Megias 2 Seconds Behind Leader at Tour of Utah Opener

01 August 2016

Race: Tour of Utah, Stage 1

Start/Finish: Zion National Park/Cedar City, Utah

Distance: 135 kilometers

Cedar City, Utah — The Tour of Utah, known as America’s toughest stage race, kicked off Monday under hot and sunny skies. The opening stage began with a 20-kilometer neutral rollout through Zion National Park and speeds picked up quickly upon exiting the park. A five-man breakaway immediately attacked, with four riders hanging on to stay together most of the stage, including Simon Pellaud (IAM Cycling), Daniel Jaramillo (United Healthcare), Adrien Costa (Axeon-Hagens Berman) and Matteo Dal-Cin (Silber).

“The pace was steady until the final KOM at 94km,” said Team Novo Nordisk Sport Director, Pavel Cherkasov. “Corentin was our first rider to struggle at the climb and wasn’t able to finish today. The rest of our young riders struggled as well, but were able to finish the race.”

Following two climbs, the peloton took on three laps around a downtown circuit in Cedar City. The breakaway nearly held on, but was absorbed shortly before the sprint finish. Javier Megias was Team Novo Nordisk’s best-placed rider, crossing the finish line just two seconds behind the stage winner, Kris Dahl (Silber Pro Cycling).

Team Novo Nordisk, the world’s first all-diabetes pro cycling team, continues racing on Tuesday with Stage 2 of the Tour of Utah. The 157.7-km stage begins in Escalante and takes the riders over a category 2 ascent of Boulder Mountain before finishing in Torrey.

Results: