August 02, 2017 (Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah) – Canada’s Rob Britton (Rally Cycling) took home one of the biggest wins of his career with a decisive victory in the 9km Stage 3 Individual Time Trial at Big Cottonwood Canyon to capture the race leader’s yellow jersey as well. Serghei Tvetcov (Rou) Jelly Belly-Maxxis finished second at 13 seconds behind with Gavin Mannion (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling third. In 2015 Britton won the 5-stage Tour of the Gila in New Mexico – Stage 3 ITT report below.

Rob Britton Smashes Time Trial, Takes Overall Lead at Tour of Utah
report by Rally Cycling

Rob Britton charged up Big Cottonwood Canyon in the stage three time trial to claim an emphatic victory and take the Tour of Utah leader’s yellow jersey. The nine-kilometer uphill course ascended 1,722 ft, finishing at 8,776 ft above sea level. Britton smashed the course in a fantastic time of 18:26, 13 seconds faster than runner-up Serghei Tvetcov (Jelly Belly-Maxxis) and 26 seconds faster than third-place Gavin Mannion (UnitedHealthcare). Britton’s impressive ride gave the team its second yellow jersey of the race and moved him into the overall lead. Overnight race leader Sepp Kuss finished in 17th, while Adam de Vos crossed the line in 20th and kept the Most Aggressive Rider jersey for another day.

“I was excited when I saw there was going to be an uphill time trial,” said Britton. “The event and course suit my strengths, and I just tried to go flat out and into the red.  Once you go over the 8,000 ft mark, you really go into oxygen debt. At that point, I just held on for dear life, tried to limit the damage and hold on in the final kilometer. It is great to have a small gap going into the final four stages, but there is still a lot of racing ahead. We have a strong team and plan on keeping the jersey.”

In the general classification, Britton now leads Mannion by 26 seconds with Tvetcov in third, 28 seconds down. Sepp Kuss remains a threat for overall victory sitting just 1:04 back in tenth place. With four stages remaining, the team aims to add to its tally of stage wins and claim overall victory. In tomorrow’s stage four into South Jordan City, the team will look to Eric Young and Colin Joyce to grab another stage victory while also dedicating itself to the defense of Britton’s yellow jersey. The road ahead includes the traditional finish into Bountiful that ends with two demanding circuits that rarely sees the peloton finish intact. Stage six will see the riders tackle the 32-kilometer, 4,000 ft ascent to Snowbird Resort. The Tour of Utah ends on Sunday with a circuit race through the streets of Salt Lake City.

“Today Rob showed he is here to win the bike race.” said Performance Manager Jonas Carney. “He has been riding and training well, so we knew he was going to be one of the top guys. We are going all in to defend the jersey for Rob – it’s going to be very difficult. We have a solid team here, but there are four tough days ahead. It’s hot, it’s at altitude, there is a lot of climbing, but we are going to give it everything we have.”

