With the prologue of the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah now underway, a clearer picture of who is in form will be gained over the next couple of hours. The action begins with a 2 kilometre uphill prologue in Park City's Utah Olympic Park, which will do much to show who is at top fitness.
Due in part to the new UCI 2.1 ranking, there’s a strong lineup for this year’s event. One that will be watched closely by home fans will be the HTC Highroad team. In addition to being one of cycling’s American UCI ProTeams, it also features one of the most talented of its young riders; Tejay Van Garderen. He was one of the big challengers in the Tour of California earlier this year, placing fifth overall, and with his first Tour de France done and dusted, will hope to show strong form in the days ahead.
“Tejay and a few of the other boys [Peter Velits, Danny Pate] are in great form off the Tour," said directeur sportif Allan Peiper. “Danny Pate and Hayden Roulston are after some stage wins.”
Van Garderen is the designated GC rider, although Velits also has the ability to shine in that classification. He will have good backing, with the aforementioned riders combining with Patrick Gretsch and Caleb Fairly plus the young stagiaires Zak Dempster and Lachlan Norris.
"Utah's a tough tour but the boys have a good energy are in great shape,” continued Peiper, who said Gretsch is also feeling ambitious. “We've got two strong trainees with us that are out to get some experience, so the group is quite strong and we have a good shot at the podium.”
The BMC Racing Team features former US champion George Hincapie, always a big favourite with the crowds, as well as fellow Americans Jeff Louder, Chris Barton, Chad Beyer, Brent Bookwalter and Chris Butler.
Louder won the race three years ago and is the protected captain on the team. “The race will be a lot different this year with a higher calibre field,” he said, adding that the final stage will be very decisive. “Everything can be won or lost on the last climb up Little Cottonwood Canyon. There is also the big question as to who rides well at altitude.”
Team Type 1 – Sanofi is putting its weight behind the Efimkin twins Vladmir and Aleksandr, who are reunited competitively after the former returned to the sport after temporarily retiring last summer. He admitted he’s not sure where he is at, but knows that he’ll get full backing.
“I've been training a lot to get back into race fitness, but it's not the same as racing. Technically I am behind the form and fitness of everyone else, but I think I prepared well and the team will work strongly to provide the right opportunities,” he stated.
He finished eleventh overall in the 2008 Tour de France, while his brother took this year’s Presidential Tour of Turkey.
They will be joined by Rubens Bertogliati, Fabio Calabria, Will Dugan, Valeriy Kobzarenko, Javier Megias and Scott Stewart.
"We have Aleks to head for the overall leader's jersey, with his brother chasing stages in the high mountains,” said directeur sportif Michael Carter. “Rubens is a time trial specialist and there are two chances for him this week. It's also an opportunity to see Dugan, Stewart and Calabria light up the climbs.”
The team will have a different appearance in the race due to a changed name of partner Sanofi plus a modified jersey design. It’s major goal in the sport is to draw attention to Type 1 diabetes. Several riders on the team have the condition, including Megias and Calabria.
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HTC-Highroad:
Tejay Van Garderen (USA), Caleb Fairly (USA), Patrick Gretsch (Ger), Danny Pate (USA), Hayden Roulston (NZ), Peter Velits (Svk), Zak Dempster (Aus), Lachlan Norris (Aus).
BMC Racing Team:
Chris Barton (USA), Chad Beyer (USA), Brent Bookwalter (USA), Chris Butler (USA), George Hincapie (USA), Jeff Louder (USA).
Team Type 1 – Sanofi:
Rubens Bertogliati (Sui), Fabio Calabria (Aus), Will Dugan (USA), Aleksandr Efimkin (Rus), Vladimir Efimkin (Rus), Valeriy Kobzarenko (Ukr), Javier Megias (Esp), Scott Stewart (USA)
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Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah (2.1), August 10 – 14:
Aug 9 Prologue: Park City (2 km)
Aug 10 stage 1: Ogden (187 km)
Aug 11, stage 2: Lehi – Provo (161 km)
Aug 12, stage 3: Miller Motorsports Park (ITT, 14.5 km)
Aug 13, stage 4: Salt Lake City (131 km)
Aug 14, stage 5: Park City – Snowbird (161 km)