August 18, 2015 (Arapahoe Basin, Colorado) – BMC Racing Team’s Brent Bookwalter soloed to win Tuesday’s mountain-top finish at the USA Pro Challenge and teammate Rohan Dennis was runner-up as Bookwalter replaced teammate Taylor Phinney as the race’s overall leader.

Bookwalter, who won for the first time since February of 2013, said he did not immediately realize he was the winner of the 185.5-kilometer race that finished at the Arapahoe Basin ski resort.

The last time board we saw was to (breakaway rider) Nate Brown – and was a minute, I think, with over a kilometer to go, maybe a kilometer-and-a-half, Bookwalter said. “Rohan had me cross-eyed, just biting my stem the whole time. I wasn’t really aware of when Nate came back or who was going on. I was just concentrated on doing the best climb I could and holding Rohan’s wheel. Then, with about 500 meters to go, I actually caught my breath and felt recovered. I chucked it in the big ring and gave it everything I had. Obviously I was going for seconds also, so there was no time to celebrate. It is a good feeling.”

Bookwalter credited his teammates for first helping bring back a 12-man breakaway and then for setting a hard tempo that reduced the front group to fewer than 10 inside of five kilometers to go.

These guys were riding like machines all day, he said. “They were incredible. I had to keep telling them to slow down and not bring the break back too quickly. They were hurting me when they were surging over the climbs. I didn’t really feel great all day, but I think a little bit of that was the attitude. It was actually nice to get to that last climb and have Rohan put the hammer down. Then it was simple: hold the wheel, ride as hard as we can and it’s done. There is no more conserving at that point.”

Dennis said he was surprised by his runner-up performance, his fourth on the year.  “I saw on the TV screen that Brent was sort of next to me, so I tried to get on him,” he said. “But he went straight past me and got into position to win. It is great we went 1-2, and I sort of surprised myself. I rode pretty well from the bottom to the top, and I was expecting to blow with at least three kilometers to go when people started attacking.”

Bookwalter won the BMC Racing Team’s 27th race of the year and its fifth since Saturday. Ben Hermans and Silvan Dillier won Stages 3 and 4, respectively, of the Arctic Race of Norway on Saturday and Sunday while Manuel Quinziato won the last stage of the Eneco Tour, also on Sunday. On Monday, Phinney won for the first time since making his comeback earlier this month at the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah after being sidelined by injury for 62 weeks.

In the overall standings, Bookwalter leads Dennis by six seconds. Jonathan Clarke (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team) is third and Hugh Carthy (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA – who finished third on the stage – is fourth. Both are 10 seconds off the lead. Phinney kept his lead in the sprint classification while the BMC Racing Team remained leaders in the team standings.

Sport Director Jackson Stewart, who raced with Bookwalter on the BMC Racing Team from 2008 until his retirement in 2010, said he cannot recall seeing the Asheville, N.C., resident winning a bigger race.

Brent has always been the guy who led out our other guys to get there, Stewart said. “For me, he deserves so many more results than he ever got. He was so close to being national road champion and national time trial champion in the same year. Little things like that where he has been so close in results before. And that was in the few times he was able to try for himself. Most of the time, he was working for others. So to win a race like this and take the jersey like this is huge for him and his career. It is a big payoff for all the work he has done in the past.”

