August 26, 2011 (Steamboat Springs, CO) – Clear blue skies and remarkable crowds welcomed the riders to the Stage 4 finish in Steamboat Springs from Avon, 138.4km, as 22-year-old Elia Viviani (ITA) took a strong lead-out from teammate Daniel Oss of Liquigas-Cannondale and outsprinted the field to take the win.  After another impressive day of racing, Levi Leipheimer (USA) of Team RadioShack retained the overall lead and will wear the Quiznos Leader Jersey heading into the penultimate stage tomorrow, which takes the riders from Steamboat Springs to Breckenridge.

“Today was a nice day because it was a little bit shorter and flat, and I think all the riders were looking forward to that – it’s nice to have a mixture of stages,” said Leipheimer.  “While I was riding I had the chance to look around and it was just breathtaking.  Through all the communities you could tell that the entire population had come out to cheer us on and that was really nice.”

With beautiful weather against a stunning backdrop, Stage 4 of the race, which would take the riders on an 82.8-mile route to Steamboat Springs, began with two neutral laps around the city of Avon.  Although there were no categorized KOMs on this stage, it was filled with rolling hills through beautiful ranching country that would still prove to make a challenging route.

A breakaway of three riders formed early in the stage and included Stefen Denifl (AUT) of Team Leopard-Trek, Cristhian Montoya (COL) of Gobernacion de Antioquia and Janier Acevedo (COL) also of Gobernacion de Antioquia.  They were chased and soon joined by a duo from Team Type 1-sanofi Vladimir Efimkin (RUS) and Rubens Bertogliati (SUI).  The breakaway of five managed to maintain a two-minute lead over the peloton for a good part of the race.

In the only sprint competition of the day, Denifil crossed the line at Oak Creek first, followed by Acevedo and Bertogliati.  With no KOMs in the stage, the riders would focus on the stage win for the rest of the day.

With the entire Liquigas-Cannondale squad leading the chase at an average speed of 25 mph, the break was swallowed up with 4.5 miles to go to the finish in Steamboat Springs.  With a wide, open road ahead the pack was spread out across the road.  In the final stretch heading into the finish various riders and teams went to the front to go for the win, but ultimately the Liquigas-Cannondale team was able to get Viviani across the line first, followed by Michael Morkov (DEN) of Saxo Bank SunGard and Kenny Van Hummel (NED) of Skil-Shimano.

“Of all the events I’ve ever attended that was the most energetic finish I’ve seen,” said Shawn Hunter, co-chairman and CEO of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge.  “Today’s crowd was by far the biggest of the week and we keep growing – this race is only going to get bigger and bigger.”

Leipheimer retained the Quiznos Leader Jersey. Viviani took the Smashburger Sprint Jersey.  Van Garderen kept the Sheets Best Young Rider’s Jersey for the fifth straight day.  The Nissan King of the Mountain (KOM) Jersey was once again awarded to Walter Pedraza Morales (COL) of UNE-EPM.  And the Exergy Most Aggressive Jersey went to Efimkin.

The official energy partner of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge and sponsor for today’s stage, Exergy is known for their projects and technologies that put the earth’s clean forms of renewable energy to good use.  The company also sponsors the 2011 Exergy Most Aggressive Rider Jersey, which is awarded each day to the rider who best asserts himself in the peloton and tackles the challenges of the day.  The jersey is currently being worn by Efimkin for his outstanding performance in today’s breakaway.

STAGE 5 TOMORROW:
Saturday, August 27 – Steamboat Springs to Breckenridge (105.8 mi/170.2 km)
Start Time: 11:20 a.m. MT
Estimated Finish Time: 3:30 – 4:15 p.m. MT
Satellite Feed Time: 5:30 – 5:45 p.m. MT

The celebration in Steamboat moves to Werner Mountain, where the cyclists will take off under the watchful eye of Steamboat’s primary ski hill.  This will be another opportunistic stage with ample opportunities for breakaways and aggressive racing, but this time with a true mountain pass.  Following US 40 south and east out of town, the double-summit Rabbit Ears Pass will host a King of the Mountain line and ample viewing opportunities.  After a sprint line in Kremmling the riders will travel alongside the scenic Green Mountain Reservoir on Colorado Route 9.  After winding through Dillon, Keystone and the final KOM on Swan Mountain the cyclists will enter Breckenridge and race to the finish line downtown at Main and Wellington St., ending 106 miles of racing in what may prove to be the fastest road race finish during the seven day tour.
Media parking at the start will be on Pine Grove Rd.  At the finish it will be in the South Gondola Parking Lot off Watson St.

