2009 Tour of Utah Downtown Salt Lake City Criterium Photographs

Rock racing riders on the front to protect race leader Franciso Mancebo.




The peloton rounds a turn, three wide.



Escape! A four man pace line distances the peloton. Fido the dog responds to the escape in typical canine fashion.





Team Ouch presented by Maxxis takes a turn at the front to reel in the break. The peloton is strung out in single file.




Hammer. The Salt Lake City Municipal Library and Utah Transit Authority Trax train are in the background.




Only a few laps to go. The Tour of Utah was a very successful occasion with thousands of race hungry fans.

Special thanks to Nicole Anderson for her help in editing and posting these photographs.

2009 East Canyon KOM Big Mountain Tour Of Utah Photographs

These photographs are of the King of the Mountain sprint located at Big Mountain, East Canyon, Utah. This is stage one of the Tour of Utah. The stage was won by Rock Racing rider Franciso Mancebo, who arm and arm with his teammate Oscar Sevilla crossed the line 26 seconds in front of the main group to win the stage.



Tour of Utah volunteer "Rick" at the Little Mountain KOM summit.



Ouch presented by Maxxis rider Brad White collects the Big Mountain King of the Mountain Points





The main group arrived three minutes later.



Off the back.



Riders continue to trickle in.

Thanks to Nicole Anderson for her help in editing and posting these photographs.

2009 Tour of Utah Prologue Photographs

As promised here are photographs of the Tour of Utah. The original intention of these photographs were to focus on Floyd Landis as part of his come back to professional cycling. Unfortunately, during the prologue Mr. Landis hid in the Ouch presented by Maxxis team trailer surrounded by a group of gorillas. Landis did not even condescend to sign autographs for the fans. Therefore, what you see is what you get, with no apologies from me.




Tour of Utah volunteer Scott Sowle.



Professional wrenches are overworked and under appreciated!



This is the place for racing! The Utah State Capitol Building is in the background.



The dark side of cycling, but USA Cycling has nothing to hide. This has been and will continue to be a point of contention, the public nature of bib information that could be used by miscreants for subversive reasons.



A Ouch presented by Maxxis rider on the rollers.



Floyd Landis hammers home fifty meters from the finish line.



Cole Sport rider David Clinger warms down on the rollers after a hard time trial. The White Chapel is in the background.



The Ouch presented by Maxxis team car and bikes.



Specialized fans eat your hearts out!

Special thanks to Nichole Anderson for her help in posting and editing these photographs.

Tour of Utah Preview

The Tour of Utah like so many other United States domestic races could have gone the way of the dinosaur. Larry H. Miller who originated the Tour of Utah died last year. It would have been so easy to quit, but thanks to the Miller family and Zions Bank the Tour of Utah lives on.

The 2009 edition of the Tour of Utah is the strongest ever featuring 22 teams.

Defending champion Jeff Louder and the BMC Racing Team will have their hands full this year. The biggest general classification threat is Floyd Landis of Ouch Pro Cycling Team presented by Maxxis, who is rumored to be training hard in Park City. Ouch Pro Cycling Team presented by Maxxis also has points jersey perpetual threat Rory Sutherland on the squad.

Rock Racing has proven climbers Victor Hugo Pena and Oscar Sevilla as contenders for general classification and sprint sensation Fast Freddie Rodriquez who is a proven points warrior. Fast Freddie Rodriquez won a Giro d' Italia stage beating 'Ale- Jet' Alessandro Petacchi. Rock Racing may on paper be the strongest and best overall team in the Tour of Utah this year.

Cole Sport Racing has David Clinger as best possible contender for general classification. Former rider for the United States Postal Professional Cycling Team, David Clinger has had a roller coaster of a career since. Now that problems have been sorted out in his life, David Clinger could be poised to pull an outstanding upset.

Other worthy riders of note:

Bissel Pro Cycling Team rider Burke Swindlehurst
Trek/Livestrong U23 Development Team rider Taylor Phinney

The 2009 Tour of Utah is billed as America's toughest stage race with over 20,000 feet of leg breaking climbs. Stage 4, the "Queen Stage" includes a climb of Little Cottonwood Canyon to Snowbird ski resort, 13km at 7.5%. The Little Cottonwood Canyon climb should decide the general classification once and for all.

The Tour of Utah ends with a downtown Salt Lake City criterium race where local cycling fanatics will amass to enjoy the racing exploits of their heroes.

Velo Vortmax intends to share as much of the Tour of Utah as possible on this blog during the race with reports and (hopefully) photographs.