unitedhealthcare is pushing to the front, the gap at 2:06. Trek attacks, must be Didier?

It's Calvin Watson actually, the move isn't threatening Phinney's yellow jersey but still...

5km remaining from 186km

Watson is still pushing on and the peloton can see him, but haven't reached him. The four attackers have been caught. 

5km remaining from 186km

There's an attack from Cannondale-Garmin in the field, Acevedo jumps past Watson.

4km remaining from 186km

Phinney has lost contact from the field, and that's to be expected. He wasn't that kind of a climber even before his accident.

3km remaining from 186km

Bookwalter is leading a chase group with a Hincapie rider, Cajra Rural, Smartstop (Britton) and Arredondo and a teammate. Acevedo's been caught.

2km remaining from 186km

2km remaining from 186km

Arredondo pops out to have a look up the road, but he's not making any moves. Two Caja Rural riders are in there with Dennis leading. Looks like Squire from Hincapie in there.

Brown is looking very good, he's got 30 seconds but it's coming down. He sees 1km to go.

Rohan Dennis is the man responsible for the gap falling quickly, it's 15 seconds, with Squire on the wheel. 

Oh dear oh dear, just 500m to go but it might as well be 10 miles as Dennis brings the chase past Brown.

One of the Caja Rural riders has been dropped, but Dennis, Bookwalter, Jonny Clarke and Squire are in there with the other.

It's Hugh Carthy from Caja Rural, the British climber is tacked on the back as Dennis winds it up.

Bookwalter jumps and Dennis is on his wheel with a gap to the rest.

Bookwalter storms away to a very well deserved stage win, looking incredibly strong. Dennis rolls in second, with Morton getting in ahead of the Caja Rural rider. Arredondo follows.

Those last 200m were very fast.

Bookwalter will be the new race leader thanks to that effort.

Riders are heading back down to the team buses as Phinney comes to the line - the fans giving him an enthusiastic round of applause.

Carthy is third, Clarke fourth, Squire fifth on the stage at 13". Morton, Roson (Caja Rural), Formolo, Arredondo and Brenard, the Trek trainee round out the top 10.

Stage results:

General classification after stage 2 

Guillaume Boivin is cruising in many minutes down in the orange jersey of most aggressive rider. 

In case you missed it, we've calculated the Worlds allocations and are sure USA gets six riders for the men's road race.

Bookwalter gets an extra bonus in the form of a pair of skis.

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