Results

1. Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team 4:37:03
2. Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team 6
3. Hugh Carthy (Gbr) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:10
4. Jonathan Clarke (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
5. Robbie Squire (USA) Hincapie Racing Team 0:13
6. Lachlan David Morton (Aus) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis 0:25
7. Jaime Roson (Esp) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:27
8. Davide Formolo (Ita) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 0:31
9. Julian Arredondo Moreno (Col) Trek Factory Racing 0:33
10. Julien Bernard (Fra) Trek Factory Racing 0:38
11. Toms Skujins (Lat) Hincapie Racing Team 0:44
12. Rob Britton (Can) Team SmartStop 0:47
13. Nathan Brown (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 0:51
14. Gavin Mannion (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis 0:53
15. Tao Geoghegan Hart (Gbr) Axeon Cycling Team 0:54
16. Janez Brajkovic (Slo) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
17. Alexandr Braico (Mda) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis 0:57
18. Lachlan Norris (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling
19. Bruno Pires (Por) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:59
20. Evan Huffman (USA) Team SmartStop
21. Janier Alexis Acevedo Colle (Col) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 1:04
22. Emerson Oronte (USA) Team SmartStop 1:22
23. Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Tinkoff-Saxo
24. Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team
25. Dion Smith (Nzl) Hincapie Racing Team
26. Daniel Alexander Jaramillo Diez (Col) Jamis – Hagens Berman 1:30
27. Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo 1:43
28. Ruben Zepuntke (Ger) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 1:49
29. Laurent Didier (Lux) Trek Factory Racing 1:56
30. Taylor Shelden (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis 2:06
31. Flavio De Luna (Mex) Team SmartStop 2:17
32. Ivan Rovny (Rus) Tinkoff-Saxo 2:23
33. Michael Torckler (Nzl) Team Budget Forklifts
34. Nicolae Tanovitchii (Mda) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis 2:52
35. Calvin Watson (Aus) Trek Factory Racing 3:22
36. Ryan Anderson (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 3:43
37. James Oram (Nzl) Axeon Cycling Team 3:52
38. Travis Mccabe (USA) Team SmartStop 4:07
39. Daniel Turek (Cze) Cycling Academy Team 4:17
40. Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team 4:19
41. Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team
42. Timothy Roe (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling
43. Daniel Eaton (USA) Axeon Cycling Team 4:48
44. Gregory Daniel (USA) Axeon Cycling Team 5:00
45. Matthew Busche (USA) Trek Factory Racing 5:06
46. Leonardo Basso (Ita) Trek Factory Racing
47. Adam Phelan (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling 5:43
48. Chris Putt (USA) Axeon Cycling Team 7:14
49. Tanner Putt (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
50. Logan Owen (USA) Axeon Cycling Team
51. Walter Gaston Trillini (Arg) Jamis – Hagens Berman
52. Christopher Jones (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
53. Charles Planet (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk
54. Bartosz Warchol (Pol) Cycling Academy Team
55. Peter Stetina (USA) BMC Racing Team
56. Edward King (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
57. Emanuel Piaskowy (Pol) Cycling Academy Team
58. Kristoffer Skjerping (Nor) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
59. Andzs Flaksis (Lat) Hincapie Racing Team
