Utah: Talansky wins at Snowbird, takes control of GC

SNOWBIRD RESORT, Utah (VN) — Over the last two seasons, Andrew Talansky has weathered a pair of forgettable racing campaigns, marred by crashes, sickness, and bad form.

On the slopes of Little Cottonwood Canyon, the two years of disappointment melted away to memories. Talansky won the queen stage of the Tour of Utah at Snowbird resort Saturday, and in doing so took a 22-second lead in the general classification.

The victory is Talansky’s first road race win since 2014, when he won the overall at the Criterium du Dauphine (he won the 2015 time trial national championship).

“It’s definitely be a while — it’s been two years since I feel like I rode my best,” Talansky said after the stage. “It’s been a tough couple of years.”

Top 10, stage 6

• 1. Andrew Talansky, CANNONDALE-DRAPAC, in 4:47:03
• 2. Darwin Atapuma Hurtado, BMC, at :00
• 3. Adrien Costa, AXEON HAGENS BERMAN, at :31
• 4. Lachlan David Morton, JELLY BELLY, at :31
• 5. Rob Britton, RALLY, at :46
• 6. Robbie Squire, HOLOWESKO – CITADEL, at 1:01
• 7. Joseph Rosskopf, BMC, at 1:12
• 8. Riccardo Zoidl, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at 1:22
• 9. Laurent Didier, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at 1:37
• 10. Taylor Eisenhart, BMC, at 1:37

Top 10 overall

• 1. Andrew Talansky, CANNONDALE-DRAPAC, in 24:04:30
• 2. Lachlan David Morton , JELLY BELLY, at :22
• 3. Adrien Costa, AXEON HAGENS BERMAN, at :56
• 4. Darwin Atapuma Hurtado , BMC, at 1:23
• 5. Rob Britton, RALLY, at 2:09
• 6. Joseph Rosskopf, BMC, at 2:35
• 7. Taylor Eisenhart, BMC, at 3:02
• 8. Robbie Squire, HOLOWESKO – CITADEL, at 4:59
• 9. Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski, CANNONDALE-DRAPAC, at 5:35
• 10. Laurent Didier, TREK-SEGAFREDO, at 5:35

Talansky now sits 22 seconds ahead of Jelly Belly rider Lachlan Morton, who came into the stage leading the race.

Talansky’s victory came after his Cannondale – Drapac squad put in considerable effort during the 183.1km stage, which started at the Snow Basin ski resort outside of Ogden.

The day’s early break contained Kiel Reijnen (Trek – Segafredo), Dion Smith (One Pro Cycling), Robin Carpenter (Holowesko — Citadel), Daniel Eaton (UnitedHealthcare), Luis Amaran (Jamis), Emerson Oronte (Rally), Chad Beyer (Lupus), Kristofer Dahl (Silber), Stephen Bassett (Jamis), Jonathan Fumeaux (IAM Cycling), and Cannondale rider Ben King.

After Morton’s Jelly Belly team kept the break within a three minute range, Cannondale – Drapac pulled the peloton over Guardsman Pass and up to the base of the Little Cottonwood climb.

Cannondale riders King, Alberto Bettiol, and Joe Dombrowski took turns pulling up the lower slopes of the climb, as more riders popped off the back.

As the group made its way toward the finish, Axeon Hagens Berman rider Tao Geoghegan Hart was involved in a mishap with a TV motorcycle. Geoghegan Hart said the motorcycle slipped off the side of the road and crashed. As it tumbled over, it took him out.

“I fell on my face and my shoulder,” Geoghegan Hart said. “I lost 20 or 30 seconds before I could get up and clip back in.”

Eventually, the group was whittled down to just nine riders: Talansky, Morton, Dombrowski, Darwin Atapuma and TJ Eisenhart (BMC), Rob Britton (Rally), Rob Squire (Holowesko — Citadel), Adrien Costa (Axeon Hagens Berman), and Janier Acevedo (Jamis).

Atapuma was first to jump with 4km remaining and quickly opened a small gap on the group. Talansky bridged up to the Colombian rider, and then went to front. Behind, Morton was next to go, riding to within two bike lengths of Atapuma’s wheel. But Talansky’s pace widened the gap, which steadily grew, leaving Talansky and Atapuma to battle each other for the stage victory.

