Sulzberger sizzles on final stage

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Bernhard Sulzberger showed why he's Australia national criterium champion with a win at the Tour of Utah criterium finale in a head-to-head sprint against US national criterium champion, John Murphy. The OUCH pb Maxxis rider finished second while BMC's Chris Barton took third, his first NRC podium.

"I needed to be first to that last corner and I cut the inside of it and had a lot more speed; that's what gave me the advantage to take the win," said Sulzberger. "The team worked awesome and did nearly all the race on the front. I can't thank them enough and I just had to pay it back to them. We came here to win a stage and this was our last opportunity."

Francisco Mancebo (Rock Racing) added the Tour of Utah to his long career palmares. The Spaniard moved into the race lead after winning stage one and with the help of his teammates held it through to the finish. Stage two winner Darren Lill (Team Type 1) maintained his second place ahead of last year's champion Jeff Louder (BMC), who placed third.

"Winning this race is very important because it is the first [stage] race I have won in America," said Mancebo, who won stage one of the Tour of California in February. "The team worked so hard since the first day to keep this jersey. I just had to stay up front in the criterium to hold onto the yellow jersey. The team stayed at the front the whole criterium and there were no problems."

Finally, a day for the sprinters!

The Tour of Utah concluded with a fast, non-technical, four-corner criterium held on the streets of Salt Lake City. Only 130 of the 170 riders that started the prologue last Tuesday were left to finish the mountainous six-stage race. Mancebo's Rock Racing teammates assumed responsibility for setting tempo to deter attempted breakaways for the full duration of the 90-minute race.

BMC's 'go big or go home' attitude resulted in the only significant break of the day. The squad sent one rider after another on the attack which resulted in Brent Bookwalter escaping the field. Current US amateur criterium champion Justin England (California Giant Berry Farms) followed the move and the two gained a lead nearing 10 seconds.

French-Canadian talent David Veilleux (KBS) attempted to bridge across soon after, joined by Salt Lake City's ProTour hero David Zabriskie (Garmin-Slipstream). Veilleux's snappy speed closed the gap to the break and Zabriskie's powerful time trial strength played a key role in gaining nearly 20 seconds' advantage.

The four escapees took even turns of pace round the circuit as Veilleux aimed to hold the break out front long enough to capture the mid-race points sprint. Mancebo and Andy Guptill (Colavita-Sutter Home) were tied for the lead of the event's Best Sprinter jersey with 10 points each. Veilleux stole the green jersey from both riders by picking up full points to move into a 14-point lead.

"We were really going for the green jersey and that was one of the big goals for the day," said Veilleux, who finished in third on stage one. "It's a good thing to win. I had a good first stage and I think I could have won that if it was together, but things happen like that. I had the points and so I wanted to go for this today."

Bookwalter was the highest placed breakaway rider overall, although at 4:18 back he didn't pose a threat to Mancebo's lead. Rock Racing's pace-setting never faltered and they held the time gap at between 15 and 20 seconds. The break may have gained more time if not for the hungry sprinters back in the bunch. After all, it was their final opportunity to win a stage and one that they had suffered for all week.

The sense of danger worked its way back through the peloton and riders from Fly V Australia sent two men to help Rock Racing in the chase, desperately trying to bring the race back together for their eventual winner, Sulzberger. OUCH p/b Maxxis also helped in the pursuit, keeping the break at a manageable 10 seconds with 40 minutes to go. The break dangled out front for another 10 minutes before being reeled back with 30 minutes to go.

As the time board showed 10 circuits remaining the attacks had calmed and Rock Racing continued its effort at the front to position Mancebo safely in the hectic finale. Meanwhile, Fly V Australia and OUCH p/b Maxxis were preparing for the anticipated sprint finish as recently-crowned US professional criterium champion John Murphy sported his new stars and stripes skin-suit for the first time.

"It's very motivating and I'm pretty much riding for this jersey now," said Murphy, who won the title in Downers Grove last weekend. "I have to prove to myself that I'm the best crit racer in America and I gotta start riding like that.

"OUCH p/b Maxxis rode perfect today," Murphy continued. "We took over and had all the guys working. We had them on the front to bring back an earlier move. They kept it in control up until the last corner and Bernie just snuck through. I left it a little too open and he beat me."

The crowds went wild when their local hero Jeff Louder (BMC), defending champion took a flyer with one lap to go. His efforts served two purposes; first, to bring teammate Barton into good position to sprint and second, to try to hold off the field and win the race.

"That was sort of a stunt trying to set up Barton/trying to win," said Louder. "I wanted to win and that was really my only chance. If those guys faltered or hesitated too much I think I could have stayed away but if it didn't work, Barton was in a perfect position for the big wind up if they did chase me. It more or less paid off because that was a great result for him."