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American Tejay van Garderen of BMC Racing wins the 2013 USA Pro Challenge
Aug 25th
Cannondale’s Peter Sagan Takes Fourth Stage Win of America’s Biggest Professional Cycling Race
Denver (Aug. 25, 2013) – The 2013 USA Pro Challenge came to an exciting conclusion today, as 2013 Tour de France Sprint Champion Peter Sagan (SVK) of Cannondale Pro Cycling took the stage to the roaring cheers of fans lining the route in Downtown Denver (his fourth stage win of the race). And with an overall time of 22 hours 38 minutes and 48 seconds, Tejay van Garderen (USA) of BMC Racing Team took home the overall win.
“I felt like this was a long time coming. I’ve been so close to winning before,” said van Garderen. “Races are difficult to be motivated for after July, but with this race on the calendar, it wasn’t a question on if I was going to stay motivated at all. This is my hometown race, so I wanted it bad. It feels amazing to finally get this win.”
Tejay van Garderen won the Pro Challenge Sunday in Denver
After a tough week of racing over mountains at high altitudes, the riders tackled their first flat stage of the race in Denver. Borrowing from the 2011 route for the ever-popular Denver circuit finish, Stage 7 included eight laps that would showcase LoDo, City Park, Civic Center Park and all the other highlights of downtown. Giving fans a chance to see the riders nine times and the riders plenty of opportunities to familiarize themselves with the course, the stage brought another exciting finish to seven days of fiercely competitive racing.
“The 2013 USA Pro Challenge was our best edition ever and we’ve learned more and more each year,” said Shawn Hunter, CEO of the USA Pro Challenge. “These athletes gave us a great show over the course of the last seven days. Fans from the start in Aspen to the finish in Denver witnessed the world’s best cyclists compete in the biggest race in America. The USA Pro Challenge is definitely coming back next year.”
Under beautiful sunny skies, the race kicked off with a very short neutral section and then officially started at City Park. At only 72.4 miles on a fast, flat circuit, the race would keep a steady tempo for the entire stage. At only five minutes into the stage there was a four-man breakaway, with three chasers following behind. The two groups quickly merged to form a seven-man break that would stick for most of the race. The break included:
- Ben King (USA) of RadioShack Leopard Trek RadioShack
- Christopher Juul Jensen (DEN) of Team Saxo-Tinkoff
- Chun Kai Feng (TPE) of Champion System Pro Cycling Team
- David Lozano Riba (ESP) of Team Novo Nordisk
- Lucas Euser (USA) of UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
- Tyler Wren (USA) of Jamis-Hagens Berman p/b Sutter Home
- Carson Miller (USA) of Jamis-Hagens Berman p/b Sutter Home
With fans lined along the entire circuit, the riders were motivated to put on a good show. Cannondale Pro Cycling led the chase in the field and the gap fluctuated between 50 seconds to one and a half minutes.
With three intermediate springs included in the stage at 6, 4 and 2 laps to go, the speed continued to stay up, averaging around 45 mph. At the first Clif Bar Sprint, King crossed the line first, followed by Miller and Feng. With the breakaway maintaining its lead, Wren took the next Clif Bar Sprint competition, followed by Feng, then Juul Jensen.
And for the last Sprint Bar competition of the race before the finish in Denver, it was Euser, followed by Feng and Miller. With two laps to go, the race started to heat up, with the field turning on the gas to catch the breakaway. Sensing that the end was drawing near, Euser attacked the break and pulled away. Miller and King caught up to create a new break of three in front of the splintering original group, but it wouldn’t be long before they were caught as well.
Leading into the final lap, 2012 USA Pro Challenge Champion Christian Vande Velde (USA) of Team Garmin-Sharp was out front as the peloton started the last nine miles. All the teams got set up to put their sprinters in position for the final dash to the finish line, and ultimately it was Sagan who pulled out the win, his fourth of the race. He was followed by Ryan Anderson (CAN) of Optum Presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies who took second in the stage and Alessandro Bazzana (ITA) of UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team who took third.
In the overall, van Garderen took first. With Mathias Frank (SUI) of BMC Racing Team taking second and Tom Danielson (USA) of Team Garmin-Sharp coming in third.
“The USA Pro Challenge has been a great addition for us. You always go in wanting to win,” said Danielson. “This was a strong course with stiff competition. I’m really happy and the team is really happy that we gave it our all and made the race. For me to finally stand on the podium in Denver was great.”
The 2013 USA Pro Challenge marked the final U.S. race for 2012 Champion Vande Velde, who finished in 22nd place today. Becoming a professional cyclist in 1998, Vande Velde has had a long and incredibly successful career.
“It was more emotional than I thought it would be, but I didn’t want to think about it too much,” said Vande Velde. “During the last lap, I just thought about so many things throughout my career up until this point. I’m really fortunate to have had this opportunity and to see three editions of this race. I’m glad I got to close it out here in Colorado.”