Talansky said he expected Atapuma to sprint, but in the end, the Colombian was unable to come around.

“Today was a very tough stage. It was comparable to something you’d see in the Tour de Suisse,” said Atapuma (Talansky acted as interpreter for the Colombian).

Costa and Morton finished 31 seconds behind the duo, with Britton crossing the line in fifth, 46 seconds in arrears.

The victory shows that Talansky is hitting his stride before the Vuelta a España, which will be his primary focus for the 2016 season.

“I came in [to the Tour of Utah] hoping to put the final topping on my prep for the Vuelta,” he said. “Obviously, so far so good.”

The Tour of Utah could come down to a battle on Sunday’s 125.7km stage around Park City, which includes the final ascent of Empire Pass. Talansky said he expects a challenge to come from Morton and Jelly Belly.

Morton was visibly disappointed after the finish. After crossing the line he pedaled away from reporters, looped through a parking lot and disappeared into a row of condominiums.

Stage 6 results

• 1. Andrew TALANSKY, CANNONDALE-DRAPAC PRO CYCLING TEAM, in 4:47:03
• 2. Darwin ATAPUMA HURTADO, BMC RACING TEAM, at :00
• 3. Adrien COSTA, AXEON – HAGENS BERMAN, at :31
• 4. Lachlan David MORTON, JELLY BELLY P/B MAXXIS, at :31
• 5. Rob BRITTON, RALLY CYCLING, at :46
• 6. Robbie SQUIRE, HOLOWESKO / CITADEL P/B HINCAPIE SPORTSWEAR, at 1:01
• 7. Joseph ROSSKOPF, BMC RACING TEAM, at 1:12
• 8. Riccardo ZOIDL, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at 1:22
• 9. Laurent DIDIER, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at 1:37
• 10. Taylor EISENHART, BMC RACING TEAM, at 1:37
• 11. Joseph Lloyd DOMBROWSKI, CANNONDALE-DRAPAC PRO CYCLING TEAM, at 1:37
• 12. Christopher HORNER, LUPUS RACING TEAM, at 1:37
• 13. Javier Alexis ACEVEDO COLLE, TEAM JAMIS, at 1:41
• 14. Manuel SENNI, BMC RACING TEAM, at 2:12
• 15. Janez BRAJKOVIC, UNITEDHEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM, at 2:12
• 16. Damiano CUNEGO, NIPPO – VINI FANTINI, at 2:16
• 17. Tao GEOGHEGAN HART, AXEON – HAGENS BERMAN, at 2:44
• 18. Julien LOUBET, FORTUNEO – VITAL CONCEPT, at 2:47
• 19. Jonathan CLARKE, UNITEDHEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM, at 2:54
• 20. Dylan TEUNS, BMC RACING TEAM, at 3:25
• 21. Nicolae TANOVITCHII, LUPUS RACING TEAM, at 3:32
• 22. Joseph CHAVARRIA, LUPUS RACING TEAM, at 4:53
• 23. Peter STETINA, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at 4:54
