Timmy Duggan (Liquigas-Cannondale) finished the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah in seventh place overall after a fine performance on the queen stage to Snowbird Lodge. Although he hasn’t had many race days this year, he told VeloNation that he wasn’t surprised with his result.
“My performance at Utah was where I expected to be. My goal was to have a solid overall result at Utah, which I figured means a lot for my fitness since the Utah race was so varied. It required you to be a true all rounder,” Duggan said.
“I haven’t really done a proper stage race since Tour of California so I was a bit lacking for sure but my training has been going very well after being able to spend so much time at home in one place the second half of the summer. I was definitely riding into the race and feeling a lot better every day.”
Duggan gradually moved up the ranks after finishing the opening prologue in 27th place. He also lost time to the favourites on stage two when Team Radioshack put the peloton under pressure to see a select group of five riders go clear.
“It made sense to me that I would lack a little race pace snap on the first couple days because I haven’t raced much this summer but, I am recovering well and as the race got harder it got easier for me,” he told VeloNation.
The 28 year old former Garmin-Transitions rider describes himself as a combination between a “diesel engine and an opportunist.” He joined Liquigas-Cannondale this year along with fellow American Ted King. While his future is yet to be secured, Duggan is currently in talks with the Italian team about extending his contract to next year with his Utah results said to go a long way.
Next on his racing schedule is the US Pro Cycling Challenge in Colorado, which starts on the 22nd August. The start list will be tougher than in Utah with eight World Tour teams taking part. Tour de France champions Cadel Evans (BMC Racing Team) has confirmed his participation with brothers Andy and Fränk Schleck (both Leopard Trek) also taking part.
This does not seem to hamper Duggan’s confidence, though, who said, “I’ll be looking to be a notch stronger,” speaking about his participation in the race.