Serghei Tvetcov (Jelly Belly-Maxxis) claimed the third stage of the Colorado Classic on Saturday ahead of BMC's Manuel Senni after the duo attacked a much-reduced peloton before the final mountain sprint and then working together to hold off the chasers for more than 50 kilometers all the way to Denver.
Tvetcov has been an important rider for his Continental team - before moving to Androni for two seasons before returning, he earned plenty of TV time on the attack in the major races, and also finished third overall in the USA Pro Challenge in 2014. He's won several time trials, but it's been years since he last put his arms up in the air at the end of a road stage.
"A victory in cycling is so hard. You never know, you can prepare the whole year and crash once and the whole preparation is done," Tvetcov said. "I told my directors, I have good form, but I need luck. If I have luck then there are going to be results. So finally today I have good luck, it was a perfect scenario for both Manuel and me."
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The pair latched onto a gutsy attack from third placed Peter Stetina (Trek-Segafredo), bridging across to an earlier breakaway. But after the first mountain sprint, Stetina, 11 seconds behind on GC, had become enough of a threat that Cannondale-Drapac had to pull back the move.
Tvetcov, who lives near Denver and trains regularly on these roads, attacked before the second mountain sprint, knowing that his intimate knowledge of the descent would give him an advantage. Senni joined him, and proved equally formidable going downhill. The pair gained more than a minute on the chasing group on the descent.
Thanks to their cooperation, the pair were able to parlay a friendly tailwind into a 54-second advantage at the line, where Senni sportingly allowed Tvetcov to lead over the line for the stage victory. Senni took over control of the overall race lead, lifting the jersey off the shoulders of TJ Eisenhart (Holowesko-Citadel).
How it unfolded
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