Overall battle set for tomorrow’s Queen Stage
Janier Acevedo Calle (Gobernacion Indeportes Antioquia) rode away from a lead group of 17 riders to take today’s fourth stage of the Tour of Utah. The Colombian made his move in the final 500 meters of the 129 kilometer stage, with Team Type sanofi aventis riders Javier Megias Leal and Rubens Bertogliati rounding out the day’s podium in second and third, respectively. Team RadioShack’s Levi Leipheimer was able to defend his overall lead in the race on a course that saw 11 laps that included more that 7,000 feet of climbing.
“I am extremely happy. It is hard to win a stage anywhere in the world. Today was definitely hard. I am happy I get to race with some of the best riders in the world. Overall, I am very happy,” Acevedo said at the post-race press conference.
The stage saw an early move of 25 riders break clear of the peloton during the second lap, and they gained a maximum advantage of 2 minutes and 35 seconds over the peloton. Sergio Henao (Gobernacion Indeportes Antioquia), who wore the leader’s jersey for the first two days of the race, put in a big effort to bridge the gap to the breakaway on the final lap. His efforts were good enough to move him into second place behind Leipheimer in the general classification, 27 seconds ahead of the American’s teammate Janez Brajkovic.
Acevedo’s win saw him assume the XO Communications Sprint Leader’s jersey, with Danny Summerhill (Garmin-Cervelo) taking the Vivint Most Aggressive Rider jersey. Rubens Bertogliati kept his lead in the Ski Utah King of the Mountain competition, with Tejay Van Garderen (HTC-Highroad) also holding onto the jersey for the Subaru Best Young Rider jersey.
“On the final lap, me and Christian Vandevelde fell off and we got back on to the break on the descent,” Bertogliati said after the finish. “I know the first part of the last kilo was too hard. After 500 meters, it was more suitable for me and I came in third. But I am very happy for my teammate, Javier (Megias Leal), who came in second. He has diabetes; he is the best diabetic rider in the world.”
Tomorrow’s stage will represent the final day of this year’s Tour of Utah. Stage five, presented by Zions Bank, will see the riders take in more that 11,000 vertical feet of climbing over the 161 kilometer route that starts in Park City and finishes at the Snowbird Ski and Summer resort. The final ascent up Little Cottonwood Canyon will test the peloton and determine the fight for the overall.