Tour of Utah – Stage 1 Preview

By David Hunter

The race begins with a demanding day in the saddle. First on the menu is the long climb up to Cedar Breaks. The cat 1 climb is 26km at 5.2%, so it’s a hard one. As it’s the opening stage and the climb is in the opening half of the race, don’t expect the peloton to go full gas but it will still be too hard for a lot of the riders. Altitude will also be a factor as the climb tops out at 3185 metres.

Opening stages like this often find the peloton looking at each other to see who will control the race. There is a lack of sprinters here, this will add to the confusion! Most teams will expect Garmin-Sharp to set pace and control the break, but there is no guarantee they’ll do this. It will be a good day to get in the break.

The second climb of the day is only cat 4, so won’t be an issue for the riders. After this, we have a long descent before 3 laps of the circuit in Cedar. The only main sprinter in the race is Moreno Hofland of Belkin. He’s returning from injury and the climb should be too difficult for him, anyway.

The smaller teams will all want to be part of the break, as they know it has a good chance of succeeding. The chance to win the stage and take control of the race will be snapped up by these teams. We should see a very fast start and getting in the break won’t be easy, but it will be crucial.

Prediction time…

The stage is too hard for sprinters and the usual game of peloton poker will ensure the break get a big lead. I’ll go for Tao Geoghegan Hart from the Bissell Development squad. If the break is controlled, the fastest men at the end will be Luca Wackermann of Lampre and Rick Zabel of BMC.

David Hunter

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