# 2011 USA Pro Cycling Challenge

The 2011 USA Pro Cycling Challenge was the inaugural edition of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge stage race. The race was held from August 22–28, and was rated as a 2.1 event on the UCI America Tour. The race began with a short prologue time trial in Colorado Springs, wound its way through the Rocky Mountains at heights of up to 12,000 feet (3,700 m), and finished in the streets of downtown Denver.

## Participating teams

Included in the participating team rosters were the top three 2011 Tour de France riders Cadel Evans, Andy Schleck and Fränk Schleck. The full team list included:

## Stages

Stage results :
| Stage | Date | Route | Terrain | Length | Winner |
| P | 22 August | Colorado Springs | Individual time trial | 8.34 km (5.18 mi) | Patrick Gretsch (GER) |
| 1 | 23 August | Salida - Crested Butte | Mountain stage | 160 km (99 mi) | Levi Leipheimer (USA) |
| 2 | 24 August | Gunnison – Aspen | Mountain stage | 211 km (131 mi) | George Hincapie (USA) |
| 3 | 25 August | Vail | Individual time trial | 16 km (9.9 mi) | Levi Leipheimer (USA) |
| 4 | 26 August | Avon – Steamboat Springs | Medium mountain stage | 133 km (83 mi) | Elia Viviani (ITA) |
| 5 | 27 August | Steamboat Springs – Breckenridge | Mountain stage | 169 km (105 mi) | Elia Viviani (ITA) |
| 6 | 28 August | Golden – Denver | Medium mountain stage | 118.8 km (73.8 mi) | Daniel Oss (ITA) |

### Prologue

August 22, 2011 — Colorado Springs, 5.18 miles (8.34 km)
The opening time trial for the race began in the Garden of the Gods national monument and followed a short downhill course that finished in downtown Colorado Springs.
| | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Patrick Gretsch (DEU) | HTC–Highroad | 8' 28" |
| 2 | Christian Vande Velde (USA) | Garmin–Cervélo | + 2" |
| 3 | Brent Bookwalter (USA) | BMC Racing Team | + 4" |
| 4 | Robert Förster (DEU) | UnitedHealthcare | + 5" |
| 5 | Jens Voigt (DEU) | Leopard Trek | + 7" |

### Stage 1

August 23, 2011 — Salida to Crested Butte, 99.4 miles (160.0 km)
The first stage of the race saw the riders ascending 11,315 feet (3,449 m) over Monarch Pass and ending with a short mountaintop finish up to the resort municipality of Mount Crested Butte.
| | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Levi Leipheimer (USA) | Team RadioShack | 4h 29' 22" |
| 2 | Sergio Henao (COL) | Gobernación de Antioquia–Indeportes Antioquia | + 4" |
| 3 | Fränk Schleck (LUX) | Leopard Trek | + 7" |
| 4 | Cadel Evans (AUS) | BMC Racing Team | + 7" |
| 5 | Christian Vande Velde (USA) | Garmin–Cervélo | + 7" |

### Stage 2

August 24, 2011 — Gunnison to Aspen, 131.1 miles (211.0 km)
The queen stage involved nearly 10,000 feet (3,000 m) of climbing, bringing the riders over two of the highest passes in Colorado: the dirt road climb of 12,126 feet (3,696 m) Cottonwood Pass, and 12,095 feet (3,687 m) to Independence Pass.
| | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | George Hincapie (USA) | BMC Racing Team | 5h 26' 10" |
| 2 | Tejay van Garderen (USA) | HTC–Highroad | s.t. |
| 3 | Tom Danielson (USA) | Garmin–Cervélo | s.t. |
| 4 | Edward Beltran (COL) | EPM–UNE | s.t. |
| 5 | Janier Acevedo (COL) | Gobernación de Antioquia–Indeportes Antioquia | s.t. |

### Stage 3

August 25, 2011 — Vail, 10 miles (16 km)
Contrasting with the prologue time trial, stage 3 was a steep uphill individual test with 1,783 feet (543 m) of climbing over only 10 miles (16 km). The route was the same one used during time trials for the Coors Classic in the 80s. The record for the course, 25:48, was set in the 2008 Teva Mountain Games by Ben Day.
| | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Levi Leipheimer (USA) | Team RadioShack | 25' 47" |
| 2 | Christian Vande Velde (USA) | Garmin–Cervélo | + 0" |
| 3 | Rafael Infantino (COL) | EPM–UNE | + 4" |
| 4 | Tom Danielson (USA) | Garmin–Cervélo | + 33" |
| 5 | Stef Clement (NED) | Rabobank | + 40" |

