August 21, 2013 (Steamboat Springs, CO) – Stage 3 of the 2013 USA Pro Challenge took the riders on a 105.9-mile route from one iconic ski town to another – Breckenridge to Steamboat Springs. Highlighted by a solo breakaway from veteran rider Jens Voigt (GER) of RadioShack Leopard Trek, the stage came down to an all-out spring to the finish, where 2013 Tour de France Sprint Jersey Winner Peter Sagan took his second stage win of the race. Lachlan David Morton (AUS) of Team Garmin-Sharp crossed the line with the peloton, holding onto the leader jersey heading into day four of the race.

“It’s always amazing to see what these guys are capable of,” said Shawn Hunter, CEO of the USA Pro Challenge.  “Between the stellar riding and the enthusiastic fans, this has been an incredible race so far. The crowds at the 2013 USA Pro Challenge continue to be humbling – we don’t get the crowds that we do out of luck, it’s because of the leadership in these communities and the remarkable racing from these world-class athletes.”

Following an exciting and extremely competitive day of racing yesterday, the Pro Challenge began today in Breckenridge at 9,400 ft. After completing three neutral laps around town, the riders began the downhill ride, hitting impressive speeds, to the first Nissan King of the Mountains (KOM) competition at Swan Mountain. Under a blue sky filled with beautiful clouds, the race started with several attacks, but nothing stuck. With fans lining the tight switchbacks, the riders neared the top with attacks flying left and right. Edward King (USA) of Cannondale Pro Cycling pulled ahead and was followed over the top by Matt Cooke (USA) of Jamis-Hagens Berman p/b Sutter Home and Voigt.

Taking advantage of the climb, Joshua Edmonson (GBR) of Sky Procycling, Voigt, Villella, Tyler Wren (USA) of Jamis-Hagens Berman p/b Sutter Home and Serghei Tvetcov (MDA) of Jelly Belly p/b Kenda (USA) created a gap and pulled away from the peloton heading toward the first Clif Bar sprint of the day in Silverthorne.

With a downhill approach to the sprint line, the riders reached speeds of 50 mph as Tvetcov catapulted over the line to take maximum points, followed by Voigt and Wren.

At ages ranging from 21 to 41, the breakaway riders continued to work together through the Feed Zone heading toward the next Clif Bar sprint line of the day in Kremmling. Showing his power and speed, Villella crossed the line first, followed by Tvetcov and Voigt.

On a straight and long road to the finish, the break continued to increase the gap, which got up to five minutes at one point. At just more than three hours into the stage, Voigt pulled away from the other four in an attempt to set himself up for the stage win and after several hard days of racing, they just weren’t able to hang on.

Leading into the final Nissan KOM of the day at Rabbit Ears Pass, a category 2 climb, it was Voigt out front with the four chasers about two minutes behind and the peloton about two minutes behind them. Powering up the five-mile climb filled with fans who had been camping out all day, Voigt reached the top first, followed by his former breakaway companions Edmonson and Wren. Back in the peloton, the Jamis-Hagens Berman p/b Sutter Home riders ensured that current Nissan King of the Mountains Jersey wearer Cooke was set up to reach the top next to hang onto his lead.

On the descent, the chase was caught by the peloton, leaving only veteran rider Voigt out in front. But the final 10K would present a long, flat straight-away, where the peloton would have Voigt in their sight. With different teams taking turns at the front, they quickly brought the gap down and eventually caught Voigt.

“I was disappointed (about being caught), but it could have been worse,” said Voigt. “I gave it a go. I saw it coming a little bit, but I was still disappointed.”

The sprinters set up for the final dash to the line in Steamboat Springs and ultimately Sagan took the win, followed closely by Luka Mezgec (SLO) of Team Argos-Shimano and Ryan Anderson (CAN) of Optum Presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies.

“I’m very happy about my stage win today and I want to thank all my teammates because they did great work,” said Sagan. “For now I feel good and I think I can do well on these climbs.”

The jerseys remained almost unchanged with Morton retaining the Smashburger Leader Jersey and the Colorado State University Best Young Rider Jersey; Sagan holding onto the Clif Bar Sprint Jersey; and Cooke keeping the Nissan King of the Mountains Jersey. Voigt was awarded the FirstBank Most Courageous Rider Jersey for his amazing solo effort during the stage.

