August 23/15 20:49 pm - US Pro Challenge: Stage 7
Posted by Editoress on 08/23/15
Rohan Dennis of BMC Racing Team showed dominance all week winning two stages of the USA Pro Challenge and proved his destiny of not letting go of the yellow lead jersey, winning the overall USA Pro Challenge in Denver Sunday.
The young 25-year-old Australian won two critical stages in Breckenridge on Thursday and Friday of the past week, distancing himself from teammate Brent Bookwalter of the United States by 40 seconds over the seven-day, 605-mile race throughout Colorado.
“I didn’t know I was the first non-American until two days ago,” said Dennis. “It’s a little bit special to be the first non-American. Hopefully I can come back next year and do it again. I have to take my hat off to the team. They didn’t put any pressure on me. I came here to help Brent, found my legs, and ended up in the yellow jersey. I thank him for quietly supporting me GC wise.”
The seventh and final stage of the race was contested from Golden to downtown Denver. Like four of the previous five years, a sprinter won the stage. John Murphy of UnitedHealthcare won the stage, followed by Phinney of BMC Racing Team less than a bike length later in second and Lucas Haedo of Jamis-Hagens Berman took third.
“I second what Kiel said about our team work. Since Utah we have been a unit,” said John Murphy. “Our guys have been phenomenal between stage win in Utah and working for the green jersey. I’m super happy we were able to lock up the green jersey yesterday and open to door for me today. The guys rode their hearts out for me, and I was happy to be able to deliver.”
BMC Racing won the overall team competition, followed by Jelly Belly and Team Hincapie Racing.
Javier Megias is one of only two riders (Ted King is the other) that has ridden all five USA Pro Challenges.
When asked about what happened to his tooth, the USA Pro Challenge winner said, “I tried to drink the champagne and then it sprayed down my throat . I pulled away and went for another drink. Someone on my team accidently hit it and knocked a filling out that I’ve had for 20 years. It’s a little rough on the tongue but it adds character.”
The riders after a short loop north of Golden took on the 4-mile climb of Lookout Mtn. Another quick pass of Golden and the race zoomed through Wheat Ridge and Lakewood en route to downtown Denver. Four laps of the familiar Denver circuit await and Civic Center Park, City Park, and 17th street gave the hundreds of thousands of fans a thrill of a lifetime.
The overall victory went to Dennis, who finished 40 seconds up on teammate Brent Bookwalter with Rob Britton (Team SmartStop) third at 1:31. Dennis also collected the KOM Jersey.
One of the most highly anticipated events on the race calendar, the 2015 USA Pro Challenge tested riders’ strength and endurance over a 605-mile course and many miles above 10,000 feet.
“Every year people ask me if the race is coming back,” said Shawn Hunter, CEO of USA Pro Challenge. “I learned a long time ago, you can’t stop a freight train. I think that’s what’s been created by the state of Colorado and the communities. My job is to stay on board and keep driving.”
Smashburger Leader Jersey goes home for good with Rohan Dennis (AUS) BMC Racing Team and the Lexus Sprint Jersey to Kiel Reijen (USA) UnitedHealthcare Team. The Sierra Nevada King of the Mountains Jersey also goes home with Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing Team). The Colorado State University Best Young Rider Jersey goes to Geoghegan Hart Tao (Axeon Cycling Team) and FirstBank Most Aggressive Rider Jersey is in the hands of Javier Megias (Team Novo Nordisk) and Edward Jones Best Colorado Rider Jersey stays with Alexandr Braico (Jelly Belly P/B Maxxis).
