Aug. 21, 2012 (Crested Butte, Colo.) – Stage 2 of the 2012 USA Pro Challenge featured a challenging ride under blue skies and saw an unexpected finish, with Tejay Van Garderen (USA) of BMC Racing Team pulling through to take the stage win and the overall lead. Following close behind were Christian Vande Velde (USA) of Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda in second and Ivan Rovny (RUS) of RusVelo in third. After today’s performance, van Garderen takes the overall lead to claim the Exergy Leader Jersey.

“I wasn’t going into the last 4 km thinking I was going to win, but I knew I was going to try,” said Van Garderen. “When I looked over my shoulder and I saw Christian Vande Velde on my wheel, I thought he was in a perfect position to outsprint me, but at this altitude, I think he may have had trouble with his acceleration.”

Reaching impressive average uphill speeds of 25 mph, the riders gave it their all to keep the competition going strong heading into returning host city Crested Butte.

“Today was another really great day of racing, under the amazing backdrop of Montrose, Crested Butte and all the cities in between,” said Shawn Hunter, CEO of the Pro Challenge. “The 2012 USA Pro Challenge is going to take these riders to new heights, and from what we’ve seen so far the riders and the fans are ready for it.”

An early break of about 30 riders wouldn’t stick, but did lead to a smaller group of 12 tearing off the front to form a breakaway that would last up until the last minutes of the stage. The original break consisted of the following riders:

– Alex Howes (USA) of Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda
– Camilo Castiblanco (COL) of EPM-UNE
– Christopher Baldwin (USA) of Bissell Pro Cycling
– Craig Lewis (USA) of Champion System Pro Cycling Team
– David Zabriskie (USA) of Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda
– Jens Voigt (GER) of RadioShack-Nissan-Trek
– Julien El Fares (FRA) of Team Type 1-SANOFI
– Mathias Frank (SUI) of BMC Racing Team
– Matt Cooke (USA) of Team Exergy
– Rafael Infantino (COL) of EPM-UNE
– Valerio Agnoli (ITA) of Liquigas-Cannondale
– Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) of Liquigas-Cannondale

Heading into the first climb of the day – Cat. 3 Cerro Summit (7,973 ft.) – Castiblanco pulled away from the group to take max points, followed by Cooke and Nibali, but then was absorbed back into the group. Continuing into the second KOM – Cat. 3 Blue Mesa Summit (8,719 ft.) – a similar situation unfolded with Castiblanco, Cooke, Lewis taking first, second and third, respectively.

Continuing on, the riders approached the first Waste Management sprint line of the day in Gunnison, which will also play host to start of Stage 3 tomorrow. Crossing to the cheers of enthusiastic crowds lining the route, the maximum points went to Howes, followed by Baldwin and Lewis.

In an unfortunate accident, Ben King (USA) of RadioShack-Nissan-Trek, Georg Preidler (AUT) of Team Type 1-SANOFI, Rubens Bertogliati (SUI) of Team Type 1-SANOFI and Sergey Klimov (RUS) of RusVelo hit the deck at the back of the peloton, but all were able to recover and finish out the stage.

With the stage nearing the finish, the break was reduced to nine riders after Voigt, Nibali and El Fares fell back to the peloton. In a last effort, with about 3 km to go, Castiblanco attacked the break, but was brought back in by Frank. And in an unexpected last minute push, van Garderen came out of nowhere with Vande Velde on his wheel, to take the stage win and the overall lead.

“I am really happy with my ride today and very proud of how the team is riding here in Colorado,” said Vande Velde. “As an American team based in Boulder, this race is a special one for us. The team is ultra-motivated, we’ve animated the race the first two days and we hope to continue to do so as the week goes on.”

