Ben King bounced back from a nasty crash on stage three of the Tour of Utah to represent Cannondale-Garmin in the breakaway on the fourth stage of the American tour. Part of a seven rider group that slipped away after 20 kilometers of racing, King played a key role maintaining cooperation and cohesion among the leaders. Three kilometers from the finish, the peloton overtook King and company, setting the scene for the sprint finish.

“Ben is incredible,” said sport director Bingen Fernandez. “We had a couple objectives today, and the first was to see if a break could go at the very beginning. We wanted to send someone into the move to try and win the stage. We thought there was a chance the break could stay away today.”

“Even being in the crash yesterday, Ben volunteered to be in the break,” Fernandez said. “He said he would get in the break, and he did. The group was caught only in the last kilometers. They almost made it.”

UnitedHealthcare pushed the pace on the front of the peloton, limiting King and company to an advantage of around three minutes for the majority of the stage.

“The break was strong, but the peloton was riding hard,” said Fernandez. “In the last 50 kilometers there was a lot of descending, and this was to the advantage of the peloton.”

“More or less today was a stage that was fast at the start and under control until the uphill sprint finish,” Fernandez added. “There was nothing too crazy today.”

Cannondale-Garmin had hoped to set Alex Howes up for the sprint.

“They tried,” said Fernandez. “In the end, the finish was more for the sprint specialists. Alex goes better when the finish is harder and there is a reduced peloton. This was a bigger group and not as hard of a finish as we thought. They did their best. It was a good day for the team”

Howes was the top-finisher for Cannondale Garmin in 15th place on stage four and currently sits in fifth overall with three stages left to race.

Ted King stood on the podium in Heber Valley to accept the American Credit Union Fan Favorite jersey. A unique distinction at the Tour of Utah, the jersey is awarded to one rider daily based upon public vote. King was up for the best domestique category, and when the votes were tallied, he won the classification by a large margin. King will wear the distinctive blue jersey during Friday’s stage five in Salt Lake City.

“Tomorrow is almost a criterium,” said Fernandez. “There are 89km in Salt Lake City around a circuit. It will be really good to watch. It’s a great course for the spectators. There is a little climb with sections of 20% that is in every loop. The fans all crowd around this part.”

“The atmosphere in Utah has been great,” Fernandez added. “This is one of my favorite races. The crowds are always great. The scenery, the good roads, the tough racing – this is one of the best ones for me, and the whole team enjoys it, too.”