### Stage 4

August 26, 2011 — Avon to Steamboat Springs, 82.8 miles (133.3 km)
This stage included one sprint point, 99.1 km into the stage.
| | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Elia Viviani (ITA) | Liquigas–Cannondale | 2h 58' 14" |
| 2 | Michael Mørkøv (DEN) | Saxo Bank–SunGard | s.t. |
| 3 | Kenny Van Hummel (NED) | Skil–Shimano | s.t. |
| 4 | Robert Förster (GER) | UnitedHealthcare | s.t. |
| 5 | Dennis van Winden (NED) | Rabobank | s.t. |

### Stage 5

August 27, 2011 — Steamboat Springs to Breckenridge, 105.2 miles (169.3 km)
Immediately after leaving Steamboat Springs, the riders ascended Rabbit Ears Pass, a steep pass with about 15 miles (24 km) of climbing and a false summit. After the descent, it's a long slow climb through some of Colorado's most popular ski resorts that culminated in a downhill finish into Breckenridge.
| | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Elia Viviani (ITA) | Liquigas–Cannondale | 4h 04' 31" |
| 2 | Jaime Castañeda (COL) | EPM–UNE | s.t. |
| 3 | Daniel Oss (ITA) | Liquigas–Cannondale | s.t. |
| 4 | Dennis van Winden (NED) | Rabobank | s.t. |
| 5 | Jeff Louder (USA) | BMC Racing Team | s.t. |

### Stage 6

August 28, 2011 — Golden to Denver, 73.79 miles (118.75 km)
The final stage of the race began under the "Howdy Folks!" sign on Golden's Main Street, as featured in the film American Flyers. Riders climbed Lookout Mountain, a short but steep climb in the foothills near Golden, and then descended into Denver. Once in the city, they completed six laps through downtown Denver, finishing on Broadway in front of the state capital building. The final day of the race was broadcast live on NBC.
| | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Daniel Oss (ITA) | Liquigas–Cannondale | 2h 27' 08" |
| 2 | Elia Viviani (ITA) | Liquigas–Cannondale | s.t. |
| 3 | Fred Rodriguez (USA) | Team Exergy | s.t. |
| 4 | Daniel Summerhill (USA) | Garmin–Cervélo | s.t. |
| 5 | Frank Pipp (USA) | Bissell | + 2" |

## Classification leadership

| Stage | Winner | General classification | Sprints classification | Mountains classification | Young rider classification | Most Aggressive | Team classification |
| P | Patrick Gretsch | Patrick Gretsch | no award | no award | Tejay van Garderen | Danny Pate | BMC Racing Team |
| 1 | Levi Leipheimer | Levi Leipheimer | Levi Leipheimer | Eduard Beltran Suarez | Tejay van Garderen | Bradley White | BMC Racing Team |
| 2 | George Hincapie | Tejay van Garderen | Levi Leipheimer | Walter Pedraza | Tejay van Garderen | André Steensen | BMC Racing Team |
| 3 | Levi Leipheimer | Levi Leipheimer | Levi Leipheimer | Walter Pedraza | Tejay van Garderen | André Steensen | Garmin–Cervélo |
| 4 | Elia Viviani | Levi Leipheimer | Elia Viviani | Walter Pedraza | Tejay van Garderen | Vladimir Efimkin | Garmin–Cervélo |
| 5 | Elia Viviani | Levi Leipheimer | Elia Viviani | Walter Pedraza | Tejay van Garderen | Andy Schleck | Garmin–Cervélo |
| 6 | Daniel Oss | Levi Leipheimer | Elia Viviani | Rafael Montiel | Tejay van Garderen | Timmy Duggan | Garmin–Cervélo |
| Final | Final | Levi Leipheimer | Elia Viviani | Rafael Montiel | Tejay van Garderen | Timmy Duggan | Garmin–Cervélo |

## General classification

| | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Levi Leipheimer (USA) | Team RadioShack | 20h 00' 24" |
| 2 | Christian Vande Velde (USA) | Garmin–Cervélo | + 11" |
| 3 | Tejay van Garderen (USA) | HTC–Highroad | + 17" |
| 4 | Tom Danielson (USA) | Garmin–Cervélo | + 21" |
| 5 | George Hincapie (USA) | BMC Racing Team | + 53" |
| 6 | Rafael Infantino (COL) | EPM–UNE | + 1' 14" |
| 7 | Cadel Evans (AUS) | BMC Racing Team | + 1' 18" |
| 8 | Stef Clement (NED) | Rabobank | + 1' 42" |
| 9 | Bruno Pires (POR) | Leopard Trek | + 1' 49" |
| 10 | Rory Sutherland (AUS) | UnitedHealthcare | + 1' 50" |