• 24. Eddie DUNBAR, AXEON – HAGENS BERMAN, at 4:54
• 25. Hayden MCCORMICK, ONE PRO CYCLING, at 5:20
• 26. David DROUIN, SILBER PRO CYCLING, at 5:51
• 27. Daniel Alexander JARAMILLO DIEZ, UNITEDHEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM, at 5:52
• 28. Simon PELLAUD, IAM CYCLING, at 7:17
• 29. Benjamin KING, CANNONDALE-DRAPAC PRO CYCLING TEAM, at 7:17
• 30. Chad BEYER, LUPUS RACING TEAM, at 7:17
• 31. Lawrence WARBASSE, IAM CYCLING, at 7:17
• 32. Alex HOWES, CANNONDALE-DRAPAC PRO CYCLING TEAM, at 7:17
• 33. Alexander CATAFORD, SILBER PRO CYCLING, at 7:17
• 34. Julien BERNARD, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at 7:17
• 35. Jean-Marc BIDEAU, FORTUNEO – VITAL CONCEPT, at 8:11
• 36. Angus MORTON, JELLY BELLY P/B MAXXIS, at 8:58
• 37. Robin CARPENTER, HOLOWESKO / CITADEL P/B HINCAPIE SPORTSWEAR, at 9:30
• 38. Alberto BETTIOL, CANNONDALE-DRAPAC PRO CYCLING TEAM, at 10:26
• 39. Kevin LEDANOIS, FORTUNEO – VITAL CONCEPT, at 10:51
• 40. Javier MEGIAS LEAL, TEAM NOVO NORDISK, at 11:39
• 41. Jacopo MOSCA, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at 12:32
• 42. Andrei KRASILNIKAU, HOLOWESKO / CITADEL P/B HINCAPIE SPORTSWEAR, at 12:32
• 43. Christopher JONES, UNITEDHEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM, at 13:53
• 44. Taylor SHELDON, JELLY BELLY P/B MAXXIS, at 13:53
• 45. Emerson ORONTE, RALLY CYCLING, at 14:38
• 46. Brayan Stiven SANCHEZ VERGARA, TEAM JAMIS, at 15:23
• 47. Matthew BUSCHE, UNITEDHEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM, at 16:14
• 48. Daniel EATON, UNITEDHEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM, at 16:14
• 49. Rick ZABEL, BMC RACING TEAM, at 16:32
• 50. Nicola BAGIOLI, NIPPO – VINI FANTINI, at 16:54
• 51. Neilson POWLESS, AXEON – HAGENS BERMAN, at 16:54
• 52. Krists NEILANDS, AXEON – HAGENS BERMAN, at 16:54
• 53. Andzs FLAKSIS, HOLOWESKO / CITADEL P/B HINCAPIE SPORTSWEAR, at 16:54
• 54. Bryan LEWIS, LUPUS RACING TEAM, at 18:16
• 55. Phillip GAIMON, CANNONDALE-DRAPAC PRO CYCLING TEAM, at 18:16
• 56. Barry MILLER, LUPUS RACING TEAM, at 18:16
• 57. Evan HUFFMAN, RALLY CYCLING, at 20:26
• 58. Danny PATE, RALLY CYCLING, at 20:26
• 59. Tanner PUTT, UNITEDHEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM, at 22:40
• 60. Kiel REIJNEN, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at 22:40
• 61. Dion SMITH, ONE PRO CYCLING, at 22:40
