Tour takes stage: 'Climber' sprints to a road victory

PROVO — According to Scott Openshaw, an amateur cyclist and a volunteer at the Tour of Utah, "Mountains are fun, but it's the flat stages that make a race competitive."

On the flat stages like Monday's opening road stage race, starting and finishing in downtown Provo, an overall contender had to ride strong and smart to stay out of danger, and get plenty of help and protection from his teammates.

That's what Sergey Lagutin of Navigator's Insurance did.

A climbing expert, Lagutin sprinted the 103-mile course in three hours and 50 minutes to claim the leader's jersey.

Lagutin had won the Under-23 men's crown at the world road championships in Hamilton, Canada. He took third in this year's Cascade Cycling Classic.

"I am happy to get three jerseys," Lagutin said.

The 25-year-old Uzbekistan national road champion also won the sprint and the best young riders' jersey. Navigator's also has Cesar Grajales and Tour favorite Burke Swindlehurst of Salt Lake — both expert climbers in their lineup.

"The team really supported me," Lagutin said, adding that he doesn't have a helping role. "By the time we get to the later stages, we will see who's turning out better."

Jesse Anthony of Sierra Nevada won the King of the Mountains jersey. Anthony and Clayton Barrows of Team Einstein led the race until they were overtaken in the final two laps around downtown Provo.

"My goal was to be aggressive right from the front," the 21-year-old from Salem, Mass., said. "There were a lot of head winds and cross winds.

The race was neutralized by the judges for five minutes due to storms and winds when the pack was near Saratoga Springs, media director Steve Roberts said.

Andrew Pinfold of Symmetrics Cycling took second.

"Our team doesn't have many climbers, so we don't really have a leader," the 27-year-old from North Vancouver, Canada, said.

Michael Friedman of Team TIAA-CREF took fourth.

"We had a crowded pack today," Friedman said. "After the neutralization, guys in the back caught up."

Lagutin, however, is not too ecstatic, especially with most of the race still remaining.

"This is mostly a climber's race, and the sprinters field is not that strong, so I am not reading much into winning a flat stage," he said.

Mountain riding will begin with the fourth stage from Provo to Mountain Trailhead at the Mt. Nebo Loop.

"Whichever way the general classification is stacked up, you can lose it all on Mt. Nebo," Openshaw said.

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