August 26, 2012 (Denver, CO) – In a battle between the seasoned veterans and the newcomers, Stage 7 of the 2012 USA Pro Challenge came down to a matter of seconds in the Individual Time Trial that saw veteran Christian Vande Velde (USA) of Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda take home the overall win.

In the “race of truth,” Taylor Phinney (USA) of BMC Racing Team put up an impressive time of 17’25″50 to claim the final stage win of 2012 in front of a monumental crowd in downtown Denver. Vande Velde took second in the stage, followed by Tejay van Garderen (USA) of BMC Racing Team. In the overall, van Garderen took second, followed by Levi Leipheimer (USA) of Omega Pharma-QuickStep.

“I was really excited yesterday after I stole some time from Tejay van Garderen and was able to keep close to Levi Leipheimer. It was an amazing race, straight to finish,” said Vande Velde. “The opportunity to participate in a race like this, of this caliber is a beautiful thing. As long as there are races like the USA Pro Challenge in America, I want to race as long as I can. The crowds are so positive and so happy.”

After a tough week of racing over mountains at high altitude and with the top-10 riders only separated by about 52 seconds, the Stage 7 Individual Time Trial was anyone’s race. By removing the team factor, the flat and fast course in downtown was a tough individual test and a fight for the General Classification.

Using many of the same roads as the final Denver finish circuits of 2011, the 9.5m/15.3km course started and ended near the State Capitol Building in Denver’s Civic Center Park. The riders first faced a familiar out-and-back section along Speer Blvd. and Colfax Ave., with a slight detour through the entertainment district along Larimer St. Returning toward the start area on Colfax, they turned north to 17th Ave. to a long section of straight road, eventually delivering them to City Park. A short, but technical run through the park returned the riders to 17th Ave., allowing the huge crowds of spectators to see their favorite riders pass by again. Two quick turns put the riders back on Broadway headed south to the finish line adjacent to Civic Center Park.

With each rider besting the man before him, U.S. National Time Trial Champion Dave Zabriskie (USA) Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda posted the first time that stuck at 18’10″74, which would eventually put him in tenth place overall. That was until Phinney, who hit the block 26th today, and rode at an average speed of 32.7 mph, crossed the line with a 17’25″50, a time that would stick for the rest of the day and give him the final stage win of 2012.

“I’m beyond excited to win today. It’s a great honor to win in the final stage of the USA Pro Challenge,” said Phinney. “This was one of the best weekends of my life. Coming into Boulder the crowds just kept getting bigger and bigger; I was getting teary-eyed.”

For most of the day the top-3 would be Phinney, Peter Velits (SVK) of Omega Pharma-QuickStep and Tom Zirbel (USA) of Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies. That was until Tom Danielson (USA) of Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda logged a time of 17’54″62 to take third and knock Zirbel down to fourth.

With the day coming to a close and the top-ranked riders getting ready to head out on their test against the clock, the results between Vande Velde, van Garderen and Leipheimer at the splits were close and everyone was watching to see who would take the win. In the end Vande Velde finished ahead of the other two GC contenders to take home the overall win.

“We have some of the best cyclists in the world racing in Colorado,” said Shawn Hunter, CEO of the Pro Challenge. “This is one of the biggest stage races in the history of our country. We call this America’s race, and it really is. The crowds were even bigger than they were last year; Golden to Boulder was pretty magical. I can’t wait for 2013 and we are already talking about routes.”

Last year’s fifth place finisher George Hincapie (USA) of BMC Racing Team, who is a former three-time national road champion and holds the record for participating in the most Tour de France races (17), capped off his professional cycling career today with the 2012 USA Pro Challenge.

“I really felt the emotion from the crowd and this is what’s gotten me through the last several years,” said Hincapie. “The support from all of you is amazing and I’m so happy for this to be my last race ever.