The final jerseys of the 2013 race were awarded this afternoon under blue skies in Downtown Denver. The Smashburger Leader Jersey went to van Garderen. Sagan kept his hold on the Clif Bar Sprint Jersey. Matt Cooke (USA) of Jamis-Hagens Berman p/b Sutter Homes hung on to the Nissan King of the Mountains Jersey (no points were awarded today). Lachlan David Morton (AUS) of Team Garmin-Sharp kept the Colorado State University Best Young Rider Jersey. And King was awarded the FirstBank Most Courageous Rider Jersey for his overall effort throughout the week.
For full results, archived footage, GPS data, course information, race play-by-play and more, please visit the official race website www.prochallenge.com.
About the USA Pro Challenge
Referred to as “America’s Race,” the USA Pro Challenge will take place August 19-25, 2013 and travel through eight host cities from Aspen to Denver. For seven consecutive days, the world’s top athletes race through the majestic Colorado Rockies, reaching higher altitudes than they’ve ever had to endure. After attracting more than 1 million spectators in 2012, making it one of the largest cycling events in U.S. history and the largest spectator event in the history of the state, the USA Pro Challenge is back for 2013. Featuring a challenging, 599-mile course, the third annual race will spotlight the best of the best in professional cycling and some of America’s most beautiful scenery.
More information can be found online at www.USAProChallenge.com and on Twitter at @USAProChallenge.
Boulder Rangers week: Homemade bombs found in Lefthand Creek, dog bites, assaults and trespass
Aug 23rd
Rangers responded to:
• Two reports of criminal trespasses, one at Flatirons Vista Trailhead and the other at Doudy Draw.
• A report of a deer caught in an iron wrought fence. The deer had to be dispatched.
• A report of an assault near the North Wittemeyer property. Witnesses stated that a man was pulled out of a vehicle and beaten. Rangers assisted Sheriff’s Officers on this call but were unable to locate a suspect.
• A report of two dog bites. One hiker was charged and attacked by a Golden Retriever on the Gregory Canyon trail, while a boy scout was attacked by a Border Collie at the Green Mountain Summit.
Safety Reminder from Ranger Scott Wilkey:
To all;
I want to take this time to remind everyone that we live in a sometimes strange world.
A few days ago, a fisherman located what appeared to be a suspicious device in Left Hand Creek. I met with Boulder County Sheriff’s deputies there and upon investigation we determined that they were sufficiently suspicious to call the bomb squad.
The short story is that the devices were small homemade bombs with fuses.
They were about 6” long and made out of ½ or ¾ inch PVC pipe. They had end caps and fuses. Both devices were very powerful and dangerous despite having been in the creek for who knows how long.
I urge all OSMP folks in the field to take caution. We all see a lot of different things out there but if it seems suspicious to you…
CALL A RANGER.
I know I speak for all of us when I say that we have no problem responding to check out a suspicious device, person or situation.
Please be safe out there, everyone.
Volunteer Day at Cure Organic Farm
We had 25 volunteers show up to help harvest tomatoes and new potatoes at Cure Organic Farm on Thursday, August 15th. Before heading out into the fields, Lauren Kolb, ag resource specialist, spoke about this history of agriculture in Boulder County and how Open Space is helping to keep this rich agricultural tradition going by providing leasable land for farmers and ranchers.
Anne Cure, a three year tenant of the Eccher parcel on Valmont Road, talked about the evolution of her operation. Anne started Cure Organic Farm with 4 acres and an 80-family CSA. Today, Anne has expanded her operation to 12 certified-organic acres which supports a 185-family CSA. Anne typifies a diversified operation, not only in the number of vegetables she grows, but also with a variety of other revenue streams: a day camp for kids, cut flowers, two farmers markets, 12 restaurant customers, and a menagerie of animals including ducks, chickens, sheep, and pigs. Expanding onto OSMP property has allowed Anne to de-intensify her production: instead of growing three vegetable crops on the same piece of land in a single growing season, she can give the land a rest by planting cover crops to allow the soil organic matter to rebuild.
With the help of our volunteer crew, Anne harvested 332 pounds of heirloom tomatoes and 2,622 pounds of potatoes for her CSA and farmers’ market, much to the delight of her interns. After finishing in the field, Anne treated the volunteers to some extra produce—potatoes, squash, radishes, chard, and zucchini! We’ll be sure to be back in September and October to help with peak harvest.
Trailheads
Jay Jones and crew built a new ADA compliant picnic / meeting site, on the pathway for Crown Rock.
