Tour of Utah Stage 2

Stage two of the 2009 Tour of Utah took the racers from Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, around the west side of Utah Lake and then up the Payson side of Nebo Loop.

I played the part of volunteer van driver today. After much confusion in finding the van this morning, I had to deal with finding someone who was willing to get in the van with me. None of the other volunteers showed up. Dave Zabriskie offered to get in the van, then one of the Garmin team managers, but even though I was serious about letting them in, neither of was serious about actually doing it.

Finally, one guy, who happened to have just wandered over from work and overheard that we needed volunteers, decided to course marshal. After watching the start, he got in the van and we took off. We took the freeway to Santaquin, headed west and ended up in Elberta, where we directed the racers east. After all the riders went through, we headed up the canyon toward the finish line. Silly guy who was with me decided he wasn't really needed at work the rest of the day, and opted to go watch a bike race with me instead.

The riders were so fast through Payson that we ended up not being able to beat them to the canyon, and had to follow them up instead. So I missed seeing the end of the race, but, unfortunately, saw plenty of action (or lack of) from the back of the race. I commend the racers who actually used their legs to pedal up the Nebo Loop climb. Enough said.

Here are some pictures of the day's events.

The Garmin team gets ready to race.

Dave Zabriskie's pre-race interview

Dave Zabriskie in the Best Utah Rider jersey at the start line.

Interesting that as Cindy fires the starting pistol that some of the riders look like they're going to have a nap.

The lead pack coming into Elberta

The peleton coming into Elberta about 3 minutes behind the lead pack

The racers head east out of Elberta toward Payson.

Jeff Louder pulling on the Best Utah Rider jersey at the end of the race.

Francisco Perez Mancebo in the sprinter's jersey.

Happy Birthday, Darren Lill! Congrats on today's win.

Not only did Lill win the stage, he got the climber's jersey.

Francisco Perez Mancebo in the leader's jersey.

Louder climbs out of the podium pit.

Best Young Rider, Overall Leader, and Best Climber