Press release
Results
| Stage 7: Golden to Denver, 112 km | |
| 1 John Murphy (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 2:20:03 |
| 2 Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
| 3 Lucas Sebastian Haedo (Arg) Jamis - Hagens Berman | |
| 4 Travis McCabe (USA) Team SmartStop | |
| 5 Fabio Silvestre (Por) Trek Factory Racing | |
| 6 Kiel Reijnen (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | |
| 7 Guillaume Boivin (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | |
| 8 Dion Smith (NZl) Hincapie Racing Team | |
| 9 Jordan Kerby (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | |
| 10 Adam Phelan (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | all s.t. |
| 11 Jasper Bovenhuis (Ned) Team Cannondale-Garmin | 0:04 |
| 12 Bruno Pires (Por) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
| 13 Marco Canola (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | |
| 14 Lachlan Norris (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | |
| 15 Ruben Zepuntke (Ger) Team Cannondale-Garmin | |
| 16 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team | all s.t. |
| 17 Logan Owen (USA) Axeon Cycling Team | 0:06 |
| 18 Charles Planet (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk | 0:08 |
| 19 Dylan Girdlestone (RSA) Drapac Professional Cycling | |
| 20 Flavio De Luna (Mex) Team SmartStop | |
| 21 Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Axeon Cycling Team | |
| 22 Gavin Mannion (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis | |
| 23 Tom Zirbel (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | |
| 24 Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team | |
| 25 Lachlan David Morton (Aus) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis | |
| 26 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | |
| 27 Fabricio Ferrari Barcelo (Uru) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
| 28 Rob Britton (Can) Team SmartStop | |
| 29 Hugh Carthy (GBr) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
| 30 Ryan Anderson (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | |
| 31 Brendan Canty (Aus) Team Budget Forklifts | |
| 32 David Lozano Riba (Esp) Team Novo Nordisk | |
| 33 Julien Bernard (Fra) Trek Factory Racing | |
| 34 Erik Slack (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis | |
| 35 Jaime Roson (Esp) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
| 36 Joseph Lewis (Aus) Hincapie Racing Team | |
| 37 Toms Skujins (Lat) Hincapie Racing Team | |
| 38 Alexandr Braico (Mda) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis | all s.t. |
| 39 Taylor Shelden (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis | 0:14 |
| 40 Robbie Squire (USA) Hincapie Racing Team | 0:15 |
| 41 Felix Grossschartner (Aut) Tinkoff-Saxo | 0:17 |
| 42 Jure Kocjan (Slo) Team SmartStop | s.t. |
| 43 Timothy Roe (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | 0:20 |
| 44 Daniel Eaton (USA) Axeon Cycling Team | |
| 45 Davide Formolo (Ita) Team Cannondale-Garmin | |
| 46 Laurent Didier (Lux) Trek Factory Racing | all s.t. |
| 47 Antonio Molina (Esp) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 0:23 |
| 48 Kristoffer Skjerping (Nor) Team Cannondale-Garmin | |
| 49 Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team | |
| 50 Leonardo Basso (Ita) Trek Factory Racing | |
| 51 Calvin Watson (Aus) Trek Factory Racing | |
| 52 Julian Kyer (USA) Team SmartStop | |
| 53 James Oram (NZl) Axeon Cycling Team | |
| 54 Nicolae Tanovitchii (Mda) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis | |
| 55 Chad Young (USA) Axeon Cycling Team | |
| 56 Edward King (USA) Team Cannondale-Garmin | |
| 57 Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
| 58 Bartosz Warchol (Pol) Cycling Academy Team | |
| 59 Miguel Angel Benito Diez (Esp) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
| 60 Wojciech Migdal (Pol) Cycling Academy Team | |
| 61 Jonathan Clarke (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | |
| 62 Andzs Flaksis (Lat) Hincapie Racing Team | |
| 63 Matthew Busche (USA) Trek Factory Racing | |
| 64 Robin Carpenter (USA) Hincapie Racing Team | |
| 65 Stephen Leece (USA) Jamis - Hagens Berman | |
| 66 Pierrick Naud (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | |
| 67 Nathan Brown (USA) Team Cannondale-Garmin | |
| 68 Evan Huffman (USA) Team SmartStop | all s.t. |
| 69 Emerson Oronte (USA) Team SmartStop | 0:38 |
| 70 Daniel Summerhill (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | |
| 71 William Clarke (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | |
| 72 Steve Fisher (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis | all s.t. |
