Lachlan Norris played all his cards in a thrilling victory in the final stage at Tour of Utah to earn Drapac Professional Cycling its first victory in the USA.  Norris, known for his strong climbing and time trial skills, showcased strength uphill and amazing technical descending on a steep and winding decent into Park City.

Norris entered the final 500 meters on Brent Bookwalter’s (BMC Racing) wheel and as Bookwalter accelerated, Norris came around the right side to take the victory in front of a fan-packed Park City.

“Our first win in the USA. I am so happy for this team. We planned today and executed exactly the plan exactly. The pace was hot up the climb and I tried to remain calm and keep my rhythm,” an exuberated Norris said.

The day started with Samuel Spokes jumping into an early 12 man break. The break was working well together over the first climb. Spokes surged to take the first KOM and on the descent Tanner Putt (UHC) and Taylor Phinney (BMC Racing) opened up a gap.

“We caught Taylor at the bottom of the climb and Tanner was still up the road, but I knew the chase was coming so I settled in and waited to save my legs a bit in case Lachlan needed anything. He said all good when he came up to me and he was charging,” Spokes said.

Putt was caught on the climb by a reduced chase pack of 7. As the group caught Putt, Norris fell to the back of the group.

“I knew I had to stay at the front of the group as we hit the descent. 500 meters from the top I surged and it brought me back to the front of the group. As we hit the top, I wanted the lead as I knew it was critical to have the lead heading down. I pushed and only Brett came. He attacked me on the small climb half way down. I stayed back and wound it up as he attacked in the finish.

"Last week we stayed up in Deer Valley, and we were regularly hitting about 120km/h down that straight section. So I'm pretty sure that would have been something similar when I was gradually getting back onto the back of Brent.

“I was pretty excited. It's a big win for me and huge for the team as well. I knew the descent pretty well. I actually said to the mechanic this morning to let 10 psi out [of the tire pressure] and I'll give it a red-hot crack on the descent, so I had that as a plan.

"I actually knew it was quite a long drag and I didn't want to go in there first. I've got a little bit of steady acceleration, but I don't have a lot of length in my sprint so I had to make it pretty short and sweet. I guess I judged it pretty well."

“This is a huge win for me and for the team as well. We came here to win a stage, and unfortunately it was a bit hillier than we thought with out sprint boys, and it was up to the skinny guys, so I was glad I was able to take a win."

Norris moved to 6th in the final GC standing with his victory today.

“Lachlan took a risk going into those final kilometers. He said this morning he had to put it all on the line and it would either work or go down in a blaze. Lachlan has really developed the last few years and to his credit he has done everything to put this together, from moving over to the States for the season, to nutrition to training. He put it all in today and its a well earned win,” Agostino Giramondo, Sports Director said.

“It’s exciting! I am excited for everyone on the team. We had numerous top-10 placings this week and guys in the break almost every day. Our morale is high heading into next week for Colorado and I am just so excited,” Norris added.

The team heads next to Colorado for USA Pro Challenge on August 17. 

“We got that first win in the US, and we have been striving for it for some time. We have been so close and today the team came together and succeeded. We look forward to the next races on our program,” Jonathan Breekveldt, General Manager, said.