The BMC Racing Team roster for the USA Pro Challenge in the Colorado Rockies includes 2011 top 10 finishers Tejay van Garderen, George Hincapie and Cadel Evans, as well as Tour of Utah winner Johann Tschopp.
Solid Week Of Training
Assistant Director Michael Sayers said the BMC Racing Team is riding a wave of momentum from Tschopp’s victory last Sunday. “We’ve had a solid week of training at altitude for the guys who weren’t here for the Tour of Utah, so I think we’re ready to go,” Sayers said. “We certainly have a lot of good morale from that race and the guys know the courses well from all the reconnaissance.” The seven-stage race begins Monday in Durango and finishes Sunday in Denver with an individual time trial. Joining the aforementioned riders on the BMC Racing Team’s roster are Mathias Frank, Taylor Phinney, Ivan Santaromita and Michael Schär. Frank, Santaromita and Schär played valuable roles in helping Tschopp win in Utah.
Extra Motivation For Stage 6
Van Garderen said a victory is the only thing missing from his season that includes winning the best young rider classification at the Tour de France on the way to a fifth place finish overall. “If I can get it at this race, it would be incredible,” he said. “The course suits me well, but some of the best riders in the world are coming. So it’s not going to be easy. But we have a strong team that is built for a couple of us to do well.” Van Garderen said there is extra motivation to do well on the stage that finishes in Boulder. “I just bought a house with my wife, Jennifer, right on Broadway so the race will go directly past it,” he said. “You definitely want to do your best in front of friends and family who don’t often have a chance to see me race. So this is a great opportunity for them.”
Hincapie’s Last Race
Hincapie, a stage winner here a year ago, said he had initially considered making the Tour de France his final race. But the three-time former U.S. national road champion opted to close his 19-year professional career in a race in his home country. “I felt like Colorado has become quite a big and important race on the calendar, so the opportunity was there to have this be my last race,” he said. “It’s certainly meaningful to end my career in the U.S.” Hincapie said he learned a valuable lesson in last year’s race. “The biggest challenge is definitely the altitude,” he said. “We’re not used to doing efforts at 10 or 12,000 feet. The climbs may not be as steep as the ones in the Alps or the Pyrenees, but they’re long.”
Phinney Eyes Final Time Trial
Phinney, who missed the inaugural edition last year while competing in the Vuelta a España, said he is also anxious to race in his home state. The Boulder, Colo., native said he would like to do well in the final time trial after finishing second in a race against the clock at the Eneco Tour of Benelux and fourth at the Olympic Games. “There’s not a lot of races on the calendar that you’re really, really excited about, but this is one of them,” he said. “The crowd level is something that’s really special here. It makes our job a little easier when you’ve got thousands of people lining the road cheering you on.”
BMC Racing Team USA Pro Challenge Roster (Aug. 20-26):
Cadel Evans (AUS), Mathias Frank (SUI), George Hincapie (USA), Taylor Phinney (USA), Ivan Santaromita (ITA), Michael Schär (SUI), Johann Tschopp (SUI), Tejay van Garderen (USA).
