09 August, 2017, Santa Rosa, California (USA)
BMC Racing Team are set to continue their run of races on home soil with the inaugural four-day Colorado Classic starting on Thursday 10 August.
Sports Director Steve Bauer said all six riders are coming into the race following the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah.
“As we saw in Utah, Brent Bookwalter was strong, so it’s natural that he will be a protected rider. But, after a tough week at altitude we saw many of the guys, like Silvan Dillier, Joey Rosskopf and Manuel Senni, in good form so I think we will let the race unfold and see who is in the position to go for the overall. The key stage will be stage 2 at altitude in Breckenridge. There will be no hiding there and any of the guys could have a good day,” Bauer explained.
“Six-rider teams will make the race a lot more open. Which is why it makes sense to have a number of guys on the look out for the General Classification. You never know what group will go down the road so it’s important to cover the moves. It is only four days though so if we did find ourselves in the lead, I think we have a strong team to control the race.”
Bookwalter is looking forward to continue his build up to the last half of the season.
“Colorado Classic definitely looks like it could be an unpredictable race. It’s four days, new stages and only six-man teams, so it will be different to the past editions of the former Tour of Colorado. The stages are a little shorter, it’s a bit more of a circuit race and like we saw on the final day in Utah, these shorter, circuit type races can be really exciting and a lot more open until the last moment,” Bookwalter said.
“I don’t think the new race favors the pure climbers like the old Colorado race did and there is no time trial. I think it will prove to be exciting racing and we will be ready after a good week at the Tour of Utah.”
Colorado Classic (10-13 August)
Rider Roster: Tom Bohli (SUI), Brent Bookwalter (USA), Silvan Dillier (SUI), Martin Elmiger (SUI), Joey Rosskopf (USA), Manuel Senni (USA)
Sports Director: Steve Bauer (CAN)
