Despite having already done two grand tours and won the Tour of Poland, Rafal Majka is riding the USA Pro Challenge in Colorado. In the first stage he showed no signs of fatigue as he finished with the group of favourites while co-captain Michael Rogers suffered and more than 5 minutes.

The first stage of the North American stage race, US Pro Challenge started and finished in Aspen, Colorado and challenged the field with a highly undulating stretch of 98 kilometers with practically no flat areas at all.

Seven riders including UnitedHealthcare’s Danny Summerhill,  Jamis -Hagens Bermans’s Ben Jacques-Maynes and Matt Cooke, Jelly Belly-Maxxis riders Jonathan Freter and Luis Lemus, Bissell Development Team’s Greg Daniel and Drapac Pro Cycling’s Lachlan Norris broke clear of the peloton early on but everyone expected the peloton to reel in the front group and so it did. Instead, new riders attacked and ended up sprinting for the stage win.

Kiel Reijnen (UnitedHealthCare) won the stage and took the overall lead ahead of Alex Howes (Garmin-Sharp).

Tinkoff-Saxo’s Rafal Majka finished with the other favorites, 12 seconds behind the stage winner.

“Even though, it was a short stage, the altitude took its toll on the peloton as we were racing in 2400-2600 meters altitude," sports director Lars Michaelsen said. "Cannondale took the main responsibility of bringing the escapees back as they wanted to bring their sprinter, Viviani in a good position for the expected sprint. But with 15 kilometers remaining, the peloton shattered to bits and pieces  on the two final climbs. Rafal was doing a solid job staying with other favorites and Bruno (Pires) was in the mix as well a little behind. Tomorrow, we face another mountainous stretch with an uphill finish and we hope to bring Rafal in a good position for the finale."

Majka’s teammate, Michael Rogers, finished 109th on the stage, 5:15 behind Reijnen.

“It was tough out there,” Rogers told Velonews. “It really broke on those last two climbs, as we expected. It was a bit tougher than we thought it would be, to be honest.

“I’m glad [Majka] is up there,” Rogers continued. “It’s hard to tell whether he’ll perform. He’s come off a very heavy period, much like myself, with the Giro, and then the Tour, and obviously he’s gone on to ride, and win, Poland. There has to be a down period as well. We can’t go win races all year round, so what goes up, must come down. And today was a bit of a special stage, really. It’s a short, tough stage, not everyone is acclimated to this kind of altitude. I think the amount of riders spaced out along the course shows that it’s pretty tough going.”