Tour of Utah Stage 5 Start

I was lucky enough to be in Park City, UT for this year's Tour of Utah and saw the start of the grueling stage 5 of this 6 stage race. The Tour of Utah winds it's way all over northern Utah through some very scenic terrain and has stages that are as tough as any major race out there. Stage 5 of the Tour of Utah starts right in Park City and is over 100 miles long with the riders having to climb over 10,000 vertical feet in the 90+ degree heat. To finish this painful leg of the Tour riders must climb Little Cottonwood Canyon to finish at Snowbird Ski Resort. This last stretch is about 8 miles long but quickly gains over 4000 vertical feet as you head up this amazing rocky canyon that in the winter averages over 500" of powder. Tough way to end the day!

Even though the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah isn't as well known as the Tour of California, a lot of the big names in cycling are out here. When I has hanging around the start I saw Christian Vandevelde of team Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda doing interviews and there were riders from Team Liquigas-Cannondale, Team Radioshack and the BMC Racing Team all getting ready for the race. I took a few very amateur photos of the start for your viewing pleasure. I love how they're all smiling and chit chatting like they're on a casual ride.