Results

1. Elia Viviani (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:58:14
2. Michael Mørkøv (Den) Saxo Bank Sungard
3. Kenny Robert Van Hummel (Ned) Skil – Shimano
4. Robert Förster (Ger) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
5. Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
6. Jaime Alberto Castaneda Ortega (Col) EPM – UNE
7. Daniel Summerhill (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo
8. Alexander Efimkin (Rus) Team Type 1 – Sanofi
9. George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team
10. Fred Rodriguez (USA) Team Exergy
11. Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
12. Frank Pipp (USA) Bissell Cycling
13. Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team
14. Chad Beyer (USA) BMC Racing Team
15. Jeffry Louder (USA) BMC Racing Team
16. William Dugan (USA) Team Type 1 – Sanofi
17. Valeriy Kobzarenko (Ukr) Team Type 1 – Sanofi
18. Martin Mortensen (Den) Leopard Trek
19. Tejay Van Garderen (USA) HTC-Highroad
20. Erik Slack (USA) Team Exergy
21. Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo
22. Carlos Alberto Ospina Hernandes (Col) Gobernacion De Antioquia – Indeportes Antiquia
23. Andrew Dahlheim (USA) Bissell Cycling
24. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team RadioShack
25. Peter Stetina (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo
26. Stef Clement (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
27. Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team
28. Oscar Sevilla Ribera (Esp) Gobernacion De Antioquia – Indeportes Antiquia
29. Bruno Pires (Por) Leopard Trek
30. Walter Pedraza (Col) EPM – UNE
31. Andy Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek
32. Philip Deignan (Irl) Team RadioShack
33. Rafael Infantino Abreu (Col) EPM – UNE
34. Juan Pablo Suarez Suarez (Col) EPM – UNE
35. André Steensen (Den) Saxo Bank Sungard
36. Thomas Peterson (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo
37. Jeremy Powers (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
38. Nic Hamlton (Can) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
39. Ivan Rovny (Rus) Team RadioShack
40. Edward Stiver Ortiz Caro (Col) EPM – UNE
41. Danny Pate (USA) HTC-Highroad
42. Rory Sutherland (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
43. Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank Cycling Team
44. Carlos Eduardo Alzate Escobar (Col) Team Exergy
45. Bernard Van Ulden (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
46. Jeremy Vennell (Nzl) Bissell Cycling
47. Thomas Danielson (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo
48. Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Skil – Shimano
49. Peter Velits (Svk) HTC-Highroad
50. Gustav Larsson (Swe) Saxo Bank Sungard
51. Benjamin King (USA) Team RadioShack
52. Caleb Fairly (USA) HTC-Highroad
53. Eduard Alexander Beltran Suarez (Col) EPM – UNE
54. Chris Butler (USA) BMC Racing Team
55. Alastair Loutit (Aus) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
56. Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) Team Type 1 – Sanofi
57. Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
58. Lucas Euser (USA) Team Spidertech Powered By C10
59. Laurent Didier (Lux) Saxo Bank Sungard
60. Jens Voigt (Ger) Leopard Trek
61. Flavio De Luna (Mex) Team Spidertech Powered By C10
62. Anders Lund (Den) Leopard Trek
63. Lachlan Norris (Aus) HTC-Highroad
64. Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Bissell Cycling
65. Juraj Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale
66. Edward King (USA) Liquigas-Cannondale
67. Fabio Calabria (Aus) Team Type 1 – Sanofi
68. Fränk Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek
69. Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
70. Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
71. Jonathan Clarke (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
72. Hayden Roulston (Nzl) HTC-Highroad
73. Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Gobernacion De Antioquia – Indeportes Antiquia
74. Rafael Montiel (Col) Gobernacion De Antioquia – Indeportes Antiquia
75. Oscar Alvarez (Col) Gobernacion De Antioquia – Indeportes Antiquia
76. Andrès Miguel Diaz Corrales (Col) Team Exergy
77. Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Team Garmin-Cervelo
78. Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale
79. Jason McCartney (USA) Team RadioShack
80. Chris Baldwin (USA) Bissell Cycling
81. Daniel Navarro Garcia (Esp) Saxo Bank Sungard
82. Javier Megias Leal (Esp) Team Type 1 – Sanofi
83. Paul Mach (USA) Bissell Cycling
84. Timothy Duggan (USA) Liquigas-Cannondale
85. Rubens Bertogliati (Sui) Team Type 1 – Sanofi
86. Martin Reimer (Ger) Skil – Shimano
87. Jay Robert Thomson (RSA) Bissell Cycling
88. Carlos Fernando Piamonte Rodriguez (Col) EPM – UNE
89. Alex Hagman (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
90. Stefan Denifl (Aut) Leopard Trek
91. Davide Cimolai (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
92. Daniel Lloyd (Gbr) Team Garmin-Cervelo
93. Janier Alexis Acevedo Colle (Col) Gobernacion De Antioquia – Indeportes Antiquia
94. Philipp Ries (Ger) Skil – Shimano 00:13
95. Alejandro Ramirez Calderon (Col) Gobernacion De Antioquia – Indeportes Antiquia 00:20
96. Adrian Hegyvary (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 00:23
97. Bradley White (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 00:28
98. Patrick Gretsch (Ger) HTC-Highroad 00:33
99. Christopher Jones (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 00:36
100. Davide Frattini (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 00:41
101. Sébastien Salas (Can) Team Exergy 00:56
102. Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 01:03
103. Brian Vandborg (Den) Saxo Bank Sungard
104. Thimothy Roe (Aus) BMC Racing Team
105. William Dickeson (Aus) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
106. Francois Parisien (Can) Team Spidertech Powered By C10
107. Thierry Hupond (Fra) Skil – Shimano
108. Cristhian Montoya Giraldo (Col) Gobernacion De Antioquia – Indeportes Antiquia
109. David Boily (Can) Team Spidertech Powered By C10
110. Thomas Bonnin (Fra) Skil – Shimano
111. Kai Applequist (USA) Team Exergy
112. David Zabriskie (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo
113. Ben Hermans (Bel) Team RadioShack
114. Craig Lewis (USA) HTC-Highroad
115. Rob Britton (Can) Bissell Cycling
116. Ryan Roth (Can) Team Spidertech Powered By C10
117. George Bennett (Nzl) Team RadioShack
118. Matt Cooke (USA) Team Exergy
119. Sander Oostlander (Ned) Skil – Shimano 01:31
120. Scott Zwizanski (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
121. Sam Johnson (USA) Team Exergy 02:28
DNS Jonathan Patrick McCarty (USA) Team Spidertech Powered By C10
DNS Bruno Langlois (Can) Team Spidertech Powered By C10

