Stage 2 started in Panguitch, ended in Torrey, and passed by Bryce Canyon National Park.
I didn't have enough time to go to the last KOM (Boulder Mountain), so I planned on parking near the Grand Staircase KOM, riding out to the Hogsback KOM, then riding back to Grand Staircase to watch the race. However, on my way back from Hogsback I noticed that they had set up the feed zone right after the sprint point in Escalante. I rode back to the car and drove ahead to Escalante to check out the feed zone.
The ride out towards Hogsback from the car was easy with a downhill and a tailwind.The riders must have enjoyed this portion of the route.
1k to the feed zone. This is facing the opposite direction.
The intermediate sprint, facing the opposite direction.
When I got back to Escalante, the team cars were all ready for the riders in the feed zone. I picked a spot past the feed zone without any other people around. It had a nice sidewalk that I could ride on to search for discarded items before the caravan was done moving through.
Feed Zone
My spot
Looking left from my spot
Looking right from my spot
I had a few riders throw bottles right at me and I also picked up quite a few bottles after the peloton passed through. I could have picked up a lot more, but the volunteers were picking up a lot of them before I had a chance to get out on the road. After two days I had collected 20 bottles and 4 musette bags.
If you haven't seen them, check out my other spectator reports:
The Tour of Utah finally visited southern Utah in 2013 and I had to be there. Stage 1 started at Brian Head resort (9600 feet) and finished in Cedar City.
Stage 1 Route
I was camping at Cedar Canyon Campground, which is along the route about 12 miles east of Cedar City. My plan was to ride to Brian Head for the start, then jump ahead of the route by riding south on 148 to rejoin the route on 12. The plan worked well and I was happy with the way the day turned out.
The ride to Brian Head was only 18 miles, but gained 2,641 feet.
On the way to Brian Head
I got there pretty early and the BMC bus was already in the parking lot.
BMC Bus
As cars and buses started to trickle in, Dave Zabriskie strolled past me towards a team car with Christian Vande Velde inside.
Dave Z and CVV
Cannondale Bus
Fast Freddie was there, and his new US Champion kit from Jelly Belly is a sight to see. I couldn't get a great picture, but here it is.
Fast Freddie
Jelly Belly also has Mexican Champion Luis Lemus, who seems like a really nice guy. A couple of kids were walking by and he offered them some jelly beans, which they loved.
Luis Lemus grabbing more jelly beans
Continuing the national champion theme, here is Tomas Vaitkus, Lithuanian champion.
Tomas Vaitkus
Former US national champion George Hincapie was there with his team. He looks like he's still in great shape.
George Hincapie
I'm used to seeing Bob Roll do the TV interviews in California and Colorado, but the Tour of Utah was covered by Fox Sports, so there was a new interviewer in town. Here she is with Chris Horner.
Horner and Fox Sports
Chris Horner at the Tour of Utah
The sign-in area was close, so I went to check it out for a little while. I couldn't get any good pictures, but I saw interviews with Luis Lemus, Jens Voigt, and birthday boy and eventual breakaway rider Chris Jones.
Ryder Hesjedal leaving the sign-in area
Jens Voigt entertaining the fans
\I wanted a better picture or Ryder Hesjedal, so I stalked him a little bit. Unfortunately, this is the best I could do.
Ryder Hesjedal
I left the start area early so I could ride up the road a little bit to find a good viewing spot. As I was leaving, I noticed that riders were warming up on the road, so I stopped for a while to check it out.
Pre-Stage Pee Break
Jens Voigt, Joseph Schmalz, and Nathan Brown
Ed King (I think)
Serghei Tvetcov
Tomas Vaitkus
Chris Horner and Matthew Busche
I jumped on the road as a few riders were still warming up and started looking for my viewing spot. The day started out with an uphill section and the guys were taking it easy. I saw Chris Horner riding up ahead of me. I was tempted to sprint ahead of him just so I could claim that I dropped Chris Horner on a climb, but I just cruised along behind the riders and gave them their space. As I was riding I was passed by Meron Russom of MTN-Qhubeka. I didn't want to get right on his wheel, but I stuck close enough to get a good look at him.
Meron Russom
Eventually all the riders turned back around towards the start and I found my viewing spot. It was a nice uphill section maybe about 2 miles from the start with a good view of Cedar Breaks.
The bike and Cedar Breaks
Cedar Breaks
A 2-man breakaway formed early, containing Michael Torckler and Chris Jones.
The Breakaway
The Breakaway
Then the peloton came cruising through.
I also took videos.
Once the peloton was gone, I rode south on 148 to rejoin the route on 12. I stopped along the way for more pictures of Cedar Breaks.
From 12 I rode the route backwards, looking for a good spot to watch. There were too many good spots to choose from, so I just rode for as long as I could until the riders were getting close.
After the riders were gone I rode the stage route back to camp, picking up a few bottles along the way. Greg Van Avermaet won Stage 1 thanks to a late solo attack. I ended up with about 78 miles and 7,200 feet of climbing. The scenery was great, I got to watch the riders twice in one day, and I even got a few bottles. It was a great day.
Ride Report
This was part of the 5-day, 500 mile ride from Bozeman to Salt Lake City. The route took us from Hoback, WY to Montpelier, ID. It was a relatively easy day, since the first day was basically a headwind for 113 straight miles and the second day was over 120 miles with a tough climb towards the end.
As a whole, I really enjoyed the 5-day trip. The scenery was great and I feel like I learned a few things about my body along the way. Towards the end I was feeling better than I thought I would. The main time my legs hurt was after taking a break (and the group I was riding with loved their breaks). However, once I got warmed up I felt pretty good. Now I just need to find a way to ride one of the 30-day rides across America.
