It’s hard to tell whether Chris Horner was engaging in a bit of psychological warfare before the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah heads into the high mountains this weekend, or if he was being sincere, but the former Vuelta a España champion told Cyclingnews after the stage 5 finish that Optum Pro Cycling’s Michael Woods is now the favourite to win the overall.
Woods won the uphill drag during the stage 5 finish on a Salt Lake City circuit to claim the stage victory and the overall lead as the race faces Saturday’s Queen stage, which features 3,700 metres of climbing.
Woods leads BMC’s Brent Bookwalter by four seconds, while pre-race favourite Frank Schleck is currently 10th, 17 seconds down, followed by Horner at 19 seconds.
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“When you really look at it, I think it’s going to be up to Woods and Optum to control stuff on the climbs,” Horner said.
“Woods is climbing good. He’s out-climbed me many times this year already. He out-climbed me at Redlands, we climbed pretty even at Gila, but the last day at Gila he put on quite a show when he won the stage there. He attacked 10 times to blow up the field to begin with.”
Optum director Jonas Carney tried to downplay the “favourite” mantle that Horner was trying to lay around Woods’ neck, but he knows he’s got a special climber in the 28-year-old Canadian who came to cycling four years ago from a running background.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
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