Tour of Utah!!!

It's one of my favorite times of the year. The Tour of Utah is here again. This year, there are some pretty big names riding and I was able to get photos of a few of them. Stage two of the race started at the XANGO headquarters by Thanksgiving Point, which is right by my house. I watched them sign in to compete for the day and then watched the start of the race. Beforehand, several of the big names were giving interviews, so that's where I got my photos.


1. George Hincapie - Current US National Champion, former teammate of Lance Armstrong - including all 7 of his Tour de France victories, Tour de France participant for 15 years, winner of several other races, one of the oldest cyclists in the race and all around classy guy. Lots of respect for him and I was thrilled to hear he was racing this year in Utah.

2. Levi Leipheimer - 3rd place Tour de France, former/current teammate of Lance Armstrong (US Postal and Radio Shack), winner of the Tour of California several times and former SLC resident. Levi won stage 2 this year on the climb up to Mount Nebo. He currently sits in yellow, meaning he is the current race leader, riding for Mellow Johnny's and Radio Shack.

3. Franciso Mancebo - top 5 finish in Tour de France on two different occasions, former Spanish national champion, and winner of the Tour of Utah last year (while riding for Rock Racing). This year he is riding for Canyon Bicycles, which is a local company trying to put together a pro cycling team. Very excited about that.

4. Bob Roll - former Tour de France competitor and stage winner and now one of the most entertaining commentators on Versus for the Tour de France. He also helped Lance through some tough times when he was diagnosed with cancer and helped Lance see that there is at least someone who finds all the misery of riding the tour fun.

If you are interested to see a stage of the tour, I would suggest Sunday's stage. It goes from Park City, down Provo Canyon, over Suncrest and up to Snowbird. Very tough stage and lots of places to see the cyclist. We have typically gone to Suncrest and after they go through there, we've headed up to Snowbird to see them again there. The race starts at 11 in Park City and they expect the riders to be at Snowbird around 3:40. It's a steep climb to Snowbird and driving it gives you a new respect for how easy they make it look on the bike. So, if you are able to go, you'll have a great time. Bring your cowbell and get ready to cheer them on.

Here's the link to the Tour of Utah site, if you'd like more information on the teams and the stages. It includes maps of each stage so you can pick where to camp out. http://www.tourofutah.com/