Breakaway Stays Until the Finish on Stage 2 of Tour of Utah

03 August 2016

Race: Tour of Utah, Stage 2

Start/Finish: Escalante /Torrey, Utah

Distance: 159 kilometers

Torrey, Utah — Tuesday’s Stage 2 of the Tour of Utah saw the peloton tackle a 159-kilometer race that featured two categorized climbs before two 17-km finishing circuits around Torrey.

The fight to get into the day’s breakaway started fast and furious. Initially, eight riders escaped with two more bridging. Cannondale-Drapac controlled the peloton early into the day and wouldn’t let this 10-man group gain a large gap. As the race reached the day’s first intermediate sprint, Frederic Brun (Fortuneo-Vital Concept), Robin Carpenter (Holowesko-Citadel Racing Team) and Ruben Campanioni (Team Jamis) attacked off the front. As they climbed Boulder Mountain, Brun fell back to the peloton. The remaining duo soon gained a sizeable gap and the peloton was unable to bring them back. Carpenter held on to solo to the win. Team Novo Nordisk’s Javier Megias finished in 21^st place as part of the main bunch.

“I was really impressed with our boys today, especially Gerd and Stephen,” Team Novo Nordisk Sport Director Pavel Cherkasov said. “They fought so hard today. They got dropped first, but then they came back; and they were fighting and fighting. I think we have warriors here on the team.”

Team Novo Nordisk, the world’s first all diabetes pro cycling team, continues racing at the Tour of Utah on Wednesday with Stage 3. The 191.8-km day begins in Richfield and features the epic Mt. Nebo at nearly 2,745 meters before finishing in Payson.

Results: