Brent Bookwalter powered to victory on stage 2 of The Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah on the first summit finish of the race, after a dominant performance by BMC Racing Team put Bookwalter in the perfect position in the finale.
With three climbs on the cards, including the summit finish on Snowbasin, it was a battle to get into the breakaway with the peloton neutralizing multiple attempts.
Joey Rosskopf was consistently on the attack and crested the first climb solo to claim the KOM points before eventually, creating the day’s breakaway with Marco Canola (Nippo-Vini Fantini) and Oscar Clark(Holowesko-Citadel Racing Team) after more than 50km of racing.
The trio’s advantage rose to more than five minutes but the chase was on behind and the gap was down to less than two minutes with 65km and the two final climbs remaining.
Rosskopf showed his strength to ride away from his breakaway companions on the North Ogden Divide and hold off the peloton to claim the KOM points again.
30km before the finish line, the race hit the reset button when Rosskopf was caught and the reduced peloton made their way towards the base of the Snowbasin climb.
Strong performances and a fast pace set by Patrick Müller and Manuel Senni made it difficult for any attacks to go clear on the run into the climb and left a small group to battle for the stage win.
Anton De Vos (Rally Cycling) broke clear from the bunch and hovered in front of the reduced peloton while behind, BMC Racing Team continued to control the situation and slowly brought De Vos back.
Eder Frayre (Elevate – KHS Pro Cycling) went on the attack inside the final kilometer but Bookwalter proved too strong and launched the winning move with 250 meters to go to overtake Frayre and raise his arms in triumph as he secured his first individual win of the season.
Due to a count back on stage results from the opening two days, Bookwalter now sits in second place on the General Classification, on the same time as race leader Sepp Kuss (Rally Cycling).
Sepp Kuss flew up the steep ascent to Snowbasin Resort to finish second in stage two and take the overall lead at the Tour of Utah. Kuss’s stellar result was due to incredible teamwork from Rally Cycling that also garnered Adam de Vos the Most Aggressive Rider jersey, and Rob Britton seventh on the stage. In addition to results on the roads of Utah, Danny Pate found success online, winning the Tour of Utah Most Loved Veteran fan poll.
“Wearing the yellow jersey in Utah means a lot,” said Kuss. “I’m fortunate to have teammates that believe in me. Eric (Young) and Danny (Pate) did a lot of work to bring the day’s breakaway back, and Adam had an excellent run at the finish. It was a big team effort, and it feels great to reward that with the yellow jersey. In the finale, I just decided to mark Bookwalter and Robin Carpenter in the last few hundred meters. Bookwalter smoked me in the sprint, but I’m happy to get second, and the jersey is a good consolation prize. There is still a lot of racing ahead, but for the moment I’m just going to enjoy it.”
Tour of Utah Stage 2
1. Brent Bookwalter (BMC)
2. Sepp Kuss (Rally Cycling)
3. James Piccoli (Elevate – KHS Pro Cycling)
4. Francisco Mancebo (Hangar 15 Bicycles)
5. Kyle Murphy (Cylance Cycling)
6. Robin Carpenter (Holowesko-Citadel)
7. Robert Britton (Rally Cycling)
8. Neilson Powless (Axeon Hagens Berman)
9. Jonny Clarke (UnitedHealthcare)
10. Gavin Mannion (UnitedHealthcare)
General Classification After Stage 2
1. Sepp Kuss (Rally Cycling)
2. Brent Bookwalter (BMC)
3. James Piccoli (Elevate – KHS Pro Cycling)
4. Robin Carpenter (Holowesko-Citadel)
5. Silvan Dillier (BMC)
6. Gavin Mannion (UnitedHealthcare)
7. Neilson Powless (Axeon Hagens Berman)
8. Kyle Murphy (Cylance Cycling)
9. Kilian Frankiny (BMC Racing Team)
10. Robert Britton (Rally Cycling)
