Tour of Utah 2014 – Overall Preview

By David Hunter

Racing returns to the States!

This is a very lumpy race, and was won by Tom Danielson in 2013. The Garmin rider returns to defend his title. The American rides much better in his home country, than in Europe.

Stage 1 is a tough day in the mountains, but hard sprinters should be able to hang on.

Stage 2 features the climb up to Boulder Mountain, known well to a lot of the American riders.

Stage 3 is a welcome break for the sprinters.

Stage 4 is time for the GC boys, with a mountaintop finish on Powder Mountain.

Stage 5 is a short and strange day. It has a long climb to Bald Mountain and then a long descent….that’s it! Nothing else to say.

Stage 6 is the second and final mountaintop finish. This will decide the GC.

Stage 7 might be the final stage but there’s no easy sprint to end this race!

Time to look at the contenders:-

Tom Danielson – Reigning champion and focused on this race, thanks to not riding the Tour. Has to be the favourite.

Janier Acevedo – Teammate to Danielson, but more than capable of stepping up if the American falters.

Wilco Kelderman – Having a brilliant season but not raced for 1 month. Belkin brought the team over early to ensure they got used to conditions.

Chris Horner – Has admitted that he won’t “go deep” in this race, as he wants to be ready for the Vuelta.

Matthew Busche – Strong American rider, who has good memories of this race. He comes out of the Tour, so should have good legs.

Riccardo Zoidl – Teammate of Busche, but probably a better rider. Was solid in the Tour of Austria and should be hitting form.

Cadel Evans – Not raced since the Tour de Suisse and doing this as preparation for the Vuelta. Not sure what to expect.

Ivan Basso – Has had a horrible season and hoping for a change of luck.

George Bennett – Teammate of Basso but should be team leader. Usually rides well in the States and should be in the top 5.

Lucas Euser – 4th last year but not having the best of seasons. Could be ready to step up.

Isaac Bolivar – 3rd in Langkawi and another brilliant young Colombian talent. Teammate of Euser, so not assured team leadership.

Daniel Jaramillo – Another young Colombian rider with bags of quality. 5th in Gila, so in form. Keep an eye out for this one!

Gregory Brenes – Teammate of Jaramillo and probably better than him. The talented Costa Rican was 2nd in Gila. Has a good chance here.

Carter Jones – Talented young American who won the Tour of Gila and looks destined to go to Europe. This is his big opportunity to show off his talents to European teams.

Prediction time…

This looks like a fight between Danielson, Acevedo, Kelderman, Busche, Zoidl and Jones. It will be interesting to see what happens with Garmin but Acevedo had to quit the Tour, so I’ll go with old man Danielson to win the GC.

David Hunter

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