Aug 23rd, 09. Kiwi Glen Chadwick rode out the front in 43 degree heat in the toughest Tour of Utah stage today, all in support of his Rock Racing teammate's overall tour ambitions.
Thanks in part to Chadwick, Francisco Mancebo (or Paco to his friends) is all but assured of the overall Tour of Utah title, with only tomorrow's 90 minute criterium left to race.
Today's stage 4 was the toughest stage of this Tour, some say it was the toughest climbing day of the US racing calendar, but that didn't phase kiwi born, Aussie raised, Chadwick.
"Everything for Paco again," Chadwick told RoadCycling.co.nz after today's stage.
"I pretty much got into the break and just waited all day for the call to sit up and wait for him which came on the final climb up to Snowbird."
"Darren Lill [2nd on GC] had attacked him at the bottom of the climb but Paco countered it and rode away solo ... That's where I waited and paced him to about 2km to go where I sent him on his way."
Mancebo didn't win today, that honour deservedly went to U23 rider Alex Howes from Felt-Holowesko, but Mancebo's final kick for 3rd ahead of his GC rivals, kept him in yellow, now with a 46sec buffer. Chadwick was rewarded for his efforts with 5th place.
Today's biggest threat for Rock Racing looked to come from BMC's defending champion Jeff Louder who was in 3rd place coming in to today's stage.
BMC say they went into the stage planning on ripping the peloton to shreds on the early climbs in order to isolate Mancebo and set up Louder for a second Snowbird stage win. Although they did shred the field, Mancebo, Lill and Louder (1st, 2nd, 3rd on GC) were together at the base of the Snowbird climb.
Once that group reached the bottom of the climb, race leader Mancebo took matters into his own hands and took off. Lill and Louder tried to follow, but Mancebo was too strong, especially once he reached Chadwick and the duo were able to work together.
"I'm feeling alright and I went as hard as I could," defending champion Louder said. "I just got beat by those guys today; it's as simple as that."
Not all the kiwis in the peloton had such a great day as Chadwick did with Sam Bewley (Trek Livestrong) and Aaron Tuckerman (Land Rover Orbea), pulling out. Jesse Sergent (Trek Livestrong), however, put in another good performance finishing 54th in a stage that started with 138 riders. "That was a epic stage, a lot of climbing but I got through it" he twittered at end of the race.
Tomorrow's final stage is a 90 minute criterium which is not expected to change the overall top placings in "America's toughest stage race".
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Aug 23rd, 09. Kiwi Glen Chadwick rode out the front in 43 degree heat in the toughest Tour of Utah stage today, all in support of his Rock Racing teammate's overall tour ambitions.