60. Chad Young (USA) Axeon Cycling Team
61. Angus Morton (Aus) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
62. Fabricio Ferrari Barcelo (Uru) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
63. Felix Grossschartner (Aut) Tinkoff-Saxo
64. Jesus Hernandez Blazquez (Esp) Tinkoff-Saxo
65. Miguel Angel Benito Diez (Esp) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
66. Jasper Bovenhuis (Ned) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
67. Eduard Beltran Suarez (Col) Tinkoff-Saxo
68. Tom Zirbel (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 7:49
69. William Clarke (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling
70. Dylan Girdlestone (RSA) Drapac Professional Cycling
71. Kiel Reijnen (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 7:55
72. Marco Canola (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
73. David Lozano Riba (Esp) Team Novo Nordisk 9:24
74. Javier Megias Leal (Esp) Team Novo Nordisk 9:44
75. John Murphy (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 0:10:48
76. Phillip Gaimon (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
77. Brendan Canty (Aus) Team Budget Forklifts
78. Jack Anderson (Aus) Team Budget Forklifts
79. Martin Kohler (Sui) Drapac Professional Cycling
80. Julian Kyer (USA) Team SmartStop
81. Joseph Lewis (Aus) Hincapie Racing Team
82. Jure Kocjan (Slo) Team SmartStop
83. Antonio Molina (Esp) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
84. Kyle Murphy (USA) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
85. Fabio Silvestre (Por) Trek Factory Racing
86. David Williams (USA) Jamis – Hagens Berman
87. Jack Bobridge (Aus) Team Budget Forklifts 0:11:37
88. Kevin De Mesmaeker (Bel) Team Novo Nordisk 0:11:55
89. Manuel Senni (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:13:12
90. Killian Frankiny (Sui) BMC Racing Team
91. Erik Slack (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
92. Lucas Sebastian Haedo (Arg) Jamis – Hagens Berman 0:13:57
93. Stephen Leece (USA) Jamis – Hagens Berman
94. Guillaume Boivin (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 0:14:52
95. Will Routley (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
96. Pierrick Naud (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
97. Gregory Brenes Obando (CRc) Jamis – Hagens Berman 0:15:00
98. Carson Miller (USA) Jamis – Hagens Berman
99. Eric Marcotte (USA) Team SmartStop 0:15:11
100. Wojciech Migdal (Pol) Cycling Academy Team
101. Jordan Kerby (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling 0:15:49
102. Samuel Spokes (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling
103. Daniel Summerhill (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 0:16:08
104. Oscar Clark (USA) Hincapie Racing Team 0:16:22
105. Robin Carpenter (USA) Hincapie Racing Team
106. Joseph Schmalz (USA) Hincapie Racing Team
107. Steve Fisher (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
108. Eric Young (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 0:18:59
109. Brian Kamstra (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk 0:19:35
110. Brodie Talbot (Aus) Team Budget Forklifts 0:20:24
111. Daniel Barry (Nzl) Team Budget Forklifts
112. Guy Gabay (Isr) Cycling Academy Team 0:25:57
113. Yoav Bear (Isr) Cycling Academy Team 0:26:01
DNF Héctor Saez (Esp) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
DNF Corentin Cherhal (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk
DNF Benjamin Dilley (USA) Team Novo Nordisk
DNF Charles Bradley Huff (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
DNF Tommy Nankervis (Aus) Team Budget Forklifts
DNF Antonio Angulo Sampedro (Esp) Cycling Academy Team

