Jure Kocjan (Smartstop) confirmed his status as one of the fastest riders on the North American racing circuit when he beat the pro riders in the second stage of the Tour of Utah. The Slovenian was given a perfect lead-out by teammate Travis McCabe when a 30-rider sprint decided the stage and he narrowly held off Robin Carpenter (Hincapie) to take the victory while Kiel Reijnen (Unitedhealthcare) defended his overall lead by finishing fourth.

After a disappointing stint at Euskaltel, Jure Kocjan got his career back on track in 2014 when he crossed the Atlantic to join the Smartstop team. He missed out on the big win but took an impressive three second places in the Tour of Utah where he spend some time in the yellow jersey.

This year he entered the race with the goal of finally taking that elusive stage victory and after the sprinters had been denied in the opening stage, things came together for him in today’s second stage. A tough climb 30km from the finish ruled out most of the pure sprinters, and this left Kocjan as the fastest rider in the 30-rider group that sprinted for the win.

His Smartstop team had shown plenty of confidence in him by taking control of the reduced peloton after the climb to bring back Daniel Eaton (Axeon) and Brent Bookwalter (BMC). Hence, things were back together when they crossed the finish line for the first time with 11km to go to start the first of three laps of a finishing circuit.

After the surprise outcome of the opening stage, the sprinters were hoping to get their chance in stage 2 which brought the riders over 159.7km from Tremonton to Ogden. The first part of the course was completely flay but with 30km to go, the riders reached the summit of a category 3 climb before they descended to the finishing city where they did three laps of a flat circuit at the end of the race.

However, the attacking started 11km later when Ben King made a first move for Cannondale-Garmin and no one seemed to be able to control the situation. James Oram (Axeon) was the next to try and he was joined by King and Johann van Zyl (MTN-Qhubeka) to form a strong trio. A BMC rider also made the junction but with 9km to go, it was back together.

Janez Brajkovic hit the front for Unitedhealthcare, trying to control things for race leader Kiel Reijnen. However, the attacking continued when Joey Rosskopf (BMC) took off and again van Zyl was part of the action.

Lots of attacks were launched but no one was able to escape from the reduced peloton which was speeding towards the finish. With 6km to go, Phil Gaimon (Optum) got clear with a Colombia and a Hincapie rider before Rosskopf also joined. However, it was back together with 1km later.

Van Zyl continued to ride strongly on the front and led the peloton onto the final lap before a Colombia rider took over. King refused to give up though and went on the attack alongside Michael Schär (BMC) and a Hincapie rider before Brajkovic tried to restore order.

The Slovenian rode on the front until he swung off at the flamme rouge and that was when BMC took over. Rosskopf did the lead-out for Brent Bookwalter who moved back into second position when Travis McCabe hit the front, setting Kocjan up for the sprint.

Bookwalter started his sprint from the first position, followed by Kocjan and Reijnen, but he had to response to the fast sprint of the Slovenian. It came down to a close battle between Kocjan and Robin Carpenter and the Smartstop rider narrowly came out on top.

Reijnen rolled across the line in fourth and that was enough for him to defend his overall lead. He now has a four-second advantage over Alex Howes and Kocjan as he goes into the third stage. After a flat start, the riders will tackle two climbs in the middle section before they end the stage by doing two laps of a tough circuit that includes a hard climb and a downhill finish which should create the first bigger selection in the race.

A mostly flat stage

Unlike yesterday, it was a beautiful sunny day in Utah when the riders that finished yesterday’s stage gathered for the start. The good conditions may have whetted the appetite of the attackers as it was furiously fast start to the stage.

The first rider to get a significant gap was Oscar Clark (Hincapie) who managed to get a 30-second advantage after 9km of racing. Flavio De Luna (SmartStop), Adrien Niyonshuti (MTN-Qhubeka) and Brad Huff (Optum) tried to bridge the gap but they never made the junction. Instead, it was Nicolae Tanovicthii (Jelly Belly), Tyler Magner (Hincapie), Jay Robert Thomson (MTN-Qhubeka) and Glenn O’Shea who caught the lone American but it was all back together at the 17km mark.

Thomson tries again

Thomson refused to give up so he attacked hard again. He managed to pull out a 30-second gap before Dan Eaton (Axeon), Pierrick Naud (Optum), Mackenzie Brennan (Hincapie) and Ben Jacques-Maynes (Jamis) took off in pursuit.

Thomson won the first intermediate sprint while Eaton and Naud were next. Moments later, the junction was made and it was a five-rider group that had a four-minute advantage at the 35km mark.

Unitedhealthcare take control

Unsurprisingly, Unitedhealthcare took control and Jonathan Clarke and Chris Jones spent most of the day on the front of the peloton. They slowly started to reel the break in and when Thomson beat Eaton and Jacques-Maynes in the second sprint, the gap was down to 3.25.

Jones and Clarke continued to ride on the front for most of the stage and when they entered the final 65km, they had brought it down to 2.50. As they approached the final climb, they accelerated and they had brought it down to 1.50 when they entered the final 40km.

Eaton digs deep

At the bottom of the climb, the gap was only 1.35 and so Eaton went straight to the front to up the pace. Naud and Brennan were the first to get dropped and when the Axeon rider accelerated again, Jacques-Maynes and Thomson also had to surrender.

In the peloton, Optum had taken control and lots of riders were getting dropped as they brought the four dropped riders back. Meanwhile, Eaton was digging deep and he crested the summit with a 30-second advantage.

Bookwalter attacks

Brent Bookwalter (BMC) and Chris Jones (SmartStop) attacked near the summit and crested the summit in second and third respectively followed by Camilo Castiblanco (Colombia) and Connor Mccutcheon (Airgas). The BMC riders dropped his companion and took off in pursuit of the lone Eaton.

Bookwalter made the junction with 25km to go and the two riders managed to extend their advantage from 30 to 45 seconds before Unitedhealthcare got back on the front. However, they were short of ressouces and so the gap only started to come down when Smartstop took.

Smartstop work hard

Three riders from the American team worked hard on the front and got some assistance from a Colombia rider. That made the difference and they brought a 10-rider chase group that briefly got clear, back.

Smartstop continued to set the pace in the 30-rider peloton and they managed to bring the front duo back with 15km to go. Moments later they hit the finishing circuit and despite the many attacks, it was Kocjan who came out on top in a sprint.