The final jerseys of the 2012 race were awarded this afternoon under blue skies in downtown Denver. Vande Velde re-claimed the Exergy Leader Jersey. Several other jersey winners remained unchanged, with Jens Voigt (GER) of RadioShack-Nissan-Trek retaining the Nissan King of the Mountains Jersey (no points were awarded today), Tyler Farrar (USA) of Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda the Waste Management Sprint Jersey and Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) of Bontrager Livestrong Team the Aquadraat Best Young Rider Jersey. Tom Danielson (USA) of Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda was awarded the Evolve Most Aggressive Rider Jersey for his overall effort throughout the week.

Results

1. Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team  0:17:25
2. Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin-Sharp  0:00:10
3. Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team  0:00:19
4. Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep  0:00:21
5. Thomas Danielson (USA) Garmin-Sharp  0:00:29
6. Tom Zirbel (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies  0:00:31
7. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale  0:00:37
8. Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team  0:00:40
9. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-Quickstep  0:00:43
10. David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin-Sharp  0:00:45
11. Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan  0:00:48
12. Artem Ovechkin (Rus) RusVelo  0:00:50
13. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) RadioShack-Nissan  0:00:50
14. Martin Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep  0:00:50
15. Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team  0:00:52
16. Hugo Houle (Can) Spidertech Powered By C10  0:00:52
17. Moreno Moser (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale  0:00:53
18. Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team  0:00:57
19. Matthew Busche (USA) RadioShack-Nissan  0:00:59
20. Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin-Sharp  0:01:01
21. Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan  0:01:01
22. Mathias Frank (Sui) BMC Racing Team  0:01:03
23. George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team  0:01:03
24. Ryan Roth (Can) Spidertech Powered By C10  0:01:08
25. Robert Förster (Ger) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team  0:01:10
26. Dmitry Kozontchuk (Rus) RusVelo  0:01:11
27. Sergey Firsanov (Rus) RusVelo  0:01:11
28. Benjamin Day (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team  0:01:12
29. Damiano Caruso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale  0:01:16
30. Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack-Nissan  0:01:16
31. Serghei Tvetcov (Mda) Team Exergy  0:01:17
32. Kiel Reijnen (USA) Team Type 1-Sanofi  0:01:18
33. Jeremy Vennell (Nzl) Bissell Cycling  0:01:18
34. Julian Kyer (USA) Bissell Cycling  0:01:18
35. Benjamin King (USA) RadioShack-Nissan  0:01:19
36. Peter Stetina (USA) Garmin-Sharp  0:01:20
37. Ivan Rovny (Rus) RusVelo  0:01:21
38. Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Bissell Cycling  0:01:21
39. Michael Creed (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies  0:01:22
40. Rory Sutherland (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team  0:01:23
41. Andres Diaz Corrales (Col) Team Exergy  0:01:25