• 62. Travis MCCABE, HOLOWESKO / CITADEL P/B HINCAPIE SPORTSWEAR, at 22:40
• 63. Luis ROMERO AMARAN, TEAM JAMIS, at 22:40
• 64. Alessandro BISOLTI, NIPPO – VINI FANTINI, at 22:40
• 65. Jonathan FUMEAUX, IAM CYCLING, at 22:40
• 66. Marco CANOLA, UNITEDHEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM, at 22:40
• 67. Tom BOHLI, BMC RACING TEAM, at 26:46
• 68. Fabian LIENHARD, BMC RACING TEAM, at 26:46
• 69. Marcel AREGGER, IAM CYCLING, at 26:46
• 70. Thomas VAUBOURZEIX, LUPUS RACING TEAM, at 26:46
• 71. Frédéric BRUN, FORTUNEO – VITAL CONCEPT, at 26:46
• 72. Logan OWEN, AXEON – HAGENS BERMAN, at 26:46
• 73. Matthieu JEANNES, LUPUS RACING TEAM, at 26:46
• 74. Nicolas MASBOURIAN, SILBER PRO CYCLING, at 26:46
• 75. Elie GESBERT, FORTUNEO – VITAL CONCEPT, at 26:46
• 76. Ruben COMPANIONI, TEAM JAMIS, at 26:46
• 77. Steven TRONET, FORTUNEO – VITAL CONCEPT, at 26:49
• 78. Stephen BASSETT, TEAM JAMIS, at 26:49
• 79. Lucas Sebastian HAEDO, TEAM JAMIS, at 26:49
• 80. David TANNER, IAM CYCLING, at 26:49
• 81. Francis MOUREY, FORTUNEO – VITAL CONCEPT, at 26:49
• 82. David GAONA VAZQUEZ, NIPPO – VINI FANTINI, at 33:18
• 83. Jonathan DIBBEN, CANNONDALE-DRAPAC PRO CYCLING TEAM, at 33:18
• 84. Colin JOYCE, AXEON – HAGENS BERMAN, at 33:18
• 85. Joseph LEWIS, HOLOWESKO / CITADEL P/B HINCAPIE SPORTSWEAR, at 33:18
• 86. Pier Paolo DE NEGRI, NIPPO – VINI FANTINI, at 33:18
• 87. Kyle MURPHY, TEAM JAMIS, at 33:18
• 88. Eric MARCOTTE, TEAM JAMIS, at 33:18
• 89. James ORAM, ONE PRO CYCLING, at 33:18
• 90. Jordan CHEYNE, JELLY BELLY P/B MAXXIS, at 33:18
• 91. Richard HANDLEY, ONE PRO CYCLING, at 33:18
• 92. Stephen CLANCY, TEAM NOVO NORDISK, at 33:18
• 93. Matteo DAL-CIN, SILBER PRO CYCLING, at 33:18
• 94. Alexandr BRAICO, JELLY BELLY P/B MAXXIS, at 33:18
• 95. Ryan ROTH, SILBER PRO CYCLING, at 33:18
• 96. Iuri FILOSI, NIPPO – VINI FANTINI, at 33:18
• 97. Gerd DE KEIJZER, TEAM NOVO NORDISK, at 33:18
• 98. Joshua BERRY, JELLY BELLY P/B MAXXIS, at 33:18
• 99. Adam DE VOS, RALLY CYCLING, at 33:18
• 100. Kris DAHL, SILBER PRO CYCLING, at 33:18
• 101. Ulises Alfredo CASTILLO SOTO, JELLY BELLY P/B MAXXIS, at 33:18
• 102. Jacob RATHE, JELLY BELLY P/B MAXXIS, at 33:18
• 103. Pierrick NAUD, RALLY CYCLING, at 33:18
• 104. Eric YOUNG, RALLY CYCLING, at 33:18
• DNF Eugenio ALAFACI, TREK – SEGAFREDO
• DNF John HORNBECK, HOLOWESKO / CITADEL P/B HINCAPIE SPORTSWEAR
• DNF Nigel ELLSAY, SILBER PRO CYCLING
• DNF Benjamin PERRY, SILBER PRO CYCLING

