Rohan Dennis (BMC) again confirmed his status as the strongest rider in the USA Pro Challenge when he lived up to his status as the overwhelming favourite in the 13.5km time trial. The Australian stopped the clock in 18.11 which was a massive 27 seconds faster than Rob Britton (Smartstop) and allowed him to extend his lead over teammate Brent Bookwalter to 44 seconds.

Going into the USA Pro Challenge, Rohan Dennis claimed that he had no GC ambitions in the race and that his main goal was to win the stage 5 time trial. However, with dominant performances in the first four stages, the Australian had changed his mind and went into the race against the clock as the race leader after he won yesterday’s stage.

Dennis’ dominance had only increased his status as the overwhelming favourite for the TT and he fully lived up to expectations as he was simply in a class of his own. He covered the 13.5km course that included a tough climb, in 18.11 and that was almost 30 seconds faster than his nearest riveal.

As the overall leader, Dennis was the final rider down the ramp and immediately it was clear that he was unbeatable. Halfway up the climb, he had already caught his two-minute man Rob Squire (Hincapie) and when he crested the summit, he was 36 seconds faster than Rob Britton who had the best time both at that point and at the finish.

Dennis was not quite able to maintain his speed on the descent as he apparently refused to take any risks but when he crossed the line in 18.11 he has still shaved 27 seconds off Britton’s mark. A disappointed Squire rolled across the line in 87th to drop from third to sixteenth in the GC while Dennis savoured the moment and enjoyed his second consecutive stage win.

Dennis’ teammate Brent Bookwalter was another big winner as he was just four seconds behind Britton in fourth which was enough to defend his second place overall. Talented riders like Gavin Mannion (Jelly Belly), Tao Geoghegan Hart (Axeon) and Toms Skujins (Hincapie) were all in the top 11 and used their good rides to move up in the overall standings. As opposed to this, climbers like Squire, Jonathan Clarke (Unitedhealthcare) and the Caja Rural duo of Jaime Roson and Hugh Carthy all lost lots of time.

However, the biggest loser was probably Davide Formolo (Cannondale-Garmin). Starting the stage with a top 10 within reach, the Italian crashed hard in the final turn and as he rolled across the line with a significant time loss, he dropped to 15th in the standings.

With the win, Dennis extended his lead over Bookwalter to 44 seconds while Britton is now the biggest threat in third, 1.31 behind. He just needs to get safely through two easier stages, starting with tomorrow’s stage 6 which has a flat first half before the riders go up a category 2 climb after 110km mark. However, the final 55km are mainly flat or downhill with just a category 4 climb along the way, meaning that a sprint is the expected outcome.

A tough course

After yesterday’s final mountain stage, it was time for the most decisive stage of the race when the riders tackled the 13.5km time trial in Breckenridge. After a flat first half, the riders tackled a tough climb in the second part before they descended to the finish.

It was a sunny day in BreckenridgE when Yoav Bear (Cycling Academy) rolled down the ramp as the first rider. He stopped the clock in 20.58 to set an early mark but was quickly beaten by Daniel Barry (Budget Forklifts) who went 7 seconds faster. His teammate Brodie Talbot was significantly faster though as he posted a time of 20.34 to move into the lead.

Best time for Williams

Robin Carpenter (Hincapie) was the first rider to break the 20-minute barrier when he stopped the clock in 19.51 before Steve Fisher (Jelly Belly) made it into second with 20.27. However, Samuel Spokes (Drapac) was even faster as he stopped the clock in 19.35 before Oscar Clark (Hincapie) slotted into third with 19.52.

David Williams (Jamis) was flying around the course 19.34 which was enough to narrowly move into the lead and TT specialists William Clarke and Jordan Kerby (Drapac) were unable to challenge that time. Kristoff Skjerping (Cannondale) slotted into the top with 19.54 while Phil Gaimon (Optum) was evn faster with 19.39 to move into third.

Brown takes the lead

Bartosz Warchiol (Cycling Academy) delivered a small surprise when he stopped the clock in 19.33 to slot into the lead and with 19.46, James Oram (Axeon) was unable to challenge that. Angus Morton (Jelly Belly) also missed the mark with 19.53 and instead it was Greg Daniel who got close with 19.35 which was good enough for fourth.

Wachiol was beaten when Taylor Shelden (Jelly Belly) posted a time of 19.24 which was 9 seconds faster than the Pole and former American champion Tom Zirbel (Optum) was unable to improve on that wit 19.41. However, he didn’t spend long time in the hot seat as Nathan Brown (Cannondale) took the lead with 19.18 before Dylan Girdlestone (Drapac) moved into 7th with 19.39.

Phinney lives up to expectations

Brown had barely caught his breath before he could see Jack Bobridge (Budget Forklifts) become the first rider to break the 19-minute mark with a time of 18.59. Janier Acevedo (Cannondale-Garmin) set the fourth fastest time with 19.33 before Roman Kreuziger (Tinkoff-Saxo) stopped the clock in 19.22 to move into third.

Evan Huffman (Smartstop) confirmed his status as a specialist when he moved into fifth with 19.29 but he was quickly relegated by Felix Grossschartner (Tinkoff-Saxo) who was four seconds faster. However, everybody had their eyes on Taylor Phinney (BMC) who lived up to expectations by taking the lead with 18.50

Eaton takes the lead

Timothy Roe (Drapac) had a good ride to move into seventh while Phinney prepared himself to spend a long time in the hot seat. Surprisingly, he barely got there as Daniel Eaton (Axeon) went one second faster to take the lead.

Michael Schär (BMC) made it into the top 10 with 19.27 while Ruben Zepuntke (Cannondale) narrowly missed out with 19.29. However, it was Lachlan Norris (Drapac) who got the attention when he stopped the clock in 18.59 to slot into third.

Best time for Britton

Tao Geoghegan Hart (Axeon) confirmed his huge potential by going one second faster which was good enough for third but he was quickly beaten by Gavin Mannion (Jelly Belly) who slotted into second with 18.50, missing out on the lead by one second. Less than one minute later Rob Britton (Smartstop) powered across the line in 18.38 which was clearly the fastest time.

Tom Skujins (Hincapie) slotted into 9th with 19.18 before a big drama unfolded. Davide Formolo (Cannondale-Garmin) went down in the final turn and even though he as quickly back on his bike, he rolled across the line with a big time loss.

Dennis takes the win

Jaime Roson (Caja Rural) lost a lot of time before Lachlan Morton (Jelly Bellu) posted the 10th best time. Hugh Carthy (Caja Rural) and Jonny Clarke (Unitedhalthcare) were also among the big losers while everybody was waiting for Bookwalter to reach the finish.

The American stopped the clock in 18.42 to slot into second but he could only watch when his teammate Dennis posted 18.11 to take a convincing victory. Finally, Squire rode across the line in 87th to end a disappointing day.