Didier of Trek Factory Racing is the only Luxembourger taking part in the USA Pro Challenge.
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Dennis fought through the brutal ascent – almost 700 vertical feet in just 1.5 miles – to crest the top ahead of Bookwalter and a surprise threat, Hincapie Racing’s Squire.
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. “I didn’t expect it to be me, but when the break went and we didn’t have anyone, I jumped across”.
Stage 1 victor Taylor Phinney joined the group on the descent into Breckenridge, and that tight, wind-breaking cluster helped propel overall leaders Dennis and Bookwalter to the head of the break group.
“It’s going to be awesome”, Miller said Thursday from Breckenridge, the first leg of the three-stage race.
“I don’t know if they thought the women would crack. One of the special moments of my career, that’s for sure”. “As a team we’re going to stay really aggressive all week and look for opportunities”. “The opportunity to wear the leader’s jersey doesn’t come along in every race”. “Rohan was adamant about not wanting any pressure, so probably the best thing we could’ve done was tell him to ride as hard as he can in the front for someone else, and now he’s in a great position to win the race”.
Squire also said he had erased some previous memories of the sufferfest on Boreas Pass. In the final few meters, he was nearly standing still as he slowly cranked upward.
For a time, progressive Colorado was the place for women’s professional cycling events, drawing Olympians Connie Carpenter, Jeannie Longo, Beth Heiden and Rebecca Twigg to the state’s most scenic high elevation roads. Impacts begin at 9 a.m. and end at approximately 4 p.m.
Estimated finish: 3:45 p.m. The course – which will test all of a cyclist’s skills – starts flat out of town, before turning straight back to ascend the steep Moonstone road in the opposite direction of Thursday’s descent into Breckenridge. It was a redux of the move made by Phinney in Stage 1, when the Boulder native pulled past Reijnen in the final few seconds to claim the first yellow jersey of the race.
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He played leapfrog through two 90-degree turns, drafting first off one rider, then another, until he reached the final straightaway and hit the afterburners.