| 73 Gregory Brenes Obando (CRc) Jamis - Hagens Berman | 0:42 |
| 74 Kevin De Mesmaeker (Bel) Team Novo Nordisk | 0:42 |
| 75 Javier Megias Leal (Esp) Team Novo Nordisk | 0:44 |
| 76 Joseph Schmalz (USA) Hincapie Racing Team | 0:51 |
| 77 Tanner Putt (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | |
| 78 Christopher Jones (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | both s.t. |
| 79 Daniel Alexander Jaramillo Diez (Col) Jamis - Hagens Berman | 1:17 |
| 80 Eduard Alexander Beltran Suarez (Col) Tinkoff-Saxo | s.t. |
| 81 Samuel Spokes (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | 1:23 |
| 82 Gregory Daniel (USA) Axeon Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 83 Daniel Turek (Cze) Cycling Academy Team | 1:27 |
| 84 Manuel Senni (Ita) BMC Racing Team | |
| 85 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
| 86 Killian Frankiny (Sui) BMC Racing Team | |
| 87 Jack Anderson (Aus) Team Budget Forklifts | |
| 88 Angus Morton (Aus) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis | all s.t. |
| 89 Julian Arredondo (Col) Trek Factory Racing | 1:40 |
| 90 Janier Alexis Acevedo Colle (Col) Team Cannondale-Garmin | s.t. |
| 91 Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team | 1:50 |
| 92 Yoav Bear (Isr) Cycling Academy Team | |
| 93 Martin Kohler (Sui) Drapac Professional Cycling | both s.t. |
| 94 Carson Miller (USA) Jamis - Hagens Berman | 2:13 |
| 95 Oscar Clark (USA) Hincapie Racing Team | 2:26 |
| 96 Walter Gaston Trillini (Arg) Jamis - Hagens Berman | 2:37 |
| 97 Emanuel Piaskowy (Pol) Cycling Academy Team | 3:12 |
| 98 David Williams (USA) Jamis - Hagens Berman | 5:44 |
| 99 Brodie Talbot (Aus) Team Budget Forklifts | s.t. |
| 100 Kyle Murphy (USA) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 8:50 |
| 101 Michael Torckler (NZl) Team Budget Forklifts | 10:35 |
| DNF Jesus Hernandez Blazquez (Esp) Tinkoff-Saxo | |
| DNF Daniel Barry (NZl) Team Budget Forklifts | |
| GC | |
| 1 Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team | 23:53:44 |
| 2 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team | at :00:40 |
| 3 Rob Britton (Can) Team SmartStop | 1:31 |
| 4 Gavin Mannion (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis | 1:49 |
| 5 Lachlan David Morton (Aus) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis | 1:53 |
| 6 Lachlan Norris (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | 1:58 |
| 7 Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Axeon Cycling Team | 1:58 |
| 8 Toms Skujins (Lat) Hincapie Racing Team | 2:08 |
| 9 Hugh Carthy (GBr) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 2:13 |
| 10 Julien Bernard (Fra) Trek Factory Racing | 2:14 |
| 11 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 2:32 |
| 12 Jaime Roson (Esp) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 2:33 |
| 13 Bruno Pires (Por) Tinkoff-Saxo | 2:34 |
| 14 Jonathan Clarke (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 2:58 |
| 15 Dion Smith (NZl) Hincapie Racing Team | 3:03 |
| 16 Davide Formolo (Ita) Team Cannondale-Garmin | 3:04 |
| 17 Robbie Squire (USA) Hincapie Racing Team | 3:15 |
| 18 Ruben Zepuntke (Ger) Team Cannondale-Garmin | 3:44 |
| 19 Alexandr Braico (Mda) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis | 3:55 |
| 20 Ryan Anderson (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | 8:22 |
| 21 Flavio De Luna (Mex) Team SmartStop | 9:10 |
| 22 Kiel Reijnen (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 9:55 |
| 23 Logan Owen (USA) Axeon Cycling Team | 10:06 |
| 24 Daniel Eaton (USA) Axeon Cycling Team | 10:17 |
| 25 Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team | 10:29 |
| 26 Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team | 10:33 |
| 27 Timothy Roe (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | 11:04 |
| 28 Felix Grossschartner (Aut) Tinkoff-Saxo | 12:00 |
| 29 Marco Canola (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 12:03 |
| 30 Travis McCabe (USA) Team SmartStop | 15:01 |
| 31 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Tinkoff-Saxo | 15:42 |
| 32 Dylan Girdlestone (RSA) Drapac Professional Cycling | 17:37 |
| 33 Nathan Brown (USA) Team Cannondale-Garmin | 17:54 |
| 34 Janier Alexis Acevedo Colle (Col) Team Cannondale-Garmin | 18:17 |
| 35 Fabricio Ferrari Barcelo (Uru) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 19:37 |
| 36 Leonardo Basso (Ita) Trek Factory Racing | 20:25 |
| 37 Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo | 20:37 |
| 38 Jure Kocjan (Slo) Team SmartStop | 21:18 |
| 39 Matthew Busche (USA) Trek Factory Racing | 21:41 |
