With one stage left, Leipheimer embraces yellow jersey
- Details
- Created on Sunday, 28 August 2011 03:57
- Written by USA Pro-Cycling Challenge
(Photo by Chris Kobos of Ckobosphotography.com)
By Nathan Van Dyne, OutThereColorado.com
BRECKENRIDGE -- In cycling, it often pays to be the hunted.
Levi Leipheimer zipped up the yellow jersey Saturday morning before the start of Stage 5 of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge and dared his closest pursuers to take it away. He realized he was riding with a bull's-eye on his back, and he wouldn't want it any other way.
A veteran of the sport, Leipheimer knows he holds the cards. He knows his teammates have his back. He knows the role of the hunter is laden with frustration and fatigue.
And he knows, barring a big mistake or untimely crash, he will be on the top step of the podium today when a champion in this inaugural seven-day stage race is crowned in Denver.
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From the start in Steamboat Springs to the sprint finish in Summit County, Leipheimer and Team RadioShack played it cool -- snuffing out any attack that could affect the overall standings -- and retained the yellow jersey.
"You can never win this race without a team, and you can never win it without a team as strong as RadioShack," he said after finishing the 105.2-mile route in the lead pack of 50 riders. "They were not only strong but very smart and calm about the situation."
The situation got tense on the final climb up Swan Mountain Road as Garmin-Cervelo went on the attack with hopes of stealing the yellow jersey. David Zabriskie and Tom Danielson each took strong runs on the front to help break apart a large group of riders. Then Peter Stetina made a move, leaving RadioShack with only one guy -- Ivan Rovny -- protecting Leipheimer.
"We were going to continue on with that, but then we noticed that Frank Schleck all of a sudden started pulling," Danielson said. "When we realized it was a different scenario than we had hoped, we had to change the plan."
A strong headwind ended Garmin-Cervelo's next attempt, and the Colombian team foiled another. Finally, when Stetina got loose in the final two kilometers, it was Leipheimer that took the initiative to chase him down.
In the end, there were no changes among the top 10 as Leipheimer maintained his 11-second edge over Christian Vande Velde of Garmin-Cervelo. HTC-High Road rider Tejay Van Garderen is third at 17 seconds back while Danielson trails by 21 seconds. Tour de France champion Cadel Evans is seventh, 78 seconds behind.
"Our only goal is to win the race," Leipheimer said.
Winning the stage meant nothing to Team RadioShack, but international stars Andy Schleck (Leopard Trek) and Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Cannondale) both had designs on crossing first in Breckenridge when they spearheaded a four-rider breakaway midway through the race.
The group reached Swan Mountain Road clear of the field, and that's when Schleck tried to pull away. Amid a sea of enthusiastic fans near the summit, he broke loose and raced toward the finish. Without the help of the other three riders, though, his effort was doomed.
“I didn’t want to go to a sprint," he said. "Harder climbs suit me really good, but I couldn’t get more than 15 seconds out of it. They caught me with four kilometers to go. We gambled too long, and suddenly, the peloton was there."
Emerging from the peloton to win for the second straight day was Italian sprinter Elia Viviani of Liquigas-Cannondale. Jaime Castaneda of Colombia and Daniel Oss of Italy rounded out the podium.
"It was a perfect situation for my team because Ivan was in the front and me and Oss were ready for the sprint," Viviani said. "The team wanted to win this stage."
Today's stage is a 73.8-mile route from Golden to Denver that includes an early climb on Lookout Mountain.
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