Lachlan Morton (Jelly Belly) bounced back from yesterday’s huge disappointment by delivering the best performance of his show career on the final stage of the Tour of Utah, winning both the stage and the overall. The Australian attacked from the bottom of the Empire Pass and then kept increasing his advantage on the climb, negotiated the descent safely and soloed across the line to take his second stage win in the race. Adrien Costa (Axeon) finished second to move into second overall while Andrew Talansky (Cannondale) suffered massively and dropped to third in the overall standings.

 

We have gathered a few reactions.

 

Lachlan Morton: I have never gone this deep before

Australian Lachlan Morton of Jelly Belly presented by MAXXIS Cycling Team attacked on the Hors Categorie climb of Empire Pass to win Stage 7 presented by Utah Sports Commission and clinched the overall general classification victory at the seven-day 2016 Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah.

 

An inspired Morton, who lost the yellow Larry H. Miller Group of Companies Race Leader jersey on Stage 6, accelerated away from G.C. leader Andrew Talansky (USA) of Cannondale-Drapac Pro Cycling for the win in Historic Park City. Morton covered the 78-mile course in three hours and eight minutes. For the overall title, Morton finished with a final time of 27 hours and 12 minutes for the week.

 

Adrien Costa (USA) of Axeon Hagens Berman crossed the finish line 31 seconds behind Morton and moved from third to second overall on G.C., one minute and nine seconds back. Talansky, who was paced on the final climb by his teammate Joe Dombrowski (USA), dropped to third overall in the G.C. Darwin Atapuma Hurtado (Colombia) of BMC Racing Team finished third on the stage, 50 seconds back, and was fourth on G.C. Dombrowski, the defending Tour of Utah champion, finished eighth overall.

 

“I have had a few pretty tough years since the last time I raced here,” said Morton. “To get to this top step is very special. There were a lot of things going through my head.

 

"I've had a pretty tough few years since the last time I raced well here. I've had a lot of changes in my life and to get back to this top step is very special, and there are a lot of people who were involved with that. So, yeah, there were a lot of things going through my head, but mainly just all the people who continued to support me when things weren't good.

 

"It's easy for people to come out and congratulate you or pat you on the back when do something good, but when you're down and out that's when you know who your friends are. I guess I was thinking about all those people in all those tough moments, and that's what was going through my head.

 

"[Sports director] Danny Van Haute has been amazing for me. He took a big chance taking my brother on, and then he gave me the time last year to find my feet again. This year we had some big goals, and he's put himself and the whole team behind me.

 

"And then this week, my team was incredible. I think if you talk to most people in the race, they didn't expect my team to be quite as strong as they were.

 

"Right there until the end of the [Wolf Creek Ranch] climb I still had two teammates there helping me out and putting me into the position I needed to be in. I think they're probably – I mean directly – the people who have helped me the most.

 

"We had one card to play today, and that was to go all in on the last climb. So BMC kind of turned the race on its head in the middle there. And credit to them, they blew it apart on the middle climb. I saw Andrew pull out and then Adrien went across. That was the moment of making a decision, and sometimes you just have to stick to your guns. I knew if I went with those guys there's no chance I'd have any teammates, so I just stuck with the group.

 

"I knew there were 10 or 15 fast kilometres before the climb, so the chances of us coming back were pretty high. For sure there was some concern but to win any race you have to be willing to lose it first. So we just stuck to our guns and rode our race and let them ride theirs.

 

“I’ve never really gone that deep before — I thought I was actually going to die there for a second. I had my eyes closed for an extended period of time [on Empire Pass].”

 

18-year-old Costa takes best ever result for Axeon in Utah

Adrien Costa, the youngest rider in the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah, produced what Axeon Hagens Berman General Manager Axel Merckx called "the best performance" in the team's nine-year history Sunday.

 

The 18-year-old Bend, Oregon, resident rode to a remarkable runner-up overall finish in the week-long race by first chasing an attack by race winner Lachlan Morton (Jelly Belly presented by Maxxis) and later dispatching his closest competitor, Darwin Atapuma (BMC Racing Team), on the race's final descent. In doing so, he finished runner-up on the stage and gained enough time to leapfrog previous race leader Andrew Talansky (Cannondale-Drapac Pro Cycling Team).