STAGE 4 TOMORROW:
Thursday, Aug. 22 – Steamboat Springs to Beaver Creek (165.6 km/102.9 mi)
Start Time: 11 a.m. MT
Estimated Finish Time: 3:50 p.m. MT
Satellite Feed Time: 4:30-4:45 p.m. MT

Stage 4 is the Queen Stage of the 2013 USA Pro Challenge. It features some previously used terrain, but with some added spice. One thing is for sure, the road to the final podium in Denver goes straight over Bachelor Gulch. A new start in Steamboat will send the race off onto new country roads around Routt County. This roller coaster of small hills gives way to a gentle route south until the racers have to climb up from the river bottom at State Bridge. That’s just the beginning, as the new approach to Beaver Creek will now send the racers up the new climb of Bachelor Gulch. It may not be the longest or most well-known climb, but it is quite possibly the toughest. The relentless grade with pitches up to 18 percent will do real damage and create the sort of epic racing for which the Pro Challenge is known. After Bachelor Gulch, the leaders still have to race down a technical descent and power up the final 2 km climb to Beaver Creek Village. By that time the winner may not even have the strength left for a victory salute.

Result
1. Peter Sagan (Svk) Cannondale Pro Cycling 4:04:18
2. Luka Mezgec (Slo) Team Argos-Shimano
3. Ryan Anderson (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
4. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team
5. Alessandro Bazzana (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
6. Edwin Alcibiades Avila Vanegas (Col) Colombia
7. Martijn Verschoor (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk
8. Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack Leopard
9. Tanner Putt (USA) Bontrager Cycling Team
10. Damiano Caruso (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
11. Fred Rodriguez (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
12. Nic Hamlton (Can) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
13. Rory Sutherland (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
14. Janier Alexis Acevedo Colle (Col) Jamis-Hagens Berman
15. Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team
16. Gregory Brenes Obando (Crc) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
17. Philip Deignan (Irl) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
18. Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin-Sharp
19. Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack Leopard
20. Andrea Peron (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk
21. Sean Mazich (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
22. Carter Jones (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling
23. Tom Zirbel (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
24. Javier Megias Leal (Esp) Team Novo Nordisk
25. Luis Romero Amaran (Cub) Jamis-Hagens Berman
26. Thomas Danielson (USA) Garmin-Sharp
27. Mathias Frank (Sui) BMC Racing Team
28. Tiago Machado (Por) RadioShack Leopard
29. Benjamin Day (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
30. Lachlan David Morton (Aus) Garmin-Sharp
31. Jonathan Clarke (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
32. James Oram (Nzl) Bontrager Cycling Team
33. Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team
34. Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team
35. Benjamin King (USA) RadioShack Leopard
36. Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
37. Nikodemus Holler (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano
38. Robinson Eduardo Chalapud Gomez (Col) Colombia
39. Kevin De Mesmaeker (Bel) Team Novo Nordisk
40. Darwin Atapuma Hurtado (Col) Colombia
41. Stephen Cummings (Gbr) BMC Racing Team
42. Lawson Craddock (USA) Bontrager Cycling Team
43. Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano
44. Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano
45. Julien Taramarcaz (Sui) BMC Racing Team
46. Nathan Wilson (USA) Bontrager Cycling Team
47. Antoine Duchesne (Can) Bontrager Cycling Team
48. Juan Pablo Suarez Suarez (Col) Colombia
49. David Lozano Riba (Esp) Team Novo Nordisk
50. Feng Chun Kai (Tpe) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
51. Kirk Carlsen (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling
52. Lawrence Warbasse (USA) BMC Racing Team
53. Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Colombia
54. Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
55. Fabio Andres Duarte Arevalo (Col) Colombia
56. Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano
57. James Driscoll (USA) Jamis-Hagens Berman
58. Ryan Eastman (USA) Bontrager Cycling Team
59. Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
60. Jason McCartney (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling
61. Morgan Schmitt (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
62. Ian Boswell (USA) Sky Procycling
63. Andrew Talansky (USA) Garmin-Sharp
64. Michael Olsson (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano
65. Tyler Wren (USA) Jamis-Hagens Berman
66. Carson Miller (USA) Jamis-Hagens Berman
67. Serghei Tvetcov (Mda) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
68. Alex Hagman (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
69. Joonas Henttala (Fin) Team Novo Nordisk
70. Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling
71. Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Sky Procycling
72. Christopher Froome (Gbr) Sky Procycling
73. Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack Leopard
74. Yann Huguet (Fra) Team Argos-Shimano
75. Nariyuki Masuda (Jpn) Cannondale Pro Cycling
76. Phillip Gaimon (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling
77. David Millar (Gbr) Garmin-Sharp
78. Matt Cooke (USA) Jamis-Hagens Berman
79. Ian Burnett (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
80. Connor O’Leary (USA) Bontrager Cycling Team
81. Hayden Roulston (Nzl) RadioShack Leopard
82. Thomas Dekker (Ned) Garmin-Sharp
83. Andy Schleck (Lux) RadioShack Leopard
84. Rohan Dennis (Aus) Garmin-Sharp
85. David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin-Sharp
86. Jesper Hansen (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
87. Marsh Cooper (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
88. Juraj Sagan (Svk) Cannondale Pro Cycling
89. Fabio Calabria (Aus) Team Novo Nordisk
90. Chad Beyer (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
91. Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Jamis-Hagens Berman
92. Bruno Pires (Por) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
93. Danny Pate (USA) Sky Procycling
94. Christopher Baldwin (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling
95. Jonathan Patrick McCarty (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling
96. Edward King (USA) Cannondale Pro Cycling
97. Chris Butler (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
98. George Bennett (Nzl) RadioShack Leopard
99. Thomas Damuseau (Fra) Team Argos-Shimano 3:34
100. Luis Enrique Davila (Mex) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
101. Ryota Nishizono (Jpn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
102. Xu Gang (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
103. Julio Alexis Camacho Bernal (Col) Colombia 3:34
104. Nathan Brown (USA) Bontrager Cycling Team
105. Joshua Edmondson (Gbr) Sky Procycling
106. Timothy Duggan (USA) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
107. Craig Lewis (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 3:37
108. Christopher Jones (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
109. Davide Villella (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
110. Jeffry Louder (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
111. Lucas Euser (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
112. Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 3:59
113. Thomas Soladay (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 4:02
114. Kiel Reijnen (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
115. Jesse Anthony (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
116. Alexander Candelario (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
117. Jeremy Vennell (Nzl) Bissell Pro Cycling 8:52
118. Michael Torckler (Nzl) Bissell Pro Cycling
119. Michael Friedman (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
120. Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
DNS Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) Sky Procycling

