The peloton quickly absorbed what was left of a breakaway, led by Laurent Didier of Trek Factory Racing. Or maybe the the crimson king-of-the-mountain jersey. Brent Bookwalter of Team BMC won Stage 2 on Tuesday at Arapahoe Basin, just 50 seconds ahead of Brown. The win gave BMC Racing its third stage win in the first four days of Pro Challenge racing, a relentless grip the team appears unlikely to lose through the rest of the seven-stage race. Bookwalter, who began the stage with a slim six-second lead over Dennis, completed in second place, 19 seconds behind Dennis. BMC’s Brent Bookwalter finished third on Friday, with a time of 18 minutes, 42 seconds.
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The initial climb from Aspen up Independence Pass was the steepest of this year’s race.
Whoever made it to the top first would likely win the race because the descent into Breckenridge was a mere three kilometers.
The costumed spectators were thick and boisterous as Dennis, Bookwalter and Squire neared the top, pedaling through a thin lane of pavement within the throng. He had dropped his watts 40 below his normal sea level numbers and determined the time gap he would need for a chance to win. “It was one of the special moments of my career”. As he fell off Dennis’ wheel, the Australian clicked into a harder gear and stood up on his pedals. BMC Racing went 1-2-3 for the first time, led by Michael Schar in first, Dennis in second and Bookwalter in third.
“Taylor had a full-on individual pursuit into the lower slopes”, Bookwalter said of the team tactic. He called it “brutal”. Boulder rider Kiel Reijnen, of the United Healthcare team, won that stage.
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“I was in the red”, Dennis said of the Moonstone climb, which came after a 4,200-foot ascent of Independence Pass and 1,200-foot ascent of Hoosier Pass. “I kept looking at my power (meter), making sure I didn’t go too far into it. I even started letting go a bit, then had to ride a new tempo when Robbie Squire attacked”. The leaders approached the first climb at Rabbit Ears Pass, only 7km into the race. He tipped his hat to the BMC riders who thwarted his best effort. “When we got to Ute Pass I decided to punch it a little bit to test the legs of the other guys, and I could tell I was one of the stronger guys in the group”.
