The last two months have really helped Brent Bookwalter learn to ride for himself again. The 31 year old BMC domestique was fourth overall in a hard Tour of Austria after only finishing outside the top ten on one of the eight stages. Now he is sixth overall with one day to go in the Tour of Utah, again only once outside the top ten in six stages so far.

“A couple of weeks ago I did the Tour of Austria. It was kind of the first time in years I’d done a race and tried to do a GC ride in a race with mountains. That showed me I can still do it. I wasn’t the best climber there. But between some consistent climbing and opportunist riding and breakaways and gaining a few seconds here and there, I finished fourth overall, and that was confidence-inspiring. I can still climb,” he told VeloNews.

With one day to go Bookwlater is over a minute down on GC leader Joe Domborwski (Cannondale-Garmin) but another top overall result is certainly on the cards.

“There’s not a clear overall GC favorite, there’s not that guy. Chris Horner’s team has been out in front supporting him. But other than, there hasn’t been a GC team that’s stepped up to control the sprints, so anything can happen. I feel strong this week. I am open-minded. With the finishes I’ve had, the team has been supporting me really well.”