GC after Stage 3

1. Lachlan David Morton (Aus) Garmin-Sharp 11:35:40
2. Mathias Frank (Sui) BMC Racing Team 0:02
3. Peter Sagan (Svk) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:11
4. Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team
5. Lawson Craddock (USA) Bontrager Cycling Team 0:18
6. Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin-Sharp 0:29
7. Darwin Atapuma (Col) Colombia 0:35
8. Damiano Caruso (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:41
9. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team
10. Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack Leopard
11. Rory Sutherland (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
12. Gregory Brenes Obando (CRc) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
13. Janier Alexis Acevedo Calle (Col) Jamis-Hagens Berman
14. Christopher Baldwin (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling
15. Lucas Euser (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
16. Carter Jones (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling 0:46
17. Christian Vandevelde (USA) Garmin-Sharp
18. Javier Megias Leal (Esp) Team Novo Nordisk
19. Philip Deignan (Irl) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
20. Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team
21. George Bennett (Nzl) RadioShack Leopard
22. Christoper Butler (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 0:57
23. Tanner Putt (USA) Bontrager Cycling Team 0:59
24. Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack Leopard
25. Kiel Reijnen (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
26. Nathan Wilson (USA) Bontrager Cycling Team 1:04
27. Tiago Machado (Por) RadioShack Leopard 1:22
28. James Oram (Nzl) Bontrager Cycling Team
29. Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team 1:24
30. Thomas Dekker (Ned) Garmin-Sharp
31. Jesse Anthony (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
32. Andy Schleck (Lux) RadioShack Leopard 1:29
33. Chad Beyer (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 1:34
34. Tom Zirbel (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 1:46
35. Bruno Pires (Por) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 2:13
36. Ian Boswell (USA) Sky Procycling 2:43
37. Jeffry Louder (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team 2:47
38. Robinson Eduardo Chalapud (Col) Colombia 2:57
39. Alex Hagman (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda 3:35
40. Lawrence Warbasse (USA) BMC Racing Team 3:45
41. Serghei Tvetcov (Mda) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda 5:58
42. Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 6:04
43. Juan Pablo Suarez (Col) Colombia 6:18
44. Edwin Avila (Col) Colombia 6:27
45. Morgan Schmitt (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda 6:28
46. Andrew Talansky (USA) Garmin-Sharp
47. Jesper Hansen (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 6:43
48. Michael Friedman (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 7:15
49. Stephen Cummings (Gbr) BMC Racing Team 7:22
50. Benjamin Day (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team 7:36
51. Tyler Wren (USA) Jamis-Hagens Berman
52. Christopher Jones (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team 8:17
53. Phillip Gaimon (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling 8:32
54. Luis Romero Amaran (Cub) Jamis-Hagens Berman 10:17
55. Antoine Duchesne (Can) Bontrager Cycling Team
56. Sean Mazich (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda 10:58
57. Joonas Henttala (Fin) Team Novo Nordisk
58. Edward King (USA) Cannondale Pro Cycling
59. Davide Villella (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 11:13
60. David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin-Sharp 11:14
61. James Driscoll (USA) Jamis-Hagens Berman 12:16
62. Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack Leopard
63. Kirk Carlsen (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling 12:40
64. Fabio Duarte (Col) Colombia 14:59
65. Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Jamis-Hagens Berman
66. Matt Cooke (USA) Jamis-Hagens Berman 15:07
67. Danny Pate (USA) Sky Procycling 15:57
68. Nikodemus Holler (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano 16:08
69. Jonathan Clarke (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
70. Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano
71. Michael Olsson (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano
72. Hayden Roulston (Nzl) RadioShack Leopard
73. Christopher Froome (Gbr) Sky Procycling
74. Marsh Cooper (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
75. Ryota Nishizono (Jpn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
76. Alex Candelario (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
77. Juraj Sagan (Svk) Cannondale Pro Cycling 16:41
78. Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano 17:50
79. Ryan Eastman (USA) Bontrager Cycling Team
80. Nariyuki Masuda (Jpn) Cannondale Pro Cycling
81. Fabio Calabria (Aus) Team Novo Nordisk
82. Joshua Edmondson (Gbr) Sky Procycling 18:29
83. Julio Camacho (Col) Colombia 18:33
84. David Lozano Riba (Esp) Team Novo Nordisk 19:18
85. Benjamin King (USA) RadioShack Leopard 19:30
86. Alessandro de Marchi (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 19:33
87. Craig Lewis (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 19:45
88. Ryan Anderson (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 19:49
89. Alessandro Bazzana (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
90. Fred Rodriguez (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
91. Chun Kai Feng (Tpe) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
92. Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
93. Gang Xu (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
94. Thomas Damuseau (Fra) Team Argos-Shimano 21:24
95. Julien Taramarcaz (Sui) BMC Racing Team 21:29
96. Nic Hamlton (Can) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda 21:31
97. Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano
98. David Millar (Gbr) Garmin-Sharp
99. Rohan Dennis (Aus) Garmin-Sharp
100. Timothy Duggan (USA) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
101. Connor O’Leary (USA) Bontrager Cycling Team 22:33
102. Davila Luis (Mex) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda 22:52
103. Kevin de Mesmaeker (Bel) Team Novo Nordisk 24:12:00
104. Carson Miller (USA) Jamis-Hagens Berman
105. Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Colombia
106. Ian Burnett (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
107. Jonathan Patrick McCarty (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling
108. Martijn Verschoor (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk 25:54:00
109. Luka Mezgec (Slo) Team Argos-Shimano
110. Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Sky Procycling
111. Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling
112. Nathan Brown (USA) Bontrager Cycling Team 26:07:00
113. Michael Torckler (Nzl) Bissell Pro Cycling 28:11:00
114. Thomas Soladay (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 28:14:00
115. Jeremy Vennell (Nzl) Bissell Pro Cycling 28:41:00
116. Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 29:02:00
117. Jason McCartney (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling 29:11:00
118. Yann Huguet (Fra) Team Argos-Shimano
119. Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
120. Andrea Peron (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk 29:21:00 results, top 20 GC