USA Pro Challenge: Didier wins in Breckenridge

Laurent Didier made up for his Trek teammate Jens Voigt's disappointment on the previous stage of the USA Pro Challenge by claiming a hard-fought victory on a very cold and rainy stage to Breckenridge.

The Luxembourg time trial champion used his skills to power away from his breakaway companions, first going away over the top of the penultimate climb of Hoosier Pass. He was joined by Garmin's Ben King and Janier Acevedo, and Rob Britton (SmartStop) on the descent, and although King attacked in the final 10km, Didier chased him down and then left him behind on the final ascent of Boreas Pass.

"I haven't won a lot of races, but the ones I did have always been in the rain. When there was a lot of rain, I stayed focused and put on a jacket and gloves. When it came down to the final, I was ready," Didier said.

"When I attacked on the first climb, I saw I could make it to the finish, but when you're alone in front, it's too hard."

The four riders came together toward the bottom of the descent from Hoosier Pass, and then cooperated on the run into town until King launched his attack. Didier bided his time, knowing what the finish held from watching last year's race on television.

"I had to play smart against the two Garmin guys. I let Ben King go. I knew the climb was a hard 300 meters, but I gave it all because I knew that after it was very fast to the finish."

Britton and Acevedo came close but ran out of room to close down Didier's advantage, and finished a frustrating fraction of a second behind.

"I was a little scared they might catch me with 500 meters to go," Didier said. "I was in the break yesterday, I attacked at kilometer zero. But I had been having problems with the altitude at the start of the race, because I was planning on the Vuelta, and I was late coming here and needed a few days to adapt. I was in the group of 25 on stage 3, and in the breakaway yesterday, and today it worked out."

Race leader Tejay van Garderen (BMC) further reinforced his lead in the overall classification, but his teammate Ben Hermans lost ground. Tom Danielson also lost five seconds on the day, dropping behind Serghei Tvetcov (Jelly Belly) in the hunt for the podium spot.

"I was trying to get as much time before the time trial as possible to have a comfortable buffer," van Garderen said. "I saw that some of the other guys were hurting, so I could take advantage of that. It was freezing out there. It was definitely one of those days where it's mind over matter."

With just two days between himself and the race finish in Denver, van Garderen is confident but vigilant in the face of the challenge from Tinkoff-Saxo's Rafal Majka, who is in second overall.

"I'm definitely confident, but I have to keep my wits about me. If I blow up, I can lose time. Majka is riding strong, and a bad day could be the end of it."

Rafal Majka (Tinkoff-Saxo) now sits in second overall at 20 seconds, while Tvetcov moved into third at 37 seconds, two clicks in front of Danielson. 

How it unfolded

The lightning fast 168km route from Woodland Park to the heights of Breckenridge began with a light drizzle that would turn into a massive downpour mixed with hail by the midpoint of the stage. The misery didn't stop the attacks from flying, but it took a good 60km before a breakaway was allowed to get away.

The first attempt came from Tiago Machado (NetApp-Endura), Danny Summerhill (UHC), Eric Marcott (SmartStop), Luis Amaran (Jamis-Hagens Berman), Ty Magner and Dion Smith (Hincapie Sportswear), Steve Fisher (Jelly Belly) and Gregory Daniel (Bissell) got a small advantage, but by kilometer 41.6, the Optum team had hauled them back into the fold.

Finally, just before the 50km mark a group was established that made everyone happy, and while the peloton took a nature break, 12 riders began working on building up an eventual 5:20 maximum advantage.

Optum put Scott Zwizanski in the move, and they were happy with that, but the group also contained the Garmin duo Acevedo and King, and Didier with Cristiano Salerno (Cannondale), Jose Pimenta (NetApp-Endura), Jai Crawford (Drapac), Chris Butler (Hincapie), Rob Britton (SmartStop), Richard Handley (Rapha-Condor), Daniel Eaton (Bissell), and Luis Lemus (Jelly Belly).

Through the long drag through the Pike National Forest, they enjoyed a cross-tailwind that helped in their endeavour, but as they neared the midpoint of the stage, a steady rain began to fall, and turned into a downpour that chilled the entire peloton to the bone.

On the intermediate sprint in Fairplay, Lemus led the way ahead of Crawford and Handley, but it wasn't long before the Hoosier Pass climb blew the group apart.

Didier attacked near the top, and only Acevedo and King could follow, with Rob Britton then tacking onto the Garmin duo.

The trio managed to bring back the Luxembourger, and after skipping a few pulls, the Trek rider resumed working with the group before King played his card, earning the race's most aggressive rider prize for his effort.

"The most aggressive rider jersey is a consolation prize in some ways," a disappointed King said. "At one point I thought I was going to win. It's not often I have that feeling in a race. I looked back and had 15 seconds on the three chasers. But then they came over me with 300m to the top of the last climb, and I couldn't even hold onto the wheels.

"I was teammates with Laurent, and he's really strong. He's a deserving winner. It's quite disappointing to be so close and to not win."

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