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PARK CITY — The hardest thing in sports to do is to defend a championship.
Whatever the sport is, there are so many distractions, unfortunate breaks or mechanical errors that can stop someone. However, when you’re in an event like cycling, the variables in play are amplified a million times over, making the action of repeating a feat something only the elite will know.
Defending champion Tom Danielson, an American who rides for Team Garmin-Sharp, experienced the thrill of victory for the second consecutive year in Park City, successfully conquering the 10th edition of the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah with his second victory in a race that’s been coined as “America’s Toughest Stage Race.”
The tour, which includes stops in Utah destinations like Cedar City, Ogden, Salt Lake City, Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Kamas and Park City’s Main Street district, featured over 57,000 feet of climbs, including the tour’s toughest climb over Empire Pass on the final day of competition. Also, the race is rated as a 2.1 stage race by the UCI America Tour, making it one of the premier events in the country.
Danielson said Empire is always a test for riders.
This year was at an all-time high in terms of competitiveness, but I hope we haven't hit our ceiling yet in terms of the quality of the field we can bring to Utah.
–Miller Sports Properties president Steve Miller
“Today, I was concerned about hydration and food (going up the pass),” he said. “It’s a long haul to the top, and then over the top. Really, the only way I was going to lose the race was if I ran out of energy.”
Part of Danielson’s win came from the team mentality his team had. After competing recently in the Tour de France, he said the entire team rallied around his title defense efforts.
“This year coming in, I knew I was in good form,” he said. “I said I want to win this race. It’s a lot more pressure, and a lot harder on the team. You could say we had a much younger, less experienced team this year. (But) everybody performed above and beyond this week.”
Stage 7 starts on Park City’s Main Street, winds through rural eastern Summit County towns like Oakley and Kamas, and continues into Heber City and Midway. After the riders pass through Midway, the grueling climb over Empire Pass protects the sprint finish down the peak to Main Street.
Coming into the tour’s final stage, Danielson had a 57-second lead over fellow American Chris Horner, who is riding for Team Lampre-Merida. Australian rider Cadel Evans, riding for BMC Racing, won the final two stages of the race, which were contested throughout the Wasatch Front. Evans said it takes a certain type of person to compete in the mountain stages.
“I think it was fortunate I didn’t ride the Tour de France this year,” he said. “I had time to come here and take my time to (adjust to the climate). We take that time away from home to adapt for this race.”
With a variety of geography, road conditions and challenges, the Tour of Utah tests each rider’s ability, as it is definitely a marathon.
Evans said the scenery makes the Tour of Utah an elite race in his mind.
“When you have scenery like that, I don’t know anyone that doesn’t want to come visit Utah because of the scenery you have,” he said.
With 10 years in the books, Miller Sports Properties President Steve Miller said he expects the tour to continue to progress.
“I think it’s safe to say that we will visit parts of Utah that we haven’t visited before,” he said. “It’s very likely there will be some different parts of the state, because our goal is to have it be the Tour of Utah. We’ve got a little bit of work to do.”
