August 25, 2012 (Boulder, CO) –  In a battle to the finish, Stage 6 of the 2012 USA Pro Challenge came to a close when Rory Sutherland (AUS) of the UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team crossed the line at the top of Flagstaff Mountain in Boulder first, followed by Fabio Aru (ITA) of Astana Pro Team and Jens Voigt (GER) of RadioShack-Nissan-Trek. In what has been a constant battle for the overall lead, Defending Champion Levi Leipheimer (USA) of Omega Pharma-QuickStep heads into the final day of the race wearing the Exergy Leader Jersey, nine seconds up on Christian Vande Velde (USA) of Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda and 21 seconds ahead of Tejay van Garderen (USA) of BMC Racing Team.

“Today was amazing; I saw all kinds of colorful characters up on Flagstaff and it was inspiring,” said Leipheimer. “I knew I had to save my strength for today. When I was nearing the finish, I just focused on giving it everything I had. Today was one of the most beautiful days of cycling I’ve ever seen.”

The penultimate stage of the 2012 USA Pro Challenge took the riders from returning host city Golden to one of the most legendary cycling cities in the U.S. – Boulder – on a 102.8m/165.5 km route that included the epic climb of Flagstaff Mountain. Featuring three Waste Management sprints and two Nissan King of the Mountains competitions in addition to Flagstaff, the stage was challenging and hotly contested.

The stage began with several attacks and counter-attacks, but nothing stuck until a 14-man breakaway that would last for a good part of the stage. Upon reaching the first Waste Management sprint in Boulder, Serghei Tvetcov (MOL) of Team Exergy crossed the line first, followed by Sutherland and Stage 4 winner Jens Voigt (GER) of RadioShack-Nissan-Trek.

Heading toward the first KOM of the day – Cat. 2 Boulder Canyon (8,231 ft.) – the breakaway riders traveled through a classic mountain tunnel climbing at a speed of 22 mph, with Alex Howes (USA) of Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda taking max points, followed by EPM-UNE riders Francisco Jarley Colorado Hernandez (COL) and Robigzon Leandro Oyola Oyola (COL).

Descending at speeds of up to 62 mph, the break screamed down the hill toward the second Waste Management sprint line of the day in Lyons, where Tvetcov took max points, followed by Timmy Duggan (USA) of Liquigas-Cannondale and Voigt.

After making the turn onto Lefthand Canyon, Voigt launched an attack with his teammate George Bennett (NZL) to ultimately spring Bennett into a solo break heading toward the second KOM of the day – Cat. 2 Lee Hill Rd. (7,008 ft.). With only seven riders left in the original break, Bennett crested the hill first, followed by Colorado and Voigt.

With only two minutes over the field, the break saw several attacks heading toward the final Waste Management sprint of the day in Boulder, which was taken by Voigt, followed by Tvetcov and Aru. With Voigt out slightly in front of the break, Sutherland launched an attack that would take him out in front and lead to him powering up the mountain all the way across the finish line.

“Flagstaff is such a beautiful mountain,” said Sutherland. “I can’t even describe the beauty of cycling in Colorado and how much it means to win in my hometown of Boulder. This is definitely the biggest win of my career.”

In a battle for the general classification, with about 5 km to go attacks were launched off the front of the field, which allowed Leipheimer to pull away and take fourth in the stage, placing him at the top of the GC.

“The competitive level of racing we’ve seen at the 2012 USA Pro Challenge has made it one of the closest major stage races in the history of the sport,” said Shawn Hunter, CEO of the Pro Challenge. “With Levi taking over the lead today under the picturesque backdrop of Flagstaff Mountain and the largest, most enthusiastic crowds I’ve ever seen at a U.S. stage race cheering him on, we couldn’t have asked for a better day of racing.”

As part of the awards ceremony actor Patrick Dempsey presented Leipheimer with the Exergy Leader Jersey.

“With the individual time trial tomorrow in Denver, it is still anyone’s race,” added Hunter. “We’re primed for an incredibly exciting finish to the 2012 USA Pro Challenge.”

In a shakeup of the jerseys, Leipheimer took the Exergy Leader Jersey and Voigt claimed the Nissan King of the Mountains Jersey. Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) of Bontrager Livestrong Team maintained the Aquadraat Best Young Rider Jersey and Tyler Farrar (USA) of Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda the Waste Management Sprint Jersey. Sutherland was awarded the Evolve Most Aggressive Rider Jersey.

