Butler and Bishop two for two

Racing heated up on day two, with Canadian rider Chris Sheppard on the attack to make up time lost on the previous stage. Sheppard charged to the front, leading most of final 25 kilometers of hot, desert singletrack. Then on the first of four steep climbs before the finish line, Sheppard attacked, ringing alarm bells in the lead group that included Bishop, Ben Sonntag and Tinker Juarez (all MonaVie Cannondale). Only Bishop could answer Sheppard's pace that left Sonntag and Juarez scrambling.

After three hours and seven minutes of intense racing, Bishop nipped Sheppard by a wheel to take his second stage win. Bishop holds about a six-minute advantage over Sheppard who moved into second place in the GC.

"I was on the rivet and just fought to stay with [Sheppard] on the last two steep single track climbs," said Bishop after crossing the finish line. "I came around a bit on the last one and just tried to stay with him on the descent. I was surprised to win the sprint after that much suffering."

Sonntag rallied from a heat-related meltdown on day one to round out stage two's podium with a solid third-place finish.

Juarez, who crossed the line in forth, said, "I just hit the wall on those last climbs."

Juarez and Sonntag sit third and fourth respectively in the GC.

Wednesday's stage to Greenstone Mountain will feature both the highest point of the race at just over 6,000 feet and the race's most treacherous descent.

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