Tejay van Garderen took the Exergy Leader Jersey. Tyler Farrar (USA) of Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda kept the Waste Management Sprint Jersey, as did Tom Danielson (USA) of Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda with the Nissan King of the Mountains Jersey. Rafael Infantino Abreu (COL) of EPM-UNE claimed Evolve Most Aggressive Rider Jersey for his effort on the climbs. Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) of Bontrager Livestrong Team was awarded the Aquadraat Best Young Rider Jersey.

Results

Result
1. Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 3:52:24
2. Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin-Sharp
3. Ivan Rovny (Rus) RusVelo 00:06
4. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 00:08
5. Ramiro Rincon Diaz (Col) EPM-Une
6. Thomas Danielson (USA) Garmin-Sharp 00:12
7. Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team
8. Lucas Euser (USA) Spidertech Powered By C10
9. Damiano Caruso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
10. Johann Tschopp (Sui) BMC Racing Team
11. Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team
12. Matthew Busche (USA) RadioShack-Nissan
13. Alessandro Bazzana (Ita) Team Type 1-Sanofi
14. Peter Stetina (USA) Garmin-Sharp
15. Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack-Nissan
16. Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan 00:17
17. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) RadioShack-Nissan 00:19
18. Gavin Mannion (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team 00:21
19. Dmitry Kozontchuk (Rus) RusVelo
20. Francisco Jarley Colorado Hernandez (Col) EPM-Une
21. Freddy Orlando Piamonte Rodriguez (Col) EPM-Une
22. Timothy Duggan (USA) Liquigas-Cannondale
23. Artem Ovechkin (Rus) RusVelo 00:26
24. Alex Howes (USA) Garmin-Sharp
25. Kiel Reijnen (USA) Team Type 1-Sanofi
26. George Bennett (Nzl) RadioShack-Nissan 00:33
27. Cameron Wurf (Aus) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
28. Michael Friedman (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
29. Mathias Frank (Sui) BMC Racing Team
30. Robigzon Leandro Oyola Oyola (Col) EPM-Une
31. Chris Butler (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 00:43
32. Andrew Bajadali (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
33. Carter Jones (USA) Bissell Cycling 00:46
34. Jorge Camilo Castiblanco Cubides (Col) EPM-Une
35. Andres Diaz Corrales (Col) Team Exergy
36. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 00:49
37. Javier Eduardo Gomez Pineda (Col) EPM-Une
38. Craig Lewis (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
39. Serghei Tvetcov (Mda) Team Exergy 00:51
40. Michael Creed (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
41. Rory Sutherland (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team 00:53
42. Rafael Infantino Abreu (Col) EPM-Une 00:57
43. Fred Rodriguez (USA) Team Exergy 00:59
44. Alexander Mironov (Rus) RusVelo 01:08
45. Gang Xu (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 01:16
46. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 01:23
47. Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Bissell Cycling
48. Pengda Jiao (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
49. Moreno Moser (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 01:43
50. Christopher Baldwin (USA) Bissell Cycling 01:45
51. Caleb Fairly (USA) Spidertech Powered By C10 01:49
52. George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team 01:51
53. Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team
54. Ivan Santaromita (Ita) BMC Racing Team
55. Joshua Atkins (Nzl) Bontrager Livestrong Team
56. Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Type 1-Sanofi 01:55
57. Edward King (USA) Liquigas-Cannondale 02:12
58. Lachlan David Morton (Aus) Garmin-Sharp 02:50
59. Oliver Zaugg (Sui) RadioShack-Nissan 03:22
60. Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Astana Pro Team
61. Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
62. Sergey Firsanov (Rus) RusVelo
63. Eduard Alexander Beltran Suarez (Col) EPM-Une
64. Benjamin Day (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
65. Jeffry Louder (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
66. Alexander Candelario (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
67. Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team 03:42
68. Biao Liu (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
69. Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team 04:29
70. William Clarke (Aus) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 04:37
71. Daniel Summerhill (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team 04:39
72. Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Sharp
73. Jake Keough (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
74. Matt Cooke (USA) Team Exergy 04:52
75. Frank Kevin Pipp (USA) Bissell Cycling 04:58
76. Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Astana Pro Team
77. Arkimedes Arguelyes Rodriges (Rus) RusVelo
78. Sergey Klimov (Rus) RusVelo
79. Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin-Sharp
80. Noe Gianetti (Sui) Team Exergy
81. Martin Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
82. Patrick Bevin (Nzl) Bissell Cycling
83. Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan
84. Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team
85. James Oram (Nzl) Bontrager Livestrong Team
86. Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 04:58
87. Matt Brammeier (Irl) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
88. Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
89. Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
90. Morgan Schmitt (USA) Team Exergy
91. Julien El Fares (Fra) Team Type 1-Sanofi
92. Alexander Efimkin (Rus) Team Type 1-Sanofi
93. Javier Megias Leal (Esp) Team Type 1-Sanofi
94. Joey Rosskopf (USA) Team Type 1-Sanofi
95. Tom Zirbel (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
96. Ryan Eastman (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team
97. Connor O’Leary (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team
98. Rubens Bertogliati (Sui) Team Type 1-Sanofi
99. Marsh Cooper (Can) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
100. Sebastian Salas (Can) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
101. Joseph Schmalz (USA) Bissell Cycling
102. Julian Kyer (USA) Bissell Cycling
103. Matthias Friedemann (Ger) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
104. Karl Menzies (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
105. David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin-Sharp
106. Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
107. Brian Vandborg (Den) Spidertech Powered By C10
108. Hugo Houle (Can) Spidertech Powered By C10
109. Ryan Roth (Can) Spidertech Powered By C10
110. Jeremy Vennell (Nzl) Bissell Cycling 05:53
111. Jesse Anthony (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 06:03
112. Sam Johnson (USA) Team Exergy 06:17
113. Jeroen Hoorne (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
114. Christopher Jones (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team 09:21
115. Robert Förster (Ger) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
116. Benjamin King (USA) RadioShack-Nissan
DNF Lawson Craddock (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team