Last week:
- Hauled building stone to work site at Crown rock
- Removed old table and excavated footprint for improved picnic area
- Dug bench for rock wall
- Installed two tier rock wall and graded surface
Jennelle Freeston
Coordinator of Volunteer Services
City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks
66 South Cherryvale Rd.
Boulder, CO 80303
FreestonJ@bouldercolorado.gov
Phone: 303-413-7656
Cell: 303-818-6972
www.osmp.org
CU-Boulder research efforts dates oldest petroglyphs known in North America
Aug 13th
A new high-tech analysis led by a University of Colorado Boulder researcher shows the oldest known petroglyphs in North America, which are cut into several boulders in western Nevada, date to at least 10,500 years ago and perhaps even as far back as 14,800 years ago.
The petroglyphs located at the Winnemucca Lake petroglyph site 35 miles northeast of Reno consist of large, deeply carved grooves and dots forming complex designs on several large limestone boulders that have been known about for decades, said CU-Boulder researcher Larry Benson, who led the new effort. Although there are no people, animals or handprint symbols depicted, the petroglyph designs include a series of vertical, chain-like symbols and a number of smaller pits deeply incised with a type of hard rock scraper.
Benson and his colleagues used several methods to date the petroglyphs, including determining when the water level the Winnemucca Lake subbasin—which back then was a single body of water connecting the now-dry Winnemucca Lake and the existing Pyramid Lake—reached the specific elevation of 3,960 feet.
The elevation was key to the study because it marked the maximum height the ancient lake system could have reached before it began spilling excess water over Emerson Pass to the north. When the lake level was at this height, the petroglyph-peppered boulders were submerged and therefore not accessible for carving, said Benson, an adjunct curator of anthropology at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History.
A paper on the subject was published this month in the Journal of Archaeological Science. Co-authors on the study included Eugene Hattori of the Nevada State Museum in Carson City, Nev., John Southon of the University of California, Irvine and Benjamin Aleck of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe Museum and Visitor’s Center in Nixon, Nev. The National Research Program of the U.S. Geological Survey funded the study.
According to Benson, a white layer of carbonate made of limestone precipitated from the ancient, overflowing Winnemucca Lake had coated some of the petroglyph carvings near the base of the boulders. Previous work by Benson showed the carbonate coating elsewhere in the basin at that elevation had a radiocarbon date of roughly 11,000 years ago.
Benson sampled the carbonate into which the petroglyphs were incised and the carbonate that coated the petroglyphs at the base of the limestone boulder. The radiocarbon dates on the samples indicated the carbonate layer underlying the petroglyphs dated to roughly 14,800 ago. Those dates, as well as additional geochemical data on a sediment core from the adjacent Pyramid Lake subbasin, indicated the limestone boulders containing the petroglyphs were exposed to air between 14,800 and 13,200 years ago and again between about 11,300 and 10,500 years ago.
“Prior to our study, archaeologists had suggested these petroglyphs were extremely old,” said Benson, also an emeritus USGS scientist. “Whether they turn out to be as old as 14,800 years ago or as recent as 10,500 years ago, they are still the oldest petroglyphs that have been dated in North America.”
While Native American artifacts found in the Lahontan Basin—which encompasses the Winnemucca Lake subbasin—date to the time period of 11,300 to 10,500 years ago, it does not rule out the possibility that the petroglyphs were carved as early as 14,800 years ago, Benson said.
The oldest dates calculated for the Winnemucca Lake petroglyph site correspond with the time frame linked to several pieces of fossilized human excrement found in a cave in Oregon, said Benson, who also is affiliated with CU’s Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research. The caves, known as the Paisley Caves in south central Oregon, held not only fossilized human coprolites that dated to roughly 14,400 years ago, but also bones of horses and camels that went extinct in North America prior to 13,000 years ago.
The younger time interval calculated for the Winnemucca petroglyphs corresponds to dates obtained from a second significant archaeological finding in the region—Spirit Cave Man, who was discovered more than 70 years ago some 60 miles east of Reno and whose hair, bones and clothing were dated to about 10,600 years ago. The remains of the man, who was found partially mummified in a shallow grave in Spirit Cave, Nev., were discovered with a fur robe, a woven marsh plant shroud and moccasins.
Petroglyphs near Long Lake in central Oregon—which were previously thought to be the oldest examples of rock art in North America—share similar features with some of the rock art the Winnemucca site, said Benson. At least one of the petroglyph panels from Long Lake was buried by ash from an eruption of the nearby Mount Mazama volcano roughly 6,700 years ago, proof that it was carved sometime before the eruption.
“We have no idea what they mean,” Benson said of the Winnemucca Lake petroglyphs. “But I think they are absolutely beautiful symbols. Some look like multiple connected sets of diamonds, and some look like trees, or veins in a leaf. There are few petroglyphs in the American Southwest that are as deeply carved as these, and few that have the same sense of size.”
Benson obtained permission to non-invasively examine the petroglyphs from the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, which owns the land. Study co-author John Southton, a faculty member at University of California, Irvine, radiocarbon dated the material for the study.
-CU-
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