Today’s beautiful stage from Aspen to Crested Butte went north from Aspen west through Carbondale, over McClure Pass and then over Kebler Pass into Crested Butte. The cloudy day saw Robin Carpenter ahead on Kebler Pass just before it started pouring. He led for nearly half the race, winning the stage in Crested Butte. Alex Howes took the yellow jersey. The race was halted for about 5 minutes just outside town on the descent from Kebler Pass because of the conditions. Team cars handed out rain gear. Howes wasn’t happy because he was hoping to win the stage. Many of the others were also very angry, even shouting at the officials because they stopped the race AFTER the dangerous areas.
Robin Carpenter race winner from Hincapie Sportswear. It’s the team’s first year in the race.
Chase group
Chase group was composed of Oscar Clark, Candelario, Jacques-Maynes, Reijnen.
The skies opened up and it was absolutely miserable. The dirt road turned into almost a muddy river.
Jesper Hansen was riding alone when the rain was pounding the hardest. Here he’s eyeing my car. He propped his bike up against my car and climbed in. As the last group approached, he got out, got back on his bike and rejoined the race.
Stage 2 Results
First – Robin Carpenter (USA) of Hincapie Sportswear Development Team
· Second – Alex Howes (USA) of Team Garmin-Sharp
Third – Tejay van Garderen (USA) of BMC Racing Team
GC Standings
· First – Alex Howes (USA) of Team Garmin-Sharp
· Second – Ben Hermans (BEL) of BMC Racing Team
Third – Tejay van Garderen (USA) of BMC Racing Team
Jersey Winners
· Smashburger Leader Jersey – Alex Howes (USA) of Team Garmin-Sharp
· Lexus Sprint Jersey – Kiel Reijnen (USA) of UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
· Sierra Nevada King of the Mountains Jersey – Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) of Jamis-Hagens Berman p/b Sutter Home
· Colorado State University Best Young Rider Jersey – Clement Chevrier (FRA) of Bissell Development Team
· FirstBank Most Aggressive Rider Jersey – Robin Carpenter (USA) of Hincapie Sportswear Development Team
· Colorado National Guard Best Colorado Rider Jersey – Alex Howes (USA) of Team Garmin-Sharp