42. Craig Lewis (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team  0:01:26
43. Gavin Mannion (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team  0:01:26
44. Daniel Summerhill (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team  0:01:30
45. Lucas Euser (USA) Spidertech Powered By C10  0:01:30
46. Ivan Santaromita (Ita) BMC Racing Team  0:01:31
47. Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Astana Pro Team  0:01:32
48. Michael Friedman (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies  0:01:32
49. Timothy Duggan (USA) Liquigas-Cannondale  0:01:34
50. Arkimedes Arguelyes Rodriges (Rus) RusVelo  0:01:34
51. Rubens Bertogliati (Sui) Team Type 1-Sanofi  0:01:34
52. Alex Howes (USA) Garmin-Sharp  0:01:36
53. Johann Tschopp (Sui) BMC Racing Team  0:01:37
54. Alexander Candelario (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies  0:01:38
55. Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team  0:01:38
56. Christopher Jones (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team  0:01:38
57. Cameron Wurf (Aus) Champion System Pro Cycling Team  0:01:40
58. Alessandro Bazzana (Ita) Team Type 1-Sanofi  0:01:40
59. Julien El Fares (Fra) Team Type 1-Sanofi  0:01:43
60. Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Sharp  0:01:44
61. George Bennett (Nzl) RadioShack-Nissan  0:01:44
62. Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale  0:01:44
63. Rafael Infantino Abreu (Col) EPM-Une  0:01:46
64. James Oram (Nzl) Bontrager Livestrong Team  0:01:46
65. Joey Rosskopf (USA) Team Type 1-Sanofi  0:01:46
66. Matt Brammeier (Irl) Omega Pharma-Quickstep  0:01:49
67. Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale  0:01:51
68. Oliver Zaugg (Sui) RadioShack-Nissan  0:01:51
69. Javier Megias Leal (Esp) Team Type 1-Sanofi  0:01:53
70. Morgan Schmitt (USA) Team Exergy  0:01:54
71. Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Type 1-Sanofi  0:01:55
72. Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale  0:01:55
73. Caleb Fairly (USA) Spidertech Powered By C10  0:01:57
74. Brian Vandborg (Den) Spidertech Powered By C10  0:01:59
75. Alexander Mironov (Rus) RusVelo  0:02:03
76. Carter Jones (USA) Bissell Cycling  0:02:05
77. Sergey Klimov (Rus) RusVelo  0:02:08
78. Christopher Baldwin (USA) Bissell Cycling  0:02:10
79. Ryan Eastman (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team  0:02:14
80. Jeroen Hoorne (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep  0:02:16
81. Javier Eduardo Gomez Pineda (Col) EPM-Une  0:02:16
82. Chris Butler (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team  0:02:19
83. Pengda Jiao (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team  0:02:20
84. Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team  0:02:22
85. Lachlan David Morton (Aus) Garmin-Sharp  0:02:22
86. Ramiro Rincon Diaz (Col) EPM-Une  0:02:24
87. Robigzon Leandro Oyola Oyola (Col) EPM-Une  0:02:25
88. Frank Kevin Pipp (USA) Bissell Cycling  0:02:28
89. Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Astana Pro Team  0:02:33
90. Biao Liu (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team  0:02:33
91. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team  0:02:34
92. Matt Cooke (USA) Team Exergy  0:02:48
93. Francisco Jarley Colorado Hernandez (Col) EPM-Une  0:02:54
94. Eduard Alexander Beltran Suarez (Col) EPM-Une  0:03:30
95. Jorge Camilo Castiblanco Cubides (Col) EPM-Une  0:03:44
96. Freddy Orlando Piamonte Rodriguez (Col) EPM-Une  0:05:50