GC after Stage 4

1. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team RadioShack 13:28:43
2. Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo 00:11
3. Tejay Van Garderen (USA) HTC-Highroad 00:17
4. Thomas Danielson (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo 00:21
5. George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team 00:53
6. Rafael Infantino Abreu (Col) EPM – UNE 01:14
7. Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 01:18
8. Stef Clement (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 01:42
9. Bruno Pires (Por) Leopard Trek 01:49
10. Rory Sutherland (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 01:50
11. Ivan Rovny (Rus) Team RadioShack 02:07
12. Jeffry Louder (USA) BMC Racing Team 02:17
13. Fränk Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek
14. Juan Pablo Suarez Suarez (Col) EPM – UNE 02:20
15. Janier Alexis Acevedo Colle (Col) Gobernacion De Antioquia – Indeportes Antiquia 02:35
16. Chris Baldwin (USA) Bissell Cycling 02:38
17. Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 02:46
18. Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Gobernacion De Antioquia – Indeportes Antiquia 03:14
19. Oscar Sevilla Ribera (Esp) Gobernacion De Antioquia – Indeportes Antiquia 03:16
20. Peter Stetina (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo 03:26
21. Eduard Alexander Beltran Suarez (Col) EPM – UNE 03:35
22. Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team 03:54
23. Gustav Larsson (Swe) Saxo Bank Sungard 04:11
24. Lucas Euser (USA) Team Spidertech Powered By C10 04:28
25. Laurent Didier (Lux) Saxo Bank Sungard 04:40
26. Rubens Bertogliati (Sui) Team Type 1 – Sanofi 04:49
27. Jaime Alberto Castaneda Ortega (Col) EPM – UNE 05:01
28. Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Team Garmin-Cervelo 05:08
29. Stefan Denifl (Aut) Leopard Trek 05:48
30. Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Skil – Shimano 05:55
31. Timothy Duggan (USA) Liquigas-Cannondale 05:59
32. Andrès Miguel Diaz Corrales (Col) Team Exergy 06:10
33. Alex Hagman (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda 06:16
34. Jens Voigt (Ger) Leopard Trek 06:17
35. Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 06:28
36. Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
37. Anders Lund (Den) Leopard Trek 06:42
38. Philip Deignan (Irl) Team RadioShack 06:52
39. Andy Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek 06:59
40. Daniel Summerhill (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo 07:24
41. Valeriy Kobzarenko (Ukr) Team Type 1 – Sanofi 07:30
42. Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 07:36
43. Carlos Fernando Piamonte Rodriguez (Col) EPM – UNE 07:37
44. Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) Team Type 1 – Sanofi 07:38
45. Benjamin King (USA) Team RadioShack 07:56
46. Chris Butler (USA) BMC Racing Team 07:59
47. Hayden Roulston (Nzl) HTC-Highroad 08:14
48. Chad Beyer (USA) BMC Racing Team 08:20
49. Edward Stiver Ortiz Caro (Col) EPM – UNE 08:29
50. Alexander Efimkin (Rus) Team Type 1 – Sanofi 08:43
51. Cristhian Montoya Giraldo (Col) Gobernacion De Antioquia – Indeportes Antiquia 09:29
52. Rafael Montiel (Col) Gobernacion De Antioquia – Indeportes Antiquia 09:37
53. Flavio De Luna (Mex) Team Spidertech Powered By C10 09:53
54. Peter Velits (Svk) HTC-Highroad 10:07
55. Edward King (USA) Liquigas-Cannondale 10:29
56. Javier Megias Leal (Esp) Team Type 1 – Sanofi 10:32
57. Christopher Jones (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 10:33
58. Thomas Peterson (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo 10:36
59. Lachlan Norris (Aus) HTC-Highroad 10:50
