2011 USA Pro Cycling Challenge

The 2011 USA Pro Cycling Challenge was the inaugural edition of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge stage race. The race was held from August 22–28, and was rated as a 2.1 event on the UCI America Tour. The race began with a short prologue time trial in Colorado Springs, wound its way through the Rocky Mountains at heights of up to 12,000 feet (3,700 m), and finished in the streets of downtown Denver.

2011 USA Pro Cycling Challenge
2010–2011 UCI America Tour
Stage 6 in Denver
Race details
DatesAugust 22–28, 2011
Stages7
Winning time20h 00' 24"
Results
Winner  Levi Leipheimer (USA) (Team RadioShack)
  Second  Christian Vande Velde (USA) (Garmin–Cervélo)
  Third  Tejay van Garderen (USA) (HTC–Highroad)
Mountains  Rafael Montiel (COL) (Gobernación de Antioquia)
Youth  Tejay van Garderen (USA) (HTC–Highroad)
Sprints  Elia Viviani (ITA) (Liquigas–Cannondale)
  Team Garmin–Cervélo

Participating teams

Included in the participating team rosters were the top three 2011 Tour de France riders Cadel Evans, Andy Schleck and Fränk Schleck. The full team list included:

Stages
Stage results
Stage Date Route Terrain Length Winner
P22 AugustColorado Springs Individual time trial8.34 km (5.18 mi) Patrick Gretsch (GER)
123 AugustSalida - Crested Butte Mountain stage160 km (99 mi) Levi Leipheimer (USA)
224 AugustGunnison – Aspen Mountain stage211 km (131 mi) George Hincapie (USA)
325 AugustVail Individual time trial16 km (9.9 mi) Levi Leipheimer (USA)
426 AugustAvon – Steamboat Springs Medium mountain stage133 km (83 mi) Elia Viviani (ITA)
527 AugustSteamboat Springs – Breckenridge Mountain stage169 km (105 mi) Elia Viviani (ITA)
628 AugustGolden – Denver Medium mountain stage118.8 km (73.8 mi) Daniel Oss (ITA)

Prologue

August 22, 2011 — Colorado Springs, 5.18 miles (8.34 km)

The opening time trial for the race began in the Garden of the Gods national monument and followed a short downhill course that finished in downtown Colorado Springs.

Rider Team Time
1  Patrick Gretsch (DEU) HTC–Highroad 8' 28"
2  Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin–Cervélo + 2"
3  Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team + 4"
4  Robert Förster (DEU) UnitedHealthcare + 5"
5  Jens Voigt (DEU) Leopard Trek + 7"

Stage 1

August 23, 2011 — Salida to Crested Butte, 99.4 miles (160.0 km)

The first stage of the race saw the riders ascending 11,315 feet (3,449 m) over Monarch Pass and ending with a short mountaintop finish up to the resort municipality of Mount Crested Butte.

Rider Team Time
1  Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team RadioShack 4h 29' 22"
2  Sergio Henao (COL) Gobernación de Antioquia–Indeportes Antioquia + 4"
3  Fränk Schleck (LUX) Leopard Trek + 7"
4  Cadel Evans (AUS) BMC Racing Team + 7"
5  Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin–Cervélo + 7"

Stage 2

August 24, 2011 — Gunnison to Aspen, 131.1 miles (211.0 km)

The queen stage involved nearly 10,000 feet (3,000 m) of climbing, bringing the riders over two of the highest passes in Colorado: the dirt road climb of 12,126 feet (3,696 m) Cottonwood Pass, and 12,095 feet (3,687 m) to Independence Pass.

Rider Team Time
1  George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team 5h 26' 10"
2  Tejay van Garderen (USA) HTC–Highroad s.t.
3  Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin–Cervélo s.t.
4  Edward Beltran (COL) EPM–UNE s.t.
5  Janier Acevedo (COL) Gobernación de Antioquia–Indeportes Antioquia s.t.