Final GC

1. Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin-Sharp  25:57:34
2. Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team  0:00:21
3. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-Quickstep  0:00:24
4. Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan  0:01:08
5. Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team  0:01:14
6. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) RadioShack-Nissan  0:01:24
7. Thomas Danielson (USA) Garmin-Sharp  0:01:28
8. Matthew Busche (USA) RadioShack-Nissan  0:01:32
9. Peter Stetina (USA) Garmin-Sharp  0:01:39
10. Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team  0:01:40
11. Ivan Rovny (Rus) RusVelo  0:01:43
12. Damiano Caruso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale  0:01:49
13. Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack-Nissan  0:01:54
14. Mathias Frank (Sui) BMC Racing Team  0:02:02
15. Ramiro Rincon Diaz (Col) EPM-Une  0:02:27
16. Lucas Euser (USA) Spidertech Powered By C10  0:02:31
17. Gavin Mannion (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team  0:02:57
18. Michael Creed (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies  0:03:26
19. Javier Eduardo Gomez Pineda (Col) EPM-Une  0:03:33
20. Chris Butler (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team  0:03:35
21. Timothy Duggan (USA) Liquigas-Cannondale  0:03:52
22. Kiel Reijnen (USA) Team Type 1-Sanofi  0:04:32
23. Christopher Baldwin (USA) Bissell Cycling  0:04:38
24. Dmitry Kozontchuk (Rus) RusVelo  0:05:09
25. George Bennett (Nzl) RadioShack-Nissan  0:05:40
26. Benjamin Day (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team  0:05:47
27. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale  0:05:58
28. Freddy Orlando Piamonte Rodriguez (Col) EPM-Une  0:07:24
29. Francisco Jarley Colorado Hernandez (Col) EPM-Une  0:07:30
30. Cameron Wurf (Aus) Champion System Pro Cycling Team  0:08:02
31. Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan  0:08:54
32. Robigzon Leandro Oyola Oyola (Col) EPM-Une  0:09:03
33. Eduard Alexander Beltran Suarez (Col) EPM-Une  0:09:50
34. Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Astana Pro Team  0:14:11
35. Craig Lewis (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team  0:14:43
36. Oliver Zaugg (Sui) RadioShack-Nissan  0:14:44
37. Rory Sutherland (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team  0:15:16
38. Rafael Infantino Abreu (Col) EPM-Une  0:16:50
39. Alex Howes (USA) Garmin-Sharp  0:17:22
40. Johann Tschopp (Sui) BMC Racing Team  0:20:40
41. George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team  0:20:54
42. Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale  0:21:33
43. Carter Jones (USA) Bissell Cycling  0:22:44
44. Michael Friedman (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies  0:23:36
45. Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team  0:25:01
46. Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team  0:25:37
47. Julian Kyer (USA) Bissell Cycling  0:27:47
48. Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
49. Serghei Tvetcov (Mda) Team Exergy  0:28:47
50. Jorge Camilo Castiblanco Cubides (Col) EPM-Une  0:29:15
51. Pengda Jiao (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team  0:29:43
52. Alessandro Bazzana (Ita) Team Type 1-Sanofi  0:30:05
53. Alexander Mironov (Rus) RusVelo  0:30:16
54. Alexander Candelario (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies  0:31:52
55. Sergey Firsanov (Rus) RusVelo  0:33:48
56. Andres Diaz Corrales (Col) Team Exergy  0:35:25
57. Benjamin King (USA) RadioShack-Nissan  0:35:58
58. Moreno Moser (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale  0:36:24
59. Tom Zirbel (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies  0:38:57
60. Christopher Jones (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team  0:40:57
61. Caleb Fairly (USA) Spidertech Powered By C10  0:41:47
62. Artem Ovechkin (Rus) RusVelo  0:42:36
63. Javier Megias Leal (Esp) Team Type 1-Sanofi  0:43:40
64. Martin Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep  0:45:23
65. Ivan Santaromita (Ita) BMC Racing Team  0:45:25
66. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team  0:45:36
67. Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Astana Pro Team  0:48:19
68. Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Type 1-Sanofi  0:48:34
69. Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Sharp  0:51:36
70. Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team  0:51:53
71. Jeroen Hoorne (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep  0:52:30
72. Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale  0:55:58
73. Arkimedes Arguelyes Rodriges (Rus) RusVelo  0:58:11
74. Rubens Bertogliati (Sui) Team Type 1-Sanofi  0:58:19
75. Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin-Sharp  0:59:26
76. Julien El Fares (Fra) Team Type 1-Sanofi  1:02:05
77. Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale  1:02:49
78. Joey Rosskopf (USA) Team Type 1-Sanofi  1:03:29
79. David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin-Sharp  1:03:50
80. Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team  1:04:05
81. Brian Vandborg (Den) Spidertech Powered By C10  1:05:17
82. Jeremy Vennell (Nzl) Bissell Cycling  1:05:24
83. Hugo Houle (Can) Spidertech Powered By C10  1:05:31
84. Matt Cooke (USA) Team Exergy  1:07:18
85. Ryan Eastman (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team  1:07:24
86. Ryan Roth (Can) Spidertech Powered By C10  1:08:01
87. Biao Liu (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team  1:08:27
88. Robert Förster (Ger) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team  1:08:44
89. Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Bissell Cycling  1:12:52
90. Morgan Schmitt (USA) Team Exergy  1:13:26
91. James Oram (Nzl) Bontrager Livestrong Team  1:13:28
92. Daniel Summerhill (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team  1:13:41
93. Frank Kevin Pipp (USA) Bissell Cycling  1:15:31
94. Lachlan David Morton (Aus) Garmin-Sharp  1:21:15
95. Matt Brammeier (Irl) Omega Pharma-Quickstep  1:25:31
96. Sergey Klimov (Rus) RusVelo  1:28:26