Results

1. Robert Britton (Can) Rally Cycling 18:30
2. Serghei Tvetcov (Rou) Jelly Belly-Maxxis 00:13
3. Gavin Mannion (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 00:26
4. Joey Rosskopf (USA) BMC Racing Team 00:26
5. Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Bardiani CSF 00:30
6. Kyle Murphy (USA) Cylance Cycling 00:34
7. Neilson Powless (USA) Axeon Hagens Berman 00:37
8. Manuel Senni (Ita) BMC Racing Team 00:37
9. Simone Sterbini (Ita) Bardiani CSF 00:40
10. Keegan Swirbul (USA) Jelly Belly-Maxxis 00:46
11. Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team 00:46
12. Taylor Eisenhart (USA) Holowesko-Citadel p/b Hincapie Sportswear 00:52
13. Robin Carpenter (USA) Holowesko-Citadel p/b Hincapie Sportswear 00:58
14. Jonny Clarke (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 00:59
15. Janier Acevedo (Col) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 01:00
16. Antonio Molina Canet (Esp) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA 01:00
17. Sepp Kuss (USA) Rally Cycling 01:04
18. Kilian Frankiny (Sui) BMC Racing Team 01:06
19. Pierpaolo Ficara (Ita) Amore & Vita – SelleSMP p/b Fondriest 01:07
20. Adam De Vos (Can) Rally Cycling 01:07
21. James Piccoli (Can) Elevate – KHS Pro Cycling 01:11
22. Lachlan Norris (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 01:13
23. Erik Slack (USA) Hangar 15 Bicycles 01:14
24. Will Barta (USA) Axeon Hagens Berman 01:18
25. Alex Aranburu Deva (Esp) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA 01:22
26. Dennis van Winden (Ned) Israel Cycling Academy 01:22
27. Stephen Bassett (USA) Silber Pro Cycling 01:23
28. Silvan Dillier (Sui) BMC Racing Team 01:25
29. Simone Velasco (Ita) Bardiani CSF 01:31
30. Andrei Krasilnikau (Bel) Holowesko-Citadel p/b Hincapie Sportswear 01:31
31. Redi Halilaj (Alb) Amore & Vita – SelleSMP p/b Fondriest 01:33
32. Adam Roberge (Can) Silber Pro Cycling 01:35
33. Bryan Lewis (USA) Cylance Cycling 01:39
34. Chris Butler (USA) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA 01:43
35. Gonzalo Serrano Rodriguez (Esp) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA 01:44
36. Patrick Mueller (Sui) BMC Racing Team 01:44
37. Cory Lockwood (USA) Elevate – KHS Pro Cycling 01:45
38. Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini 01:48
39. Nigel Ellsay (Can) Silber Pro Cycling 01:49
40. David Galarreta (Esp) Amore & Vita – SelleSMP p/b Fondriest 01:50
41. Connor Brown (USA) Elevate – KHS Pro Cycling 01:50
42. Martin Elmiger (Sui) BMC Racing Team 01:50
43. Chad Beyer (USA) Hangar 15 Bicycles 01:51
44. Alexander Hoehn (USA) Elevate – KHS Pro Cycling 01:51
45. Manuel Sola Arjona (Esp) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA 01:54
46. Lorenzo Rota (Ita) Bardiani CSF 01:55
47. Eder Frayre Moctezuma (Mex) Elevate – KHS Pro Cycling 01:56
48. Tom Bohli (Sui) BMC Racing Team 01:58
49. Diego Rubio Hernandez (Esp) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA 01:59
50. Logan Owen (USA) Axeon Hagens Berman 01:59
51. Miguel Angel Benito Diez (Esp) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA 02:01
52. Marco Canola (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini 02:03
53. Emerson Oronte (USA) Rally Cycling 02:03
54. Jhonatan Narvaez (Ecu) Axeon Hagens Berman 02:04
55. Francisco Mancebo (Esp) Hangar 15 Bicycles 02:06
56. Chris Jones (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 02:07
57. Jordan Cheyne (Can) Jelly Belly-Maxxis 02:07
58. Chris Winn (Aus) Hangar 15 Bicycles 02:08
59. Luis Lemus (Mex) Israel Cycling Academy 02:08
60. Yuma Koishi (Jpn) Nippo – Vini Fantini 02:09
61. Michael Rice (Aus) Axeon Hagens Berman 02:11
62. Andres Diaz (Col) Cylance Cycling 02:12
63. Travis McCabe (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 02:13