60. Daniel Navarro Garcia (Esp) Saxo Bank Sungard 11:02
61. George Bennett (Nzl) Team RadioShack 11:06
62. Sébastien Salas (Can) Team Exergy 11:07
63. Daniel Lloyd (Gbr) Team Garmin-Cervelo 11:24
64. Alejandro Ramirez Calderon (Col) Gobernacion De Antioquia – Indeportes Antiquia 11:25
65. Thomas Bonnin (Fra) Skil – Shimano 12:02
66. William Dugan (USA) Team Type 1 – Sanofi 12:14
67. Matt Cooke (USA) Team Exergy
68. Davide Frattini (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 13:16
69. Patrick Gretsch (Ger) HTC-Highroad 13:41
70. Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale 14:22
71. David Zabriskie (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo 14:56
72. Walter Pedraza (Col) EPM – UNE 15:38
73. Danny Pate (USA) HTC-Highroad 15:49
74. Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank Cycling Team 16:07
75. Carlos Alberto Ospina Hernandes (Col) Gobernacion De Antioquia – Indeportes Antiquia 16:28
76. Rob Britton (Can) Bissell Cycling 16:52
77. Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Bissell Cycling 17:01
78. Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 17:09
79. Juraj Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale 17:17
80. Oscar Alvarez (Col) Gobernacion De Antioquia – Indeportes Antiquia 17:59
81. Martin Mortensen (Den) Leopard Trek 18:02
82. David Boily (Can) Team Spidertech Powered By C10 18:09
83. Fred Rodriguez (USA) Team Exergy
84. Paul Mach (USA) Bissell Cycling 18:11
85. Nic Hamlton (Can) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda 18:14
86. Philipp Ries (Ger) Skil – Shimano 18:22
87. Michael Mørkøv (Den) Saxo Bank Sungard 18:36
88. Thimothy Roe (Aus) BMC Racing Team 18:53
89. Alastair Loutit (Aus) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
90. Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 18:54
91. Davide Cimolai (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 19:09
92. Brian Vandborg (Den) Saxo Bank Sungard 19:21
93. Scott Zwizanski (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 19:59
94. Martin Reimer (Ger) Skil – Shimano 20:13
95. André Steensen (Den) Saxo Bank Sungard 20:23
96. Caleb Fairly (USA) HTC-Highroad 20:26
97. Francois Parisien (Can) Team Spidertech Powered By C10 20:33
98. Andrew Dahlheim (USA) Bissell Cycling 20:41
99. Jay Robert Thomson (RSA) Bissell Cycling 20:55
100. Robert Förster (Ger) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 21:46
101. Jonathan Clarke (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 21:54
102. Thierry Hupond (Fra) Skil – Shimano
103. Erik Slack (USA) Team Exergy 22:09
104. Jeremy Vennell (Nzl) Bissell Cycling 22:38
105. Craig Lewis (USA) HTC-Highroad 23:19
106. Kenny Robert Van Hummel (Ned) Skil – Shimano 23:22
107. Adrian Hegyvary (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 23:25
108. Jason McCartney (USA) Team RadioShack 23:33
109. Bradley White (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 24:15
110. Jeremy Powers (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda 25:24
111. Bernard Van Ulden (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda 26:26
112. Elia Viviani (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 26:32
113. Frank Pipp (USA) Bissell Cycling 26:49
114. Sander Oostlander (Ned) Skil – Shimano 27:48
115. Fabio Calabria (Aus) Team Type 1 – Sanofi 28:32
116. Ryan Roth (Can) Team Spidertech Powered By C10 30:04
117. Ben Hermans (Bel) Team RadioShack 31:05
118. Carlos Eduardo Alzate Escobar (Col) Team Exergy 34:14
119. Kai Applequist (USA) Team Exergy 34:40
120. Sam Johnson (USA) Team Exergy 34:49
121. William Dickeson (Aus) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda 35:55