Though it may have taken a back seat in the overall honours to Radioshack and Garmin-Cervelo, the BMC Racing Team also had a highly successful run at the inaugural USA Pro Cycling Challenge. The team placed George Hincapie and Tour de France champion Cadel Evans in the top ten, Jeff Louder was twelfth, and Brent Bookwalter was 22nd.
Hincapie also won stage two of the race, his first win since the US road championships in 2009. The American veteran rode away from a select group containing Tejay Van Garderen (HTC Highroad) and Tom Danielson (Garmin-Cervelo).
Yesterday’s final stage had a few nervous moments for BMC, even on a day that appeared to be a formality. After starting in Golden, Colorado, the race ended with circuits around the capital city of Denver. But before arriving in Denver, the bunch had to tackle one final big climb that crested just 25 kilometers into the 116-kilometer stage.
“The race exploded on the climb, and the front was fifteen guys with Cadel and the chase was forty guys with four of ours,” team assistant director Michael Sayers stated after the race. “The guys did a lot of work to get George back to the front.”
Team leader Cadel Evans, who was given the number one bib number at the start of the week, had a flat tire at a crucial point of the circuits around Denver as the pace was really heating up. Sayers commended his team’s workers for their help. “Chris Butler and especially Tim Roe helped Cadel out when he flatted,” he added.
Hincapie enjoyed his best results in some time, with the stage win and a fifth place overall. “I definitely felt strong this last week, and I put in good work for it,” he said. The American known for targeting the spring Classics has some targets in the late summer and early fall, and he seems on track for some good performances.
“A big season goal of mine throughout the year has been the races in Canada, so I think I’ve arrived in good shape and I should have a good ride there in two weeks,” Hincapie explained. “Definitely my stage win stands out. It was the hardest stage (it included Independence Pass at over 12,000 feet) and to pull it off was really special, especially in front of so many people.”
Even though the top five in the general classification was filled out by well-known Americans, it was perhaps the appearance of Australian Tour de France champion Evans that brought the race the most buzz. The Aussie finished seventh overall, and seemed pleased with his efforts given the altitude.
He’d like to have fought for the overall win but his disrupted schedule after the Tour made that a very difficult ask. “Normally in cycling, we follow certain protocols for preparing for the Tour de France and the big races that take up fairly large chunks of time,” he explained. “To race over 3,700 meters, you need larger blocks of training time that I didn’t have. So from a sporting point of view, I came here with ambitions, but no great expectations.”
In Colorado’s first big stage race in years, massive crowds lined the roads and finish areas. Evans and his BMC teammates noted it, and the high level of competition that brought them out. “There was a great turnout of riders – which made for great racing – and a great turnout of fans,” he remarked.
“Not only were the fans real passionate and enthusiastic, but they were also really appreciative of us being here, which made it a lot nicer for us.”