The final stage of the 2013 USA Pro Cycling Challenge was a twisty circuit race in downtown Denver, Colorado. The 14.65km loop was very much an American-style race, criterium racing, and was covered eight times for 117.6km. Criteriums are noted for the frequency of turns, and this course had plenty. As the road was pretty much flat, the corners presented the only course difficulty and the only thing that could give a breakaway an advantage over the field.

Not that a breakaway had much chance. With Cannondale Pro Cycling believing in Green Jersey Peter Sagan's chances, they had little reason to let a breakaway go. Likewise, the BMC team of race leader Tejay Van Garderen wanted a safe ride as well as the chance to set up their sprinter Greg Van Avermaet up for a run at a stage victory. And the Argos-Shimano team fancied the chances of their sprinter Luka Mezgec.

But nothing is inevitable in bike racing. As soon as the race got underway, Ben King of RadioShack attacked. He drew out six other riders: Christopher Juul Jensen (Saxo-Tinkoff Bank), Chun Kai Feng (Champion-System), David Riba (Novo Nordisk), Lucas Euser (UnitedHealthcare), Tyler Wren (Jamis/Hagens-Berman), and Carson Miller (Jamis/Hagens-Berman). They quickly raced to a one-minute lead.

That one minute might not seem like much, but for Lucas Euser, it was the difference between fifteenth place, where he started yesterday, and finishing in the top ten overall. But every rider in the break had reason to ride; stage glory would make the season for each rider.

But one minute was all the Cannondale-led field wanted to give. The entire team, save Sagan, rode a team time trial to insure the gap didn't grow. And as the kilometres ticked off, Argos, BMC, and Team Colombia, contributed to the chase.

With 32km remaining and the gap down to 45 seconds, Wren attacked. Euser countered and rode right by the Jamis rider. Euser, a small climber, cranked out impressive power, soloing ahead of two chasers for nine kilometres while the rest of the break disintegrated. Then Miller and King joined up. But the three only had 30 seconds on the field.

As the leading three came into the finishing straight ending their penultimate circuit, the field caught the escape. The four teams that had contributed to the chase down also kept at the front to keep the pace high for the final lap. The pace was so high, no one tried attacking.

Going into the final kilometre, Van Garderen picked up the pace on behalf of his teammate Van Avermaet. But into the final corner, Sagan was in third position, sitting behind two of his teammates. Just as the sprint was looking like a formality, Ryan Anderson of Optum jumped early. Sagan kept his composure, launched his sprint when he was ready, and blew past the Canadian with 50 meters remaining for an easy victory.

The win, his fourth of the race, gave him a huge 30-point gap in the points competition over second-placed Van Avermaet. Great if somewhat unexpected results. After the finish, Sagan reported, "I am surprised and also very happy. I thank my teammates for their very good work on the front every day."

The third USA Pro Cycling Challenge is complete. Cannondale Pro Cycling's Peter Sagan put in a dominating performance, with four stage victories, a record for the young race. He and his teammates will take a break before resuming racing. They'll be back soon. They have teammates racing at the Vuelta a España, and many from the Colorado squad will be back in action in Canada shortly, first in Alberta, then in Quebec. The pro road season continues to November and Cannondale Pro Cycling will be wherever people are racing bikes fast.