 

"I think this is probably the best performance we have ever had," Merckx said. "To perform like Adrien did the whole week at that level is probably our best result and accomplishment at a UCI race of this stature in the United States."

 

Costa - who turns 19 in less than two weeks - finished 69 seconds back of Morton in the final standings and 30 seconds ahead of Talansky. He also won both the Utah Office of Tourism King of the Mountains classification and the Subaru Best Young Rider competition.

 

"Going into the race, I had not idea how I was going to fare," Costa said. "I had no expectations for myself because I had a nice long break, with three weeks of barely riding at home, which I guess worked wonders. Taking into account the team we had for this race, I had no doubt that one of us would be able to accomplish something spectacular. I think this week showed our level. We were in the breakaway every day and the guys rode incredibly to keep me in position, get me bottles and to keep me out of the wind. So it was truly a team effort.

 

“This was pretty incredible. I have never done a race with this HC status before. Being on the podium is pretty incredible.  The climbs were hard, but at least you got the spectacular Utah scenery to enjoy.”

 

While there was no stage win for the team in the event billed as "America's Toughest Stage Race," Axeon Hagens Berman riders did produce four runner-up finishes (Colin Joyce on Stage 1, Costa on Stages 3 and 7 and Tao Geoghegan Hart on Stage 5) along with a third-place result by Costa on Stage 6 on Saturday.

 

"We had a bunch of second places and I will take all of them this week above a stage victory because it is really the spirit and performance of the whole team that shined through the whole race," Merckx said. "We were in almost every break and racing competitively in every stage. So it was really a concerted effort by everyone."

 

Geoghegan Hart, riding his last race for the team, was instrumental in being in the early breakaway to later help Costa on the run-in to the final climb. The British Under 23 national road champion went on to finish 12th overall, second-best on the team.

 

Irish Under 23 national time trial champion Eddie Dunbar was also in the top 20 overall, in 19th place. Joining him was USA Pro Road Tour leader Neilson Powless, Latvian Under 23 national road and time trial champion Krists Neilands, Liège-Bastogne-Liège Under 23 winner Logan Owen and Joyce, who finished in the top 10 on three stages despite a crash on Stage 3 that broke the collarbone of teammate and U.S. national road champion Greg Daniel.

 

In May, Costa became the first American to win the Tour de Bretagne and he placed third overall at Rhône-Alpes Isère Tour - both while racing for USA Cycling's Under 23 squad. The Tour of Utah was his first stage race competition in the U.S. this year. He is next off to compete in the Tour de l'Avenir, an eight-day mini-Tour de France contested by national teams that starts Aug. 20. After that, he will begin a stint as a stagiaire for Belgian WorldTour team Etixx-Quick Step.

 

Andrew Talansky: This was not my finest moment

Andrew Talansky slipped from first to third.

 

“Having the defending champion of this race to work for me was pretty special. The way Joe (Dombrowski) was riding, he could have easily ridden up to Lachlan. He could have had a chance for a stage win. He sacrificed all of that to stay with me, to help stay on the podium” said Talansky, who is headed to race at Vuelta a España. “The climbs in this race (Tour of Utah), the caliber of the field, the altitude, everything, it really lived up to its reputation. It was a tough week.”

 

Talansky was on the attack midway through the race.

 

"I just saw Joey [Rosskopf] going, and I thought by following it I'd neutralise it, and I ended up with Adrien [Costa] and Joey. It was pretty ideal really; my team didn't have to ride behind. I just sat on, and Joey, he's not here but credit to him because he was incredibly strong today. I was really impressed. And Adrien had a teammate in the break, so the responsibility to make the race fell to Joey, and he 100 percent did that. It didn't really cost me anything and it didn't play into how I fared in the end. But props to Joey for that ride.

 

"The final climb was not my finest moment. The climbs in this race, the caliber of the field, the altitude, the back to back climbing did live up to its reputation of providing the most challenging course combination. With the climbs, the altitude and guys like Adrien and Lachlan racing here it was a tough week and my toughest moment was definitely today on Empire, but I'm feeling really good ahead of the Vuelta."

