Cade Bickmore wins stage 4 of the Tour of the Gila(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
A few breaks were allowed to escape early in the stage 4 men's criterium(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
A mid-race break allowed some TV time by Project Echelon(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
Men's peloton navigating the fourth and final corner onto N Bullard St.(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
Project Echelon Racing worked as a team to get Cade Bickmore maximum points on all 3 intermediate sprint points(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
Cade Bickmore (Project Echelon Racing) had great help from his teammates to keep all breaks in check and capture all the intermediate sprint points and time bonuses(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
After the final intermediate sprint point, a break of five strong riders slipped away(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
The final break of the day - Alexander White (Aevolo), Cormac McGeough (Canel's - Zerouno) and Connor Mc Dunphy (SoCalCycling.com) - had a 30-second gap with 4 laps to go, but it evaporated to zero seconds by the bell.(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
Men's stage 4 podium (L to R): Theodore Obholzer (SoCalCycling.com) in second, stage 4 winner Cade Bickmore (Project Echelon Racing) and Brayan Sánchez (Team Medellín-EPM in third)(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
Cade Bickmore (Project Echelon Racing) won Saturday's stage 4 of the Tour of the Gila, the Downtown Silver City Criterium.
The 69.5 km (43.2 mile) stage took the men's peloton at the Tour of the Gila on 40 laps of an urban circuit of just over a mile on slightly hilly roads, and Project Echelon worked hard to control the day with the hope of closing out the stage with a bunch kick. Despite repeated attempts by enterprising breakaway hopefuls to get away, nobody managed to stay clear of the pack for long.
As such, Bickmore racked up intermediate after intermediate, moving into the points lead even before the finish. There was, however, some intrigue in the finale as Conn McDunphy (SoCalCycling.com) joined a small break and then powered away for a solo bid with two laps to go. He took a 10-second lead into the final lap, but the Project Echelon-led pack managed to reel him in to set up the sprint.
Rewarding his team for their efforts, Bickmore proved fastest in the bunch, winning the stage ahead of Theodore Obholzer (SoCalCycling.com) and Brayan Sánchez (Medellin). Meanwhile, overnight leader Torbjørn Røed (Above & Beyond Cancer Cycling) finished safely in the peloton and will wear the leader's jersey for Sunday's final stage, dubbed the Gila Monster Road Race, which will take riders 161.9 km (100.6 miles) from Silver City to Piños Altos.
Dane has been a sports writer and editor for many years, and makes a return to Cyclingnews as a contributor in 2022. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia.
In Luke Tuckwell's latest column for Cyclingnews, he recalls his memorable week in France, and how he went from tears in training to his first yellow jersey
