Mountain stage a tough one

MT. NEBO — In cycling, as in life, it is not enough to be fast, you must also know where you're headed.

Hometown favorite Burke Swindlehurst, who knows the steep climbs to the summit of Mt. Nebo like the back of his hand, just wasn't right about where the finish line was.

"I thought the finish is six miles down the hill at 8,500 feet," Swindlehurst said. But, it wasn't.

The result: Health Net Maxxis riders Jeff Louder and Scott Moninger grabbed the advantage and the honors at the end of the fourth stage of the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah, the first mountain stage, which took riders to a painful grind of 20 miles and 4,000 feet of elevation across Mt. Nebo at an altitude of 9,345 feet.

"I paced myself for a lesser climb," Swindlehurst said. "During the last stage, I was in fumes and vapors."

It all came after Navigators had a great day out in the sun. Navigators' Sergey Lagutin gave them a comfortable sprint lead. They seemed to be running away with the contest as Glen Chadwick, Phil Zajicek and Swindlehurst opened up a big lead at the top with only Moninger for competition.

"It was three to one," Moninger said. "I needed support."

Louder not only came to help out but went all the way through a stage that had entered the Wasatch Mountains for the first time.

The race began at noon from Provo's 800 East and Center streets, heading southwest, then turning west on S.R. 141 and then again on 6300 South for the counterclockwise loop around the perimeter of West Mountain.

"It was a perfect ride," Louder said. "It was a great tactical game." Louder spotted Swindlehurst dragging near the 10K mark. The climb was long, winding and relentless with periodic leg-searing steep pitches to ensure gravity's strong hand.

That's when Louder decided to charge. "It's a very long climb and not a sprint. I gauged my effort and played the waiting game," he said.

The last 10 miles, Moninger and Swindlehurst were locked in a neck-and-neck battle.

"I was comfortable with Burke (Swindlehurst) and was acting as a decoy," Moninger said.

Louder sat back and waited. "I had to sit back. I wanted to maintain my tempo for the end." With 5K to go, Louder saw Swindlehurst dragging. He went for the kill to finish the race atop the general classification standing and will be riding in the yellow jersey today. Moninger, Chadwick and Swindlehurst share the second, third and fourth spot, respectively.