Stage 3

August 25, 2011 — Vail, 10 miles (16 km)

Contrasting with the prologue time trial, stage 3 was a steep uphill individual test with 1,783 feet (543 m) of climbing over only 10 miles (16 km). The route was the same one used during time trials for the Coors Classic in the 80s. The record for the course, 25:48, was set in the 2008 Teva Mountain Games by Ben Day.[1]

Rider Team Time
1  Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team RadioShack 25' 47"
2  Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin–Cervélo + 0"
3  Rafael Infantino (COL) EPM–UNE + 4"
4  Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin–Cervélo + 33"
5  Stef Clement (NED) Rabobank + 40"

Stage 4

August 26, 2011 — Avon to Steamboat Springs, 82.8 miles (133.3 km)

This stage included one sprint point, 99.1 km into the stage.

Rider Team Time
1  Elia Viviani (ITA) Liquigas–Cannondale 2h 58' 14"
2  Michael Mørkøv (DEN) Saxo Bank–SunGard s.t.
3  Kenny Van Hummel (NED) Skil–Shimano s.t.
4  Robert Förster (GER) UnitedHealthcare s.t.
5  Dennis van Winden (NED) Rabobank s.t.

Stage 5

August 27, 2011 — Steamboat Springs to Breckenridge, 105.2 miles (169.3 km)

Immediately after leaving Steamboat Springs, the riders ascended Rabbit Ears Pass, a steep pass with about 15 miles (24 km) of climbing and a false summit. After the descent, it's a long slow climb through some of Colorado's most popular ski resorts that culminated in a downhill finish into Breckenridge.

Rider Team Time
1  Elia Viviani (ITA) Liquigas–Cannondale 4h 04' 31"
2  Jaime Castañeda (COL) EPM–UNE s.t.
3  Daniel Oss (ITA) Liquigas–Cannondale s.t.
4  Dennis van Winden (NED) Rabobank s.t.
5  Jeff Louder (USA) BMC Racing Team s.t.

Stage 6

August 28, 2011 — Golden to Denver, 73.79 miles (118.75 km)

The final stage of the race began under the "Howdy Folks!" sign on Golden's Main Street, as featured in the film American Flyers. Riders climbed Lookout Mountain, a short but steep climb in the foothills near Golden, and then descended into Denver. Once in the city, they completed six laps through downtown Denver, finishing on Broadway in front of the state capital building. The final day of the race was broadcast live on NBC.

Rider Team Time
1  Daniel Oss (ITA) Liquigas–Cannondale 2h 27' 08"
2  Elia Viviani (ITA) Liquigas–Cannondale s.t.
3  Fred Rodriguez (USA) Team Exergy s.t.
4  Daniel Summerhill (USA) Garmin–Cervélo s.t.
5  Frank Pipp (USA) Bissell + 2"

Classification leadership
Stage Winner General classification
 Sprints classification
 Mountains classification
 Young rider classification
 Most Aggressive
 Team classification
P Patrick Gretsch Patrick Gretsch no award no award Tejay van Garderen Danny Pate BMC Racing Team
1 Levi Leipheimer Levi Leipheimer Levi Leipheimer Eduard Beltran Suarez Bradley White
2 George Hincapie Tejay van Garderen Walter Pedraza André Steensen
3 Levi Leipheimer Levi Leipheimer Garmin–Cervélo
4 Elia Viviani Elia Viviani Vladimir Efimkin
5 Elia Viviani Andy Schleck
6 Daniel Oss Rafael Montiel Timmy Duggan
Final Levi Leipheimer Elia Viviani Rafael Montiel Tejay van Garderen Timmy Duggan Garmin–Cervélo

General classification
Rider Team Time
1  Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team RadioShack 20h 00' 24"
2  Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin–Cervélo + 11"
3  Tejay van Garderen (USA) HTC–Highroad + 17"
4  Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin–Cervélo + 21"
5  George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team + 53"
6  Rafael Infantino (COL) EPM–UNE + 1' 14"
7  Cadel Evans (AUS) BMC Racing Team + 1' 18"
8  Stef Clement (NED) Rabobank + 1' 42"
9  Bruno Pires (POR) Leopard Trek + 1' 49"
10  Rory Sutherland (AUS) UnitedHealthcare + 1' 50"

Notes

  1. Bruce Hildenbrand (16 August 2011). "USA Pro Cycling Challenge: More than a climber's race". Cyclingnews. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
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