| 40 Tom Zirbel (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | 22:26 |
| 41 Evan Huffman (USA) Team SmartStop | 22:36 |
| 42 Daniel Alexander Jaramillo Diez (Col) Jamis - Hagens Berman | 22:40 |
| 43 Guillaume Boivin (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | 22:54 |
| 44 Laurent Didier (Lux) Trek Factory Racing | 24:15 |
| 45 Julian Arredondo (Col) Trek Factory Racing | 24:19 |
| 46 Andzs Flaksis (Lat) Hincapie Racing Team | 24:36 |
| 47 Calvin Watson (Aus) Trek Factory Racing | 26:12 |
| 48 Taylor Shelden (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis | 26:58 |
| 49 Nicolae Tanovitchii (Mda) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis | 27:21 |
| 50 Miguel Angel Benito Diez (Esp) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 28:27 |
| 51 Gregory Daniel (USA) Axeon Cycling Team | 29:29 |
| 52 Tanner Putt (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 30:09 |
| 53 Joseph Lewis (Aus) Hincapie Racing Team | 33:15 |
| 54 Michael Torckler (NZl) Team Budget Forklifts | 33:59 |
| 55 Daniel Turek (Cze) Cycling Academy Team | 34:15 |
| 56 Angus Morton (Aus) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis | 35:30 |
| 57 Adam Phelan (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | 35:50 |
| 58 Lucas Sebastian Haedo (Arg) Jamis - Hagens Berman | 37:18 |
| 59 James Oram (NZl) Axeon Cycling Team | 37:27 |
| 60 Christopher Jones (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 39:28 |
| 61 Bartosz Warchol (Pol) Cycling Academy Team | 43:49 |
| 62 Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team | 44:03 |
| 63 Emerson Oronte (USA) Team SmartStop | 44:11 |
| 64 Jasper Bovenhuis (Ned) Team Cannondale-Garmin | 44:12 |
| 65 Javier Megias Leal (Esp) Team Novo Nordisk | 46:10 |
| 66 Kristoffer Skjerping (Nor) Team Cannondale-Garmin | 47:23 |
| 67 Chad Young (USA) Axeon Cycling Team | 47:35 |
| 68 Brendan Canty (Aus) Team Budget Forklifts | 48:21 |
| 69 Edward King (USA) Team Cannondale-Garmin | 48:53 |
| 70 John Murphy (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 49:25 |
| 71 Antonio Molina (Esp) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 49:29 |
| 72 Stephen Leece (USA) Jamis - Hagens Berman | 49:58 |
| 73 Wojciech Migdal (Pol) Cycling Academy Team | 51:16 |
| 74 Samuel Spokes (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | 52:40 |
| 75 Daniel Summerhill (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 53:18 |
| 76 Kyle Murphy (USA) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 55:10 |
| 77 Gregory Brenes Obando (CRc) Jamis - Hagens Berman | 56:21 |
| 78 Charles Planet (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk | 56:38 |
| 79 Eduard Alexander Beltran Suarez (Col) Tinkoff-Saxo | 57:21 |
| 80 Jack Anderson (Aus) Team Budget Forklifts | 57:29 |
| 81 Martin Kohler (Sui) Drapac Professional Cycling | 57:37 |
| 82 Robin Carpenter (USA) Hincapie Racing Team | 57:58 |
| 83 Walter Gaston Trillini (Arg) Jamis - Hagens Berman | 58:11 |
| 84 Fabio Silvestre (Por) Trek Factory Racing | 1:00:44 |
| 85 Manuel Senni (Ita) BMC Racing Team | 1:01:34 |
| 86 Julian Kyer (USA) Team SmartStop | 1:02:10 |
| 87 Killian Frankiny (Sui) BMC Racing Team | 1:02:53 |
| 88 Jordan Kerby (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | 1:03:24 |
| 89 William Clarke (Aus) Drapac Professional Cycling | 1:03:31 |
| 90 Oscar Clark (USA) Hincapie Racing Team | 1:04:40 |
| 91 David Lozano Riba (Esp) Team Novo Nordisk | 1:05:10 |
| 92 David Williams (USA) Jamis - Hagens Berman | 1:06:40 |
| 93 Joseph Schmalz (USA) Hincapie Racing Team | 1:08:27 |
| 94 Carson Miller (USA) Jamis - Hagens Berman | 1:08:33 |
| 95 Kevin De Mesmaeker (Bel) Team Novo Nordisk | 1:09:15 |
| 96 Steve Fisher (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis | 1:11:17 |
| 97 Brodie Talbot (Aus) Team Budget Forklifts | 1:12:15 |
| 98 Pierrick Naud (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | 1:13:57 |
| 99 Emanuel Piaskowy (Pol) Cycling Academy Team | 1:15:14 |
| 100 Erik Slack (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis | 1:18:40 |
| 101 Yoav Bear (Isr) Cycling Academy Team | 1:25:47 |
Previous stages
Stage 1
Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Object of class PDO could not be converted to string in /home/canadiancyclistcom/canadiancyclist.com/public/modules/news.php:544 Stack trace: #0 /home/canadiancyclistcom/canadiancyclist.com/public/modules/news.php(533): getrelatedgallery() #1 /home/canadiancyclistcom/canadiancyclist.com/public/dailynews.php(58): getDailyNewsArticle() #2 {main} thrown in /home/canadiancyclistcom/canadiancyclist.com/public/modules/news.php on line 544