Leiphemer, coming back from a disappointing Tour de France where collisions and injuries decimated the RadioShack team, was in fine form throughout the six-stage, 409 mile race.
The Radio Shack rider won the race leader’s yellow jersey by finishing second in the Stage Three time trial, and defended it with huge displays of power and tenacity on the final two mountain stages.
Columbian rider Sergio Henao won second overall, followed by RadioShack’s Janez Brajkovic, bouncing back from a severe crash which forced him to withdraw from the Tour de France in July.
North vs. South America
RadioShack faced stiff competition from a host of American teams, including Garmin Cervelo, which won the team competition at the Tour de France, but the greatest threat came from the Colombian team Gobernacion De Antioquia-Indeportes Antio.
Gobernacion rider Sergio Henao won the prologue stage and kept the overall lead by finishing second in Stage One, followed by teammate Oscar Sevilla. By keeping RadioShack off the podium (Leipheimer and Brajkovic finished fourth and fifth) the Gobernacion riders took the time bonuses for the stage, increasing Henao’s lead.
American rider Jesse Anthony of Kelly Benefits won the stage with a bravura ride, bridging a huge gap to catch leading quartet and then somehow finding the legs to leave them all behind in the final sprint.
Stage Two was the Tour’s only sprint stage; all the General Classification contenders finished together. New Zealander Jack Bauer of Endura Racing surprised the powerful United Healthcare leadout train to take the win in this stage.
Stage Three, the individual time trial, showed Leipheimer’s strength and Henao’s weakness. Leiphemer, a 39-year-old veteran, has mastered every facet of cycling and is a superior time trialer. Henao, only 23, has yet to find his TT form.
Henao finished 39th while Leipheimer finished second the HTC-Highroad’s Teejay Van Garderen. For Van Garderen the win, his first as a professional was something of a gift—it came on his 23 birthday.
For Leipheimer, the second-place finish gave him a 27-second lead in the GC over teammate Janez Brajkovic and 29 seconds over Henao, in third.
Stage Four saw Gobernacion using their full strength over the eleven laps of this 12 km circuit around Utah’s state capital, Salt Lake City. Gobernacion got three riders into the winning breakaway of 26 riders, and they attacked relentlessly, breaking down the competition.
RadioShack’s riders tried hard to catch the break, but no other teams would help. In the break Gobernacion riders pushed the pace, with Colombian Javier Acevedo taking the win.
Sergio Henao made a late attack from the peloton and finished 21st, nine places ahead of Leipheimer. Leipheimer’s lead was cut to 23 seconds as Henao moved into second in GC.
Next: Mountain Showdown