 

Darwin Atapuma: I just wasn’t the strongest in this race

It was a case of the Empire Pass strikes back on Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah Stage 7 with the tough final climb proving decisive for both the stage victory and the overall General Classification.

 

In similar style to Stage 6, it was a fast and aggressive start to the day’s racing with attack after attack going off the front of the peloton as soon as the race hit kilometer zero.

 

BMC Racing Team were involved in most of the early action before a group of ten riders were finally able to extend an advantage over the peloton after almost an hour of racing.

 

As the breakaway reached the over the top of Wolf Creek Range, the race was exploding behind them with BMC Racing Team’s Taylor Eisenhart, Darwin Atapuma and Joey Rosskopf all putting in solid efforts at the front to upset the rhythm of the race and put pressure on their General Classification rivals.

 

At the bottom of Empire Pass, Lachlan Morton (Jelly Belly) launched an attack of the front of the main General Classification group, a move which saw him ride to both stage and overall victory.

 

The race for the podium continued behind him with Atapuma and Adrien Costa (Axeon Hagens Berman) working hard to bridge the gap on the final climb of the week before a high speed descent into Park City sealed Atapuma’s third place finish on the line.

 

After showing his climbing abilities all week, Atapuma finished the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah fourth on the overall General Classification, 1 minute 57 seconds behind Morton, while Rosskopf and Eisenhart were sixth and seventh respectively.

 

The eight-rider BMC Racing Team squad took to the podium together as they won the Team Classification with an advantage of over 12 minutes.

 

Darwin Atapuma said:

 

“I was feeling really confident going into today’s stage and was wanting to attack earlier and earlier but I knew that the team was riding well and that they could help put me in a position to go for a podium finish on the stage. They were doing a great job supporting me and they have believed in me all week which I am grateful for.

 

“I have been climbing really well but I just wasn’t the strongest at this race today. A second and third place finish is obviously positive but to just miss out on the podium in the General Classification is a shame. As a team we have given it everything this week and we can be proud about that.”

 

Sports Director Jackson Stewart added:

 

“Our plan today was all or nothing. We knew it was a big ask as we were pretty far back on the climb but everyone believed in our three guys in the GC and we knew they were really strong so we wanted to play all our cards.

 

“It was a really incredible team effort today, as it has been all week. At the beginning Fabian [Lienhard] and [Tom] Bohli were going with the attacks. We also had TJ putting some huge efforts in on the climbs and then Joey’s move was just an unbelievable ride. He really put pressure on Talansky and Costa, making them ride up front for a lot of the day and then was even able to finish ninth on the stage.

 

“We wanted to make the race so hard today that teams would struggle to control it and we wanted to draw out the main GC rivals and really make them work for it. In the end, we had confidence in Atapuma and knew he was riding well but Morton just made a move right at the bottom of the climb and then could ride tempo all the way. We did our best, laid it all out there today and we can be happy with that. Cadel [Evans]  was on the bus with us this morning and as he had won the stage here before he gave the team a pep talk and was excited for us to be aggressive and that’s what we did.”

 

Laurent Didier surprises in Utah mountains, Kiel Reijnen wins points jersey

Laurent Didier ended the Tour of Utah with a great climb over the brutal Empire Pass climb to finish in 8th place and claim 10th overall, and 15 minutes later Kiel Reijnen crossed the line to cement his first place in the sprint competition and take home the white jersey. 

 

Although Trek-Segafredo was not a player in the exciting podium fight that created an exciting conclusion to the weeklong race Sunday, the team finished with a stage win, top 10 overall and the white jersey.

 

"The primary objective this week for the team was to win stages," said Reijnen. "I definitely came here expecting to do that. It took a few stages to get there, but I am definitely happy with the win. The points jersey wasn't necessarily a goal that we talked about at the start of the race, but it's always on my mind in a race like this. Usually, the jersey comes with stage wins, so first focus on the wins and if that goes well, then we can hunt the points jersey. And, that's how it played out. Once I won the stage, I had enough points to be in the jersey, and then it was worth trying to keep our hands on it."

 

The final stage was a short 125-kilometer affair that culminated with a brutal punch – the merciless Empire Pass climb with gradients that reached 20 percent, raced, in pure Utah style, at high elevation. 

