Tour of Utah: Leo König with outstanding fifth place in first stage
The first stage beginning and ending in Ogden was already one of the most difficult stretches of this tour with a length of 211 kilometers and 5 climbs. Rory Sutherland (UnitedHealthcare) secured the first victory, ahead of Damiano Caruso (Liquigas Cannondale) and Brent Bookwalter (BMC). The best rider for Team NetApp was Leo König, who crossed the finish line in fifth place.
In addition to extreme temperatures of up to 40 degrees (104 F), today's stage was dominated by a four-man leaders' group. The group formed quickly after the start and was able to ride ahead by a maximum of 12 minutes. The field controlled the breakaway group, however, with the goal of closing the gap on the last mountain. On the last kilometers the field spread out, and a larger group decided the stage in the sprint.
"That was a perfect start. Leo shouldn't waste a second thinking about the standings. That the first stage led to fifth place is outstanding. All in all it was a great accomplishment by the team," said Ralph Denk, Team Manager Team NetApp.
Tomorrow's team time trial stretches over 21.7 kilometers and takes place on the auto racing track of Miller Motorsports Park. The grade is not completely flat; it is wavy, which makes it very difficult for the teams to stay together. Small errors are reflected very clearly in the standings.
Stage 1, August 7th Ogden – Ogden (211 km)
Stage 2, August 8th TeamTimeTrial Miller Motorsports Park (21.7km)
Stage 3, August 9th Ogden - University of Utah Research Park (138 km)
Stage 4, August 10th Lehi - Salt Lake City (218 km)
Stage 5, August 11th Newspark town center - Snowbird Ski/Summer Resort (165 km)
Stage 6, August 12th Park City - Park City (121.3 km)
Line-Up:
Leo Koenig, Bartosz Huzarski, Andreas Dietziker, Reto Hollenstein, Andreas Schillinger, Marcel Wyss, Cesare Benedetti
