As I mentioned a few days ago, the USA Pro Cycling Challenge is underway in Colorado where some of the best bike riders in the world are squaring off on a course that offers plenty of climbing at altitude. It has been a solid week of riding already, but yesterday's stage was one that put the real contenders out front and ready to duel for the win.

Heading into the weekend there is a familiar name at the top of the leaderboard as American Tejay van Garderen holds a 4 second lead over his teammate on Team BMC Mathias Frank. In third place sits Janier Alexis Acevedo Calle, 30 seconds of the pace, while Tom Danielson and Lachlan Morton, both of Garmin-Sharp are further back in 4th and 5th place respectively.

Tejay has been riding well this week and he looked very strong and confidant on yesterday's leg during which he took over the Yellow Jersey. It'll be tough to beat him as the riders turn towards Denver, which will host the final leg of the race on Sunday. That one is designed for the sprinters to take center stage, which means if anyone is going to crack van Garderen, they had better do it today or tomorrow.

Today's stage is a short one. It a 16 km (10 mile) time trial that is tougher than it sounds. The first half of the ride will be fairly flat and fast, while the second half is all uphill. In fact, it climbs about 516 meters (1694 ft) in the last 8 km (5 miles). Considering the fact that Tejay is viewed as the best time trialist amongst the top contenders and he's a strong climber, he shouldn't give up much ground today.


That leaves Saturdays 185 km (115 mile) stage 6 between Loveland and Fort Collins as the place for someone to make a move. It features plenty of climbing (more than 3657 meters/12,000 ft) but potential headwinds could make the riders feel the pain even more than those numbers indicate. It also happens to be a down-hill finish, which would allow any potential contenders to be easily swept up. In short, it's tough to see anyone catching van Garderen as this point, but it isn't over until it's over.

In the race for the other jerseys, Cannonadale's Peter Sagan is the current leader in the Sprint category while Matt Cooke is the King of the Mountain and Morton is the Best Young Rider. Whether or not any of them will be able to hold on to those honors will also be learned this weekend.

It has been another exciting race this far. Great to know that the event continues to get great crowds lining the roads and plenty of fans following along at home. Lets hope this race stays healthy for years to come.

No, I haven't forgotten that the USA Pro Cycling Challenge is currently going on in Colorado, it has just been a busy week at Adventure Blog world headquarters and I haven't had a chance to really mention the race yet. It has been a spirited couple of days to say the least with the riders battling each other out on the course while struggling to adapt to the altitude, which is a hallmark of the event, which has become the premiere bike race in North America.

Heading into today's third stage Lachlan Morton of Team Garmin-Sharp is the current leader. He holds down a two second lead over Mathias Frank of BMC and an 11 second lead over Peter Sagan of Cannondale. Sagan sprinted to a victory in Stage 1 while Frank rode to a solo victory in yesterday's second stage.

The third stage of the race will take place today with a 170 km (105 mile) ride from Breckenridge to Steamboat Sprigs. It features a long tough climb up Rabbit Ears Pass but it will mostly be a fast and furious down hill affair with the sprint teams looking for a victory at the end of the day. This is one of the few stages that actually drops in elevation as the riders go on.

Morton isn't just in the Yellow Jersey of the overall leader but he is currently at the top of the Best Young Rider category as well. Sagan leads the points category that traditionally goes to the top sprinter, while the King of the Mountain Jersey is currently on the back of American Matt Cooke who rides for Team Jamis/Hagens Berman presented by Sutter Home (How's that for a mouthful?). Team BMC leads the way in the team competition.

There are five more stages to go, including today's Stage 3. The race will wrap up on Sunday with a fast 116 km (72  mile) flat finale on the streets of Denver that will favor the sprinters.