 

When the race started, it was a fierce fight for the breakaway until a 10-man group finally separated itself from the peloton with stagiaire Jacopo Mosca part of the mix. The breakaway led the race until the foot of the final climb when Lachlan Morton (Jelly Belly), in second place overall, attacked and made short order of the last remnants of the escape group.

 

There was no hiding on the long, steep climb – it was a simple game of strongest climber wins, and Morton proved his merit, dropping all to solo to the stage and overall victory.

 

Didier climbed with the elite yellow jersey group until the attacks on the steep grades had everyone gasping for air; while the GC battle raged in front of him, he paced his way to a respectable 8th place.

 

"It was a fast stage today because it was 40kms until a break went, and a lot of crosswinds as well," explained Didier. "BMC attacked in the first climb, and Talansky went after Rosskopf, and Atapuma also went. It was a bit disorganized in the downhill, but I always stayed in the peloton to save as much energy as possible for the last climb.

 

"In the last climb, I did a small mistake and followed Britton in the beginning instead of staying with Talansky, because at the top I was only 40 seconds behind them after doing all the climb alone! In the end, I am quite happy – I mean if I knew going into the week that I would go for the GC, I would have done less work in the first three days. For me, the hardest stage was the second stage when I pulled with Jacopo to catch the break back. But this is how it turned out, and I am happy with how I finished."

 

"It was a good surprise with Laurent to finish 10th in GC," agreed director Alain Gallopin as he summed up the race for Trek-Segafredo. "He deserved to have this time to ride for a result because normally he is always working for the team.

 

"I think the week was excellent. We won a stage, one time second and the points classification. I knew that Kiel that was focused coming into this race and I had to tell him to stay calm this weekend and just focus on keeping the white jersey and don't try for the overall because he was so good. He has the Vuelta coming, a new experience for him, and he needs to keep his energy for that.

 

"Jacopo was happy today to be in the breakaway because he wanted to do this from the beginning. He has shown good power this week and has a good spirit, and it was nice for this young guy to have a chance in the break today.

 

"After the crash yesterday we lost Eugenio [Alafaci], and Pete [Stetina] was also not feeling good today, and stopped at the feed zone. I am happy with the team all week -  I saw a motivated team working hard every day."

 

IAM to benefit from tough Tour of Utah in European races

IAM had Larry Warbasse in the break.

 

“I came to this race with the intention of finding a place in the general classification. But after the third stage, it became clear that that would not be possible for me. So I wanted to make up for that disappointment by going away in a break. I took advantage of this last day to have some fun at the front of the race," he said.

 

Sports director Lionel Marie explained:

 

“Our greatest chance for getting a victory here rested with Heinrich Haussler. Unfortunately, he fell ill. We did not win a stage as we had hoped. But the boys worked hard at altitude, which is not as easy as it sounds. The aim is to tackle the next races in Europe in the best condition and with real ambitions. Having raced in the Tour of Utah, where I want to emphasize the quality of the organization, our efforts will bear fruit.”

 

“Making great efforts at altitude naturally increases the rate of hematocrit, among other things. The lack of oxygen that you experience at over 2000 meters will generate more red blood cell production. This production will reach its peak in three weeks. The effects on the riders will persist for 10 to 15 days,” directeur sportif Lionel Marie explained. “This is important data when you are in a preparation phase as we are for the classic in Hamburg and the Vuelta.”

 

IAM Cycling was represented at the front of the race in a breakaway in 5 stages in the course of the seven-day event. Simon Pellaud, the young Swiss rider, was present in the three of them.

 

Difficult Tour of Utah for Novo Nordisk

“The race had it all today; it poured, it hailed, it got hot and there were incredibly strong crosswinds. We had hoped for a better day for Javi [Megia] but the weather and intensity proved to be too much,” Team Novo Nordisk Sport Director Pavel Cherkasov said. “I’m so proud of our riders and how they fought all week, especially Gerd [De Keizer] and Stephen [Clancy].”

 

Team Novo Nordisk, the world’s first all diabetes pro cycling team, returns to racing on August 11th at the four-day Czech Cycling Tour.