64. Oscar Clark (USA) Holowesko-Citadel p/b Hincapie Sportswear 02:13
65. Marco Bernardinetti (Ita) Amore & Vita – SelleSMP p/b Fondriest 02:14
66. Tyler Williams (USA) Israel Cycling Academy 02:16
67. Vincenzo Albanese (Ita) Bardiani CSF 02:17
68. Guillaume Boivin (Can) Israel Cycling Academy 02:20
69. Marco Zamparella (Ita) Amore & Vita – SelleSMP p/b Fondriest 02:21
70. Ruben Companioni (Cub) Holowesko-Citadel p/b Hincapie Sportswear 02:21
71. Joseph Schmaltz (USA) Elevate – KHS Pro Cycling 02:24
72. Simone Andreetta (Ita) Bardiani CSF 02:28
73. Taylor Sheldon (USA) Jelly Belly-Maxxis 02:30
74. Justin Oien (USA) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA 02:33
75. Besmir Banushi (Alb) Amore & Vita – SelleSMP p/b Fondriest 02:36
76. Kaler Marshall (USA) Hangar 15 Bicycles 02:38
77. Daniel Turek (Cze) Israel Cycling Academy 02:41
78. Hunter Grove (USA) Cylance Cycling 02:43
79. Giacomo Berlato (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini 02:46
80. Orlando Garibay (Mex) Cylance Cycling 02:47
81. Damiano Cima (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini 02:47
82. Andzs Flaksis (Lat) Holowesko-Citadel p/b Hincapie Sportswear 02:48
83. Umberto Poli (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk 02:51
84. Daniel Jaramillo (Col) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 02:54
85. Rob Squire (USA) Hangar 15 Bicycles 02:55
86. Steve Fisher (USA) Hangar 15 Bicycles 02:58
87. Rui Oliveira (Por) Axeon Hagens Berman 02:59
88. Emile Jean (Can) Silber Pro Cycling 03:00
89. Julien Gagne (Can) Silber Pro Cycling 03:02
90. Paolo Simion (Ita) Bardiani CSF 03:05
91. Jacob Rathe (USA) Jelly Belly-Maxxis 03:07
92. Sebastian Haedo (Arg) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 03:09
93. Chris Lawless (Gbr) Axeon Hagens Berman 03:09
94. Karl Menzies (Aus) Cylance Cycling 03:10
95. Marc Antoine Soucy (Can) Silber Pro Cycling 03:11
96. Luca Wackermann (Ita) Bardiani CSF 03:11
97. Fabio Calabria (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk 03:12
98. Evan Huffman (USA) Rally Cycling 03:12
99. John Murphy (USA) Holowesko-Citadel p/b Hincapie Sportswear 03:14
100. Brian McCulloch (USA) Elevate – KHS Pro Cycling 03:16
101. Nickolas Zukowsky (Can) Silber Pro Cycling 03:19
102. Guy Niv (Isr) Israel Cycling Academy 03:22
103. Ty Magner (USA) Holowesko-Citadel p/b Hincapie Sportswear 03:27
104. Pier-Andre Cote (Can) Silber Pro Cycling 03:29
105. Ulises Alfredo Castillo (Mex) Jelly Belly-Maxxis 03:31
106. Uri Martins Sandoval (Mex) Amore & Vita – SelleSMP p/b Fondriest 03:35
107. Scott Law (Aus) Cylance Cycling 03:39
108. Mihkel Raim (Est) Israel Cycling Academy 03:42
109. Rik Van Ijzendoorn (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk 03:47
110. Cortlan Brown (USA) Hangar 15 Bicycles 03:50
111. Joshua Berry (USA) Jelly Belly-Maxxis 03:51
112. Eric Marcotte (USA) Cylance Cycling 03:53
113. Sam Brand (Gbr) Team Novo Nordisk 03:58
114. Angus Morton (Aus) Jelly Belly-Maxxis 04:02
115. Alan Marangoni (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini 04:08
116. Gerd Keijzer (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk 04:11
117. Stephen Clancy (Irl) Team Novo Nordisk 04:11
118. Aviv Yechezkel (Isr) Israel Cycling Academy 04:16
119. Danny Pate (USA) Rally Cycling 04:20
120. Colin Joyce (USA) Rally Cycling 04:23
121. Alfredo Rodriguez Victoria (Mex) Elevate – KHS Pro Cycling 04:31
122. Eric Young (USA) Rally Cycling 04:38
123. Reid McClure (Can) Team Novo Nordisk 04:42
124. Jonny Brown (USA) Axeon Hagens Berman 04:49

GC after Stage 3

1. Robert Britton (Can) Rally Cycling 8:53:32
2. Gavin Mannion (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 00:26
3. Serghei Tvetcov (Rou) Jelly Belly-Maxxis 00:28
4. Kyle Murphy (USA) Cylance Cycling 00:34
5. Neilson Powless (USA) Axeon Hagens Berman 00:38