BRECKENRIDGE — Aspen’s Tejay van Garderen survived a miserable ride from the Front Range to Summit County on Friday with the USA Pro Challenge yellow jersey still in his possession, and Laurent Didier of Luxembourg won Stage 5 by attacking on a steep hill near the finish, barely holding off three pursuers in a sprint to the line.
In a 104-mile journey from Woodland Park to Breckenridge, riders endured rain, wind and bone-chilling temperatures which dipped into the 40s when they crossed the Continental Divide on 11,539-foot Hoosier Pass.
“It was absolutely miserable, hail and rain, and it was freezing,” said Garmin-Sharp rider Ben King, who finished 15 seconds behind Didier. “Everybody was shivering on the bike. People kept dropping back for more and more clothes. I think it was just a war of attrition.”
Van Garderen maintained his 20-second advantage over Polish rider Rafal Majka in the overall standings, but BMC Racing teammate Ben Hermans had a tough day. Hermans began in third place, 23 seconds behind van Garderen, but now he’s 1:49 back. Van Garderen had been hoping to finish the Pro Challenge going 1-2 in the standings with Hermans, similar to last year when he won and teammate Mathias Frank was second.
“I think he was struggling from the cold,” van Garderen said of Hermans. “I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself, but I was kind of thinking it would be like last year with Mathias and I. Hermans is obviously riding strong, but sometimes if you have a bad day, that can be the end of it.”
Garmin’s Tom Danielson was unable to take advantage of Hermans’ off day, remaining in fourth place and falling five seconds further off the lead. Danielson is 39 seconds behind and got passed by Serghei Tvetcov of Moldova.
“I was glad I was able to pick up a few more seconds on Danielson,’ van Garderen said, “but Majka’s still pretty close and making me a little bit nervous for the time trial (Saturday).”
Didier is a “domestique” for Trek Factory Racing whose primary job is to support teammates Jens Voigt and Frank Schleck. Friday marked the first significant win of his career.
“I don’t have that many possibilities to ride for my own,” Didier said. “Last year in almost every stage race I did a break but not many times it went to the finish. It’s really rare to be in the break and the break go to the finish line.”
John Meyer: 303-954-1616, jmeyer@denverpost.com or twitter.com/johnmeyer
