American Travis McCabe of UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team surged past the field in a chaotic sprint finish to win Stage 1 presented by America First Credit Union at the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah on Tuesday.
Traversing 101 miles for the second day of racing in the seven-day stage race, McCabe crossed the line in Cedar City in 4 hours and 17 minutes.
“Coming into this, I trained really hard,” McCabe said. “I’ve had a few months now of just being home and training. Utah was a big goal.”
McCabe, from Prescott, Ariz., took advantage of a late race attack by his teammate Serghei Tvetcov (Romania) to claim his third stage win in three years at the Tour of Utah.
“Taking that third win was what I was waking up every morning, dreaming about,” McCabe said. “Getting three wins in three years is pretty awesome. I love the Tour of Utah, I really do, it’s one of my favorite races I do every year.”

A bike length separated McCabe from second-place Ulises Castillo (Mexico) of Jelly Belly Cycling Team p/b Maxxis, and Edwin Avila (Colombia) of Israel Cycling Academy, following in third.
Overall race leader Tejay van Garderen (USA) of BMC Racing Team retained his Larry H. Miller Dealerships leader’s yellow jersey by finishing safely in the peloton.
By capturing the 10-second finish time bonus, McCabe moved up to second in the General Classification, only two seconds back. Joey Rosskopf (USA) of BMC Racing Team is in third place overall, an additional two seconds down. Fourth in the GC, Neilson Powless (USA) of Team LottoNL-Jumbo retained the WCF Insurance Best Young Rider jersey.

How it unfolded

Blue skies and warm weather greeted the 115 racers at the start of Stage 1 in the fourth-time host city of Cedar City. The start and the finish were held on the campus of Southern Utah University.
After a flurry of attacks in the first 40 minutes of racing, four riders managed to escape to form the main breakaway of the day. Working well together, the foursome built a lead that grew to over five minutes before starting to climb up Parowan Canyon for the highest climb of the week near Cedar Breaks National Monument, topping out at 10,600 feet.
“It was the first time I raced at this altitude which makes it pretty hard, but I think it was a really nice climb. The steep gradients I like, so I enjoyed it,” said Daan Olivier (Netherlands) of Team LottoNL-Jumbo.
The Category 1 climb, which gains 4,500 vertical feet in 15 miles, with some sections at Brian Head Ski Resort challenged riders with a 15 percent gradient.
Second on the first climb, Olivier took top points on the second King of the Mountain climb of the day at Bristlecone and claimed the Utah Office of Tourism King of the Mountain jersey.
McCabe also claimed the Utah Sports Commission Sprint jersey.
A member of the breakaway, Evan Huffman (USA) of Rally Cycling was awarded the Larry H. Miller Dealerships Most Aggressive Rider jersey. Nathan Brown (USA) of EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale was voted America First Credit Union Fan Favorite, in the category of Best Ambassador (Statesman).

Next up

Stage 2 on Wednesday, Aug. 8, returns to Payson City for a third time. The focus of the day will be the towering peak of Mount Nebo, making a seventh appearance in the Tour that was last featured in 2016.
This year, the 88.6-mile (142.6 km) route will start and finish in Payson City. After a 12-mile circuit north of town into Utah County, the race will return to Payson for a sprint in front of historic Peteetneet Museum and pass through the start/finish area at Memorial Park.
The route will then travel south through the orchards and lavender fields along Old U.S. Highway 91 for a sprint line in Nephi, then the final push on the Category 1 ascent across Mount Nebo. The cyclists will summit at 9,300 feet for the one KOM on the day, then have a twisting 22-mile descent for the finish back into the classic western town of Payson.

Results and standings

www.tourofutah.com/race/results

Stage 1 presented by America First Credit Union – Top 10

1. MCCABE Travis (USA) UNITEDHEALTHCARE – 4:17:05
2. CASTILLO SOTO Ulises Alfredo (MEX) JELLY BELLY pb MAXXIS – 4:17:05
3. AVILA VANEGAS Edwin Alcibiades (COL) ISRAEL CYCLING ACADEMY – 4:17:05
4. BOOKWALTER Brent (USA) BMC RACING TEAM – 4:17:05
5. REIJNEN Kiel (USA) TREK-SEGAFREDO – 4:17:05
6. CIMA Damiano (ITA) NIPPO-VINI FANTINI-EUROPA OVINI – 4:17:05
7. MURPHY Kyle (USA) RALLY CYCLING – 4:17:05
8. PONZI Simone (ITA) NIPPO-VINI FANTINI-EUROPA OVINI – 4:17:05
9. BOUWMAN Koen (NED) TEAM LOTTO NL-JUMBO – 4:17:05
10. RICE Michael (AUS) HAGENS BERMAN AXEON – 4:17:05

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION (After Stage 1) – Top 10

1. VAN GARDEREN Tejay (USA) BMC RACING TEAM – 4:23:32
2. MCCABE Travis (USA) UNITEDHEALTHCARE – 4:23:34 +0:00:02
3. ROSSKOPF Joey (USA) BMC RACING TEAM – 4:23:36 +0:00:04
4. POWLESS Neilson (USA) TEAM LOTTO NL-JUMBO – 4:23:39 +0:00:07
5. HUFFMAN Evan (USA) RALLY CYCLING – 4:23:42 +0:00:10
6. EENKHOORN Pascal (NED) TEAM LOTTO NL-JUMBO – 4:23:43 +0:00:11
7. TVETCOV Serghei (ROU) UNITEDHEALTHCARE – 4:23:43 +0:00:11
8. BROWN Nathan (USA) EF-DRAPAC pb CANNONDALE – 4:23:43 +0:00:11
9. BOUWMAN Koen (NED) TEAM LOTTO NL-JUMBO – 4:23:45 +0:00:13
10. DOMBROWSKI Joe (USA) EF-DRAPAC pb CANNONDALE – 4:23:45 +0:00:13

AWARD JERSEYS

• Larry H. Miller Group of Companies Overall leader – Tejay van Garderen (USA), BMC Racing Team
• Utah Sports Commission Sprint leader – Travis McCabe (USA), UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
• Utah Office of Tourism King of the Mountain – Daan Olivier (NED), Team LottoNL-Jumbo
• WCF Insurance Best Young Rider – Neilson Powless (NED), Team LottoNL-Jumbo
• Larry H. Miller Dealerships Most Aggressive Rider – Evan Huffman (USA), Rally Cycling Team
• America First Credit Union Fan Favorite – Nathan Brown (USA), EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale

Content provided by Jackie Tyson, Tour of Utah