Results

1. Rory Sutherland (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team 4:06:12
2. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:20
3. Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan 0:26
4. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:45
5. Timothy Duggan (USA) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:52
6. Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin-Sharp 1:02
7. Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team
8. Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan
9. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
10. Ramiro Rincon Diaz (Col) EPM-Une
11. Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 1:14
12. Peter Stetina (USA) Garmin-Sharp
13. Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team 1:22
14. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) RadioShack-Nissan
15. Christopher Baldwin (USA) Bissell Cycling 1:28
16. Damiano Caruso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
17. Kiel Reijnen (USA) Team Type 1-Sanofi
18. Ivan Rovny (Rus) RusVelo
19. Matthew Busche (USA) RadioShack-Nissan
20. Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack-Nissan
21. Chris Butler (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
22. Mathias Frank (Sui) BMC Racing Team
23. Jeroen Hoorne (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 1:33
24. Javier Eduardo Gomez Pineda (Col) EPM-Une 1:35
25. Lucas Euser (USA) Spidertech Powered By C10 1:56
26. Thomas Danielson (USA) Garmin-Sharp
27. Serghei Tvetcov (Mda) Team Exergy 2:09
28. Eduard Alexander Beltran Suarez (Col) EPM-Une 2:12
29. Freddy Orlando Piamonte Rodriguez (Col) EPM-Une
30. Sergey Firsanov (Rus) RusVelo
31. Gavin Mannion (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team
32. Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team
33. Benjamin Day (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
34. Michael Creed (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
35. Dmitry Kozontchuk (Rus) RusVelo
36. George Bennett (Nzl) RadioShack-Nissan 2:25
37. Alessandro Bazzana (Ita) Team Type 1-Sanofi 2:34
38. Rubens Bertogliati (Sui) Team Type 1-Sanofi
39. Oliver Zaugg (Sui) RadioShack-Nissan
40. Craig Lewis (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 2:50
41. Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Astana Pro Team 3:31
42. Artem Ovechkin (Rus) RusVelo 3:39
43. Andres Diaz Corrales (Col) Team Exergy 3:44
44. Cameron Wurf (Aus) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 3:53
45. Pengda Jiao (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
46. Javier Megias Leal (Esp) Team Type 1-Sanofi
47. Robigzon Leandro Oyola Oyola (Col) EPM-Une 4:10
48. Francisco Jarley Colorado Hernandez (Col) EPM-Une 5:06
49. Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Astana Pro Team 5:31
50. Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
51. Julian Kyer (USA) Bissell Cycling
52. George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team
53. Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team
54. Moreno Moser (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 6:19
55. Alexander Mironov (Rus) RusVelo 6:32
56. Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 6:56
57. Biao Liu (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 7:27
58. Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team 7:56
59. Alex Howes (USA) Garmin-Sharp 0:10:36
60. Christopher Jones (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team 0:12:20
61. Benjamin King (USA) RadioShack-Nissan
62. Jorge Camilo Castiblanco Cubides (Col) EPM-Une
63. Martin Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
64. Alexander Candelario (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
65. Morgan Schmitt (USA) Team Exergy
66. Julien El Fares (Fra) Team Type 1-Sanofi
67. Caleb Fairly (USA) Spidertech Powered By C10
68. Brian Vandborg (Den) Spidertech Powered By C10
69. Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Type 1-Sanofi
70. Matt Cooke (USA) Team Exergy
71. Johann Tschopp (Sui) BMC Racing Team
72. Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:13:41
73. Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
74. Robert Förster (Ger) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
75. Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin-Sharp
76. Jeremy Vennell (Nzl) Bissell Cycling
77. Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Sharp
78. Michael Friedman (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
79. Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
80. Carter Jones (USA) Bissell Cycling
81. Tom Zirbel (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
82. Joey Rosskopf (USA) Team Type 1-Sanofi
83. David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin-Sharp
84. Rafael Infantino Abreu (Col) EPM-Une
85. Ivan Santaromita (Ita) BMC Racing Team
86. James Oram (Nzl) Bontrager Livestrong Team
87. Ryan Eastman (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team
88. Ryan Roth (Can) Spidertech Powered By C10
89. Hugo Houle (Can) Spidertech Powered By C10
90. Arkimedes Arguelyes Rodriges (Rus) RusVelo
91. Lachlan David Morton (Aus) Garmin-Sharp 0:24:42
92. Daniel Summerhill (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
93. Sergey Klimov (Rus) RusVelo 0:27:06
94. Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Bissell Cycling 0:28:09
95. Frank Kevin Pipp (USA) Bissell Cycling
96. Matt Brammeier (Irl) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:28:16
DNF Fred Rodriguez (USA) Team Exergy
DNF Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team
DNF Karl Menzies (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
DNF Jake Keough (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
DNF Jeffry Louder (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
DNF Gang Xu (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
DNF Andrew Bajadali (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies

GC after stage 6

1. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 25:39:50
2. Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin-Sharp 9
3. Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:21
4. Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team
5. Ramiro Rincon Diaz (Col) EPM-Une 0:22
6. Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan 0:26
7. Peter Stetina (USA) Garmin-Sharp 0:38
8. Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team 0:41
9. Ivan Rovny (Rus) RusVelo
10. Damiano Caruso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:52
11. Matthew Busche (USA) RadioShack-Nissan
12. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) RadioShack-Nissan 0:53
13. Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack-Nissan 0:57
14. Mathias Frank (Sui) BMC Racing Team 1:18
15. Thomas Danielson (USA) Garmin-Sharp
16. Lucas Euser (USA) Spidertech Powered By C10 1:20
17. Chris Butler (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 1:35
18. Javier Eduardo Gomez Pineda (Col) EPM-Une 1:36
19. Gavin Mannion (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team 1:50
20. Freddy Orlando Piamonte Rodriguez (Col) EPM-Une 1:53
21. Michael Creed (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 2:23
22. Timothy Duggan (USA) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:37
23. Christopher Baldwin (USA) Bissell Cycling 2:47
24. Kiel Reijnen (USA) Team Type 1-Sanofi 3:33
25. George Bennett (Nzl) RadioShack-Nissan 4:15
26. Dmitry Kozontchuk (Rus) RusVelo 4:17
27. Benjamin Day (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team 4:54
28. Francisco Jarley Colorado Hernandez (Col) EPM-Une 4:55
29. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 5:40
30. Eduard Alexander Beltran Suarez (Col) EPM-Une 6:39
31. Cameron Wurf (Aus) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 6:41
32. Robigzon Leandro Oyola Oyola (Col) EPM-Une 6:57
33. Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan 8:25
34. Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Astana Pro Team 0:12:58
35. Oliver Zaugg (Sui) RadioShack-Nissan 0:13:12
36. Craig Lewis (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 0:13:36
37. Rory Sutherland (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team 0:14:12
38. Rafael Infantino Abreu (Col) EPM-Une 0:15:23
39. Alex Howes (USA) Garmin-Sharp 0:16:05
40. Johann Tschopp (Sui) BMC Racing Team 0:19:22
41. Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:21
42. George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:20:10
43. Carter Jones (USA) Bissell Cycling 0:20:58
44. Michael Friedman (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 0:22:23
45. Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team 0:24:23
46. Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team 0:25:16
47. Jorge Camilo Castiblanco Cubides (Col) EPM-Une 0:25:50
48. Julian Kyer (USA) Bissell Cycling 0:26:48
49. Pengda Jiao (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 0:27:42
50. Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:27:45
51. Serghei Tvetcov (Mda) Team Exergy 0:27:49
52. Alexander Mironov (Rus) RusVelo 0:28:32
53. Alessandro Bazzana (Ita) Team Type 1-Sanofi 0:28:44
54. Alexander Candelario (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 0:30:33
55. Sergey Firsanov (Rus) RusVelo 0:32:56
56. Andres Diaz Corrales (Col) Team Exergy 0:34:19
57. Benjamin King (USA) RadioShack-Nissan 0:34:58
58. Moreno Moser (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:35:50
59. Tom Zirbel (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 0:38:45
60. Christopher Jones (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team 0:39:38
61. Caleb Fairly (USA) Spidertech Powered By C10 0:49
62. Artem Ovechkin (Rus) RusVelo 0:42:05
63. Javier Megias Leal (Esp) Team Type 1-Sanofi 0:42:06
64. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:43:21
65. Ivan Santaromita (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:44:13
66. Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Astana Pro Team 0:44:23
67. Martin Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:44:52
68. Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Type 1-Sanofi 0:46:58
69. Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Sharp 0:50:11
70. Jeroen Hoorne (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:50:33
71. Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:52:12
72. Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:54:33
73. Arkimedes Arguelyes Rodriges (Rus) RusVelo 0:56:56
74. Rubens Bertogliati (Sui) Team Type 1-Sanofi 0:57:04
75. Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin-Sharp 0:58:44
76. Julien El Fares (Fra) Team Type 1-Sanofi 1:00:41
77. Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 1:01:13
78. Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 1:02:02
79. Joey Rosskopf (USA) Team Type 1-Sanofi
80. David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin-Sharp 1:03:24
81. Brian Vandborg (Den) Spidertech Powered By C10 1:03:37
82. Jeremy Vennell (Nzl) Bissell Cycling 1:04:25
83. Matt Cooke (USA) Team Exergy 1:04:49
84. Hugo Houle (Can) Spidertech Powered By C10 1:04:58
85. Ryan Eastman (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team 1:05:29
86. Biao Liu (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 1:06:13
87. Ryan Roth (Can) Spidertech Powered By C10 1:07:12
88. Robert Förster (Ger) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team 1:07:53
89. Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Bissell Cycling 1:11:50
90. Morgan Schmitt (USA) Team Exergy 1:11:51
91. James Oram (Nzl) Bontrager Livestrong Team 1:12:01
92. Daniel Summerhill (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team 1:12:30
93. Frank Kevin Pipp (USA) Bissell Cycling 1:13:22
94. Lachlan David Morton (Aus) Garmin-Sharp 1:19:12
95. Matt Brammeier (Irl) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 1:24:01
96. Sergey Klimov (Rus) RusVelo 1:26:37