Tour of Utah billed as 'race for mountain goats'

The Tour of Utah is billed as "a race for the mountain goats." And rightly so.

Odds at the six-day, six-stage Tour de France-style race, riders believe, are stacked highly in favor of climbers.

"Climbers definitely have an advantage in this race," said Justin England of Team Toyota United.

"I don't see how any rider not fit for climbing can win this race."

And part of the reason is the sixth and final stage, which will see a more than 12,000 foot-steep climb along 85 miles from Deer Valley to the finish line at Snowbird.

"It's mind-blowing," Burke Swindlehurst said. "It's going to be the toughest climb of any stage anywhere in a cycling event."

The final stage somewhat resembles the old Saturn cycling classic, a one-day 138-mile race that went through the Colorado Rockies from Boulder to Breckenridge.

"It (the final stage) will be a major advantage for the really skinny guys, the climbing specialists," said Dave Harward, who won Stage 1 of the 2005 Tour of Utah. "It would be rough on its own, let alone on the sixth day of a hard stage race."

Apart from the sixth, the fourth stage ending at the Mount Nebo loop will also challenge sprinters with its elevation gain.

Sprinters are usually built with faster twitch muscle fibers in their bodies, which help them accelerate at phenomenal speeds.

"They (sprinters) are very exciting to watch on a flat or rolling course, where they can stay out of the wind and in the draft of the (pack)," race director Jason Preston said. "Eventually they use their burst of speed to blast up to over 40 mph for the sprint victory."

Climbers, on the other hand, are slower twitch with great muscular endurance and they can hold a solid high pace longer than others. They are generally very light and have a great power-to-weight ratio.

"These riders have light bikes and light bodies; they are the mountain goats," Preston added.

Sprinters will have their days in the sun in the first two stages, which are more or less flat; however, they would be lucky to finish the climbs.

"The sprinters will have their opportunities in stages one, two and four," said Ryan Barrett, who has been Utah State Road Race Champion for the past two years. "Two mountain-top finishes (over 8,000 feet) is pretty rare in a six-stage race."