General classification

• . CANNONDALE-DRAPAC PRO CYCLING TEAM, in 24:04:30
• . JELLY BELLY P/B MAXXIS, at :22
• . AXEON – HAGENS BERMAN, at :56
• . BMC RACING TEAM, at 1:23
• . RALLY CYCLING, at 2:09
• . BMC RACING TEAM, at 2:35
• . BMC RACING TEAM, at 3:02
• . HOLOWESKO / CITADEL P/B HINCAPIE SPORTSWEAR, at 4:59
• . CANNONDALE-DRAPAC PRO CYCLING TEAM, at 5:35
• . TREK – SEGAFREDO, at 5:35
• . UNITEDHEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM, at 6:10
• . AXEON – HAGENS BERMAN, at 6:36
• . BMC RACING TEAM, at 6:37
• . UNITEDHEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM, at 6:52
• . LUPUS RACING TEAM, at 7:35
• . FORTUNEO – VITAL CONCEPT, at 8:45
• . TREK – SEGAFREDO, at 8:52
• . BMC RACING TEAM, at 9:23
• . LUPUS RACING TEAM, at 9:27
• . AXEON – HAGENS BERMAN, at 10:51
• . HOLOWESKO / CITADEL P/B HINCAPIE SPORTSWEAR, at 11:32
• . CANNONDALE-DRAPAC PRO CYCLING TEAM, at 13:11
• . TREK – SEGAFREDO, at 13:35
• . TREK – SEGAFREDO, at 13:40
• . IAM CYCLING, at 13:42
• . LUPUS RACING TEAM, at 14:37
• . JELLY BELLY P/B MAXXIS, at 15:23
• . LUPUS RACING TEAM, at 15:25
• . ONE PRO CYCLING, at 15:31
• . CANNONDALE-DRAPAC PRO CYCLING TEAM, at 19:11
• . TEAM JAMIS, at 20:50
• . NIPPO – VINI FANTINI, at 21:03
• . AXEON – HAGENS BERMAN, at 21:19
• . UNITEDHEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM, at 24:02
• . SILBER PRO CYCLING, at 24:20
• . UNITEDHEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM, at 26:04
• . TREK – SEGAFREDO, at 26:22
• . RALLY CYCLING, at 27:27
• . IAM CYCLING, at 27:37
• . TREK – SEGAFREDO, at 29:23
• . RALLY CYCLING, at 31:37
• . JELLY BELLY P/B MAXXIS, at 32:30
• . SILBER PRO CYCLING, at 33:35
• . TEAM NOVO NORDISK, at 34:39
• . FORTUNEO – VITAL CONCEPT, at 34:48
• . FORTUNEO – VITAL CONCEPT, at 35:13
• . FORTUNEO – VITAL CONCEPT, at 36:47
• . NIPPO – VINI FANTINI, at 38:32
• . TEAM JAMIS, at 39:11
• . AXEON – HAGENS BERMAN, at 39:31
• . CANNONDALE-DRAPAC PRO CYCLING TEAM, at 39:44
• . BMC RACING TEAM, at 39:55
• . IAM CYCLING, at 40:50
• . UNITEDHEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM, at 41:17
• . UNITEDHEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM, at 43:50
• . NIPPO – VINI FANTINI, at 46:09
• . HOLOWESKO / CITADEL P/B HINCAPIE SPORTSWEAR, at 47:36
• . HOLOWESKO / CITADEL P/B HINCAPIE SPORTSWEAR, at 48:32
• . AXEON – HAGENS BERMAN, at 49:18
• . LUPUS RACING TEAM, at 50:08
• . LUPUS RACING TEAM, at 50:08
• . TEAM JAMIS, at 51:37
• . UNITEDHEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM, at 51:58
• . IAM CYCLING, at 51:59
• . ONE PRO CYCLING, at 54:32
• . TEAM JAMIS, at 55:18
• . BMC RACING TEAM, at 57:50
• . AXEON – HAGENS BERMAN, at 58:22
• . TEAM JAMIS, at 58:38
• . HOLOWESKO / CITADEL P/B HINCAPIE SPORTSWEAR, at 58:41
• . FORTUNEO – VITAL CONCEPT, at 58:47
• . TEAM JAMIS, at 58:54
• . IAM CYCLING, at 59:23
• . UNITEDHEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM, at 59:32
• . CANNONDALE-DRAPAC PRO CYCLING TEAM, at 1:00:41
• . FORTUNEO – VITAL CONCEPT, at 1:00:49
• . BMC RACING TEAM, at 1:01:38
• . LUPUS RACING TEAM, at 1:02:19
• . FORTUNEO – VITAL CONCEPT, at 1:03:19
• . LUPUS RACING TEAM, at 1:03:38
• . JELLY BELLY P/B MAXXIS, at 1:05:10
• . NIPPO – VINI FANTINI, at 1:08:13
• . JELLY BELLY P/B MAXXIS, at 1:08:18
• . NIPPO – VINI FANTINI, at 1:09:48
• . TEAM JAMIS, at 1:09:48
• . NIPPO – VINI FANTINI, at 1:10:16
• . SILBER PRO CYCLING, at 1:10:38
• . JELLY BELLY P/B MAXXIS, at 1:10:49
• . CANNONDALE-DRAPAC PRO CYCLING TEAM, at 1:10:49
• . SILBER PRO CYCLING, at 1:11:06
• . SILBER PRO CYCLING, at 1:11:44
• . RALLY CYCLING, at 1:14:45
• . RALLY CYCLING, at 1:15:46
• . ONE PRO CYCLING, at 1:16:16
• . ONE PRO CYCLING, at 1:16:16
• . JELLY BELLY P/B MAXXIS, at 1:18:11
• . JELLY BELLY P/B MAXXIS, at 1:19:25
• . HOLOWESKO / CITADEL P/B HINCAPIE SPORTSWEAR, at 1:22:53
• . SILBER PRO CYCLING, at 1:23:48
• . TEAM JAMIS, at 1:29:46
• . TEAM NOVO NORDISK, at 1:30:02
• . RALLY CYCLING, at 1:31:26
• . RALLY CYCLING, at 1:32:28
• . TEAM NOVO NORDISK, at 1:36:08