GC after Stage 2

1. Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 8:35:12
2. Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin-Sharp
3. Ivan Rovny (Rus) RusVelo 00:06
4. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 00:08
5. Ramiro Rincon Diaz (Col) EPM-Une
6. Damiano Caruso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 00:12
7. Alessandro Bazzana (Ita) Team Type 1-Sanofi
8. Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack-Nissan
9. Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team
10. Lucas Euser (USA) Spidertech Powered By C10
11. Thomas Danielson (USA) Garmin-Sharp
12. Johann Tschopp (Sui) BMC Racing Team
13. Matthew Busche (USA) RadioShack-Nissan
14. Peter Stetina (USA) Garmin-Sharp
15. Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team
16. Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan 00:17
17. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) RadioShack-Nissan 00:19
18. Gavin Mannion (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team 00:21
19. Francisco Jarley Colorado Hernandez (Col) EPM-Une
20. Dmitry Kozontchuk (Rus) RusVelo
21. Timothy Duggan (USA) Liquigas-Cannondale
22. Freddy Orlando Piamonte Rodriguez (Col) EPM-Une
23. Kiel Reijnen (USA) Team Type 1-Sanofi 00:26
24. Artem Ovechkin (Rus) RusVelo
25. Alex Howes (USA) Garmin-Sharp
26. Mathias Frank (Sui) BMC Racing Team 00:33
27. Michael Friedman (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
28. Cameron Wurf (Aus) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
29. George Bennett (Nzl) RadioShack-Nissan
30. Robigzon Leandro Oyola Oyola (Col) EPM-Une 00:37
31. Chris Butler (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 00:43
32. Jorge Camilo Castiblanco Cubides (Col) EPM-Une 00:46
33. Andres Diaz Corrales (Col) Team Exergy
34. Carter Jones (USA) Bissell Cycling
35. Javier Eduardo Gomez Pineda (Col) EPM-Une 00:49
36. Craig Lewis (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
37. Michael Creed (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 00:51
38. Rory Sutherland (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team 00:53
39. Rafael Infantino Abreu (Col) EPM-Une 00:57
40. Fred Rodriguez (USA) Team Exergy 00:59
41. Gang Xu (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 01:16
42. Andrew Bajadali (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 01:22
43. Christopher Baldwin (USA) Bissell Cycling 01:45
44. George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team 01:51
45. Ivan Santaromita (Ita) BMC Racing Team
46. Edward King (USA) Liquigas-Cannondale 02:44
47. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 03:09
48. Alexander Candelario (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 03:22
49. Eduard Alexander Beltran Suarez (Col) EPM-Une
50. Oliver Zaugg (Sui) RadioShack-Nissan
51. Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
52. Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Astana Pro Team
53. Benjamin Day (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
54. Sergey Firsanov (Rus) RusVelo 03:32
55. Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team 03:42
56. Jeffry Louder (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team 04:23
57. Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Sharp 04:39
58. Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan 04:58
59. Julian Kyer (USA) Bissell Cycling
60. Jesse Anthony (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 06:03
61. Marsh Cooper (Can) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 06:04
62. Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 07:23
63. Benjamin King (USA) RadioShack-Nissan 09:21
64. Christopher Jones (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team 10:22
65. Matt Cooke (USA) Team Exergy 11:40
66. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 13:32
67. Serghei Tvetcov (Mda) Team Exergy 13:34
68. Alexander Mironov (Rus) RusVelo 13:51
69. Pengda Jiao (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 14:06
70. Moreno Moser (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 14:26
71. Caleb Fairly (USA) Spidertech Powered By C10 14:32
72. Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 14:34
73. Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Type 1-Sanofi 14:38
74. Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Bissell Cycling 16:45
75. Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team 17:12
76. Joshua Atkins (Nzl) Bontrager Livestrong Team 17:13
77. Daniel Summerhill (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team 17:22
78. Martin Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 17:41
79. Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
80. Matt Brammeier (Irl) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
81. Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
82. Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team
83. Julien El Fares (Fra) Team Type 1-Sanofi
84. Tom Zirbel (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
85. Joey Rosskopf (USA) Team Type 1-Sanofi
86. Javier Megias Leal (Esp) Team Type 1-Sanofi
87. Lachlan David Morton (Aus) Garmin-Sharp 18:12
88. Jeremy Vennell (Nzl) Bissell Cycling 18:36
89. Jeroen Hoorne (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 19:00
90. Biao Liu (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 19:35
91. William Clarke (Aus) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 19:59
92. Jake Keough (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team 20:01
93. Noe Gianetti (Sui) Team Exergy 20:20
94. Patrick Bevin (Nzl) Bissell Cycling
95. James Oram (Nzl) Bontrager Livestrong Team
96. Sergey Klimov (Rus) RusVelo
97. Morgan Schmitt (USA) Team Exergy
98. Frank Kevin Pipp (USA) Bissell Cycling
99. Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin-Sharp
100. Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Astana Pro Team
101. Connor O’Leary (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team
102. Arkimedes Arguelyes Rodriges (Rus) RusVelo
103. Alexander Efimkin (Rus) Team Type 1-Sanofi
104. David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin-Sharp
105. Matthias Friedemann (Ger) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
106. Ryan Eastman (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team
107. Hugo Houle (Can) Spidertech Powered By C10
108. Rubens Bertogliati (Sui) Team Type 1-Sanofi
109. Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
110. Joseph Schmalz (USA) Bissell Cycling
111. Sebastian Salas (Can) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
112. Karl Menzies (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
113. Brian Vandborg (Den) Spidertech Powered By C10
114. Ryan Roth (Can) Spidertech Powered By C10
115. Sam Johnson (USA) Team Exergy 21:39
116. Robert Förster (Ger) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team 24:43