GC after Stage 2

1. Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team 8:16:10
2. Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team 6
3. Jonathan Clarke (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 0:10
4. Hugh Carthy (Gbr) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
5. Robbie Squire (USA) Hincapie Racing Team 0:13
6. Lachlan David Morton (Aus) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis 0:25
7. Jaime Roson (Esp) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:27
8. Davide Formolo (Ita) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 0:31
9. Julian Arredondo Moreno (Col) Trek Factory Racing 0:33
10. Julien Bernard (Fra) Trek Factory Racing 0:38
11. Toms Skujins (Lat) Hincapie Racing Team 0:44
12. Rob Britton (Can) Team SmartStop 0:47
13. Gavin Mannion (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis 0:53
14. Tao Geoghegan Hart (Gbr) Axeon Cycling Team 0:54
15. Janez Brajkovic (Slo) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
16. Alexandr Braico (Mda) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis 0:57
17. Lachlan Norris (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling
18. Bruno Pires (Por) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:59
19. Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team 1:22
20. Dion Smith (Nzl) Hincapie Racing Team
21. Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Tinkoff-Saxo
22. Emerson Oronte (USA) Team SmartStop
23. Daniel Alexander Jaramillo Diez (Col) Jamis – Hagens Berman 1:30
24. Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo 1:43
25. Ruben Zepuntke (Ger) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 1:49
26. Taylor Shelden (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis 2:06
27. Flavio De Luna (Mex) Team SmartStop 2:17
28. Ivan Rovny (Rus) Tinkoff-Saxo 2:23
29. Michael Torckler (Nzl) Team Budget Forklifts
30. Ryan Anderson (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 3:43
31. James Oram (Nzl) Axeon Cycling Team 3:52
32. Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team 4:19
33. Leonardo Basso (Ita) Trek Factory Racing 5:06
34. Matthew Busche (USA) Trek Factory Racing
35. Nathan Brown (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 5:13
36. Evan Huffman (USA) Team SmartStop 5:21
37. Janier Alexis Acevedo Colle (Col) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 5:26
38. Logan Owen (USA) Axeon Cycling Team 7:14
39. Felix Grossschartner (Aut) Tinkoff-Saxo
40. Tanner Putt (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 7:29
41. Calvin Watson (Aus) Trek Factory Racing 7:44
42. Kiel Reijnen (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 7:55
43. Marco Canola (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
44. Travis Mccabe (USA) Team SmartStop 8:29
45. Daniel Turek (Cze) Cycling Academy Team 8:39
46. Timothy Roe (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling 8:41
47. Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team
48. Daniel Eaton (USA) Axeon Cycling Team 9:10
49. Nicolae Tanovitchii (Mda) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis 9:48
50. Adam Phelan (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling 0:15
51. Angus Morton (Aus) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis 0:11:36
52. Andzs Flaksis (Lat) Hincapie Racing Team
53. Christopher Jones (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
54. Fabricio Ferrari Barcelo (Uru) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
55. Miguel Angel Benito Diez (Esp) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
56. Jack Bobridge (Aus) Team Budget Forklifts 0:11:37
57. Gregory Daniel (USA) Axeon Cycling Team 0:11:56
58. Dylan Girdlestone (RSA) Drapac Professional Cycling 0:12:11
59. Laurent Didier (Lux) Trek Factory Racing 0:13:17
60. Javier Megias Leal (Esp) Team Novo Nordisk 0:14:06
61. Chris Putt (USA) Axeon Cycling Team 0:14:10
62. Charles Planet (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk
63. Bartosz Warchol (Pol) Cycling Academy Team
64. Chad Young (USA) Axeon Cycling Team
65. Peter Stetina (USA) BMC Racing Team
66. Walter Gaston Trillini (Arg) Jamis – Hagens Berman
67. Jesus Hernandez Blazquez (Esp) Tinkoff-Saxo
68. Eduard Beltran Suarez (Col) Tinkoff-Saxo
69. Tom Zirbel (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 0:14:45
70. Guillaume Boivin (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 0:14:52
71. John Murphy (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 0:15:10
72. Phillip Gaimon (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
73. Joseph Lewis (Aus) Hincapie Racing Team
74. Jure Kocjan (Slo) Team SmartStop
75. Brendan Canty (Aus) Team Budget Forklifts
76. Kyle Murphy (USA) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
77. Jordan Kerby (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling 0:15:49
78. Daniel Summerhill (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 0:16:08
79. Killian Frankiny (Sui) BMC Racing Team 0:17:34
80. Julian Kyer (USA) Team SmartStop 0:17:44
81. Fabio Silvestre (Por) Trek Factory Racing
82. Antonio Molina (Esp) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
83. David Williams (USA) Jamis – Hagens Berman
84. Emanuel Piaskowy (Pol) Cycling Academy Team 0:18:35
85. Kristoffer Skjerping (Nor) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
86. Jasper Bovenhuis (Ned) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
87. Edward King (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
88. William Clarke (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling 0:19:10
89. Carson Miller (USA) Jamis – Hagens Berman 0:19:22
90. Gregory Brenes Obando (CRc) Jamis – Hagens Berman
91. Manuel Senni (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:28
92. Erik Slack (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
93. Samuel Spokes (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling 0:20:11
94. Joseph Schmalz (USA) Hincapie Racing Team 0:20:44
95. David Lozano Riba (Esp) Team Novo Nordisk 0:20:45
96. Stephen Leece (USA) Jamis – Hagens Berman 0:20:53
97. Lucas Sebastian Haedo (Arg) Jamis – Hagens Berman
98. Will Routley (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 0:21:48
99. Eric Marcotte (USA) Team SmartStop 0:22:07
100. Martin Kohler (Sui) Drapac Professional Cycling 0:22:09
101. Jack Anderson (Aus) Team Budget Forklifts 0:22:19
102. Kevin De Mesmaeker (Bel) Team Novo Nordisk 0:23:16
103. Steve Fisher (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis 0:23:18
104. Oscar Clark (USA) Hincapie Racing Team
105. Robin Carpenter (USA) Hincapie Racing Team
106. Eric Young (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 0:25:55
107. Pierrick Naud (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 0:26:13
108. Wojciech Migdal (Pol) Cycling Academy Team 0:26:52
109. Brian Kamstra (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk 0:31:16
110. Daniel Barry (Nzl) Team Budget Forklifts 0:31:45
111. Brodie Talbot (Aus) Team Budget Forklifts 0:32:05
112. Yoav Bear (Isr) Cycling Academy Team 0:37:42
113. Guy Gabay (Isr) Cycling Academy Team 0:37:58