Boulder, CO – Rory Sutherland (AUS) of the UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team, crossed the line at the top of Flagstaff Mountain in Boulder, Colorado, ahead of the competition earlier today, Saturday, August 25, to capture the victory in Stage 6 of USA Pro Cycling Challenge.

Sutherland’s podium topping performance was followed by Fabio Aru (ITA) of Astana Pro Team, who took second, and Stage 4 winner, Jens Voigt (GER) of RadioShack-Nissan-Trek, who took third place in Stage 6.

With fierce determination, Sutherland’s decision to attack the break proved to be decisive, as never looked back en route to the Stage victory. The Seasoned 6’2” Aussie took command of the field and left the competition gasping for air as he ascended to the top of Flagstaff winning Stage 6 of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge.

Speaking about the incredible victory today Sutherland stated, “Coming into the last climb I went with what I thought was a good idea. I know this climb so well from training, I knew when to attack from the bottom and I was able to pick my way through the ginormous crowd and managed to hold on over the top to bring the victory home for our team. Winning a stage like this in front of my family, my friends, our staff and our sponsors makes all the hard work worthwhile. We are all really proud of what we achieved today. Throughout this tour we’ve had a lot of ups and downs, but for the team, the riders, and the staff we are so proud of what we’ve achieved today.”

“It was obviously a fantastic day, especially doing this in Boulder, my adopted home and in front of this incredible crowd. Chris Jones and the boys worked their butts off for me all day long. We had a goal and everyone contributed to making it happen. I’m ecstatic, the crowds were amazing – ridiculously amazing and I am so happy for our team today.”

Sutherland’s win caps off an outstanding month of racing from Team UnitedHealthcare. The Stage 6 victory punctuates a stellar month of racing from the boys in blue in Utah, Portugal, and Colorado at three of the premier races in the sport of cycling.

Team UnitedHealthcare wraps up the 2012 USA Pro Cycling Challenge tomorrow with the individual time trial in Denver. In addition, the team will wrap up the 2012 Tour of Portugal on Sunday as well.

TEAM UNITEDHEALTHCARE ROSTER FOR THE 2012 USA PRO CHALLENGE (August 20-26):

Rory Sutherland (USA)
Jeff Louder (USA)
Robert Förster (GER)
Jake Keough (USA)
Chris Jones (USA)
Ben Day (AUS)
Karl Menzies (AUS)
Danny Summerhill (USA)

Winner of the "How does ENVE fit?" contest.
And congrats to runners up Chelsea Duran & Aaron Pass.

Check out Kevin's story:
The sound of my helmet cracking and the unrelenting weight of a car on top of me is the most memorable triathlon moment I have ever had.  While on a training ride I was riding in a lane that was closed off due to construction.  I knew the road well and was very content having an entire lane closed off just for me to ride without having to worry about a car rear ending me.  I was pushing a very comfortable pace, arms down in my aero bars trying to get used to that position.  My first triathlon was just a couple months away.  As I approached the next intersection I noticed a black Pontiac Firebird traveling in my opposite direction getting into the turn lane to make a left hand turn across my lane of travel.  We arrived at the intersection at almost the exact same time, and as I started through the intersection the car started to turn right into me.  I knew grabbing my brakes would make me hit the side of the car so I tried to speed up as fast as I could to try to avoid the collision altogether.  The car hit me on my left side and threw the bike out from underneath me.  As I tumbled onto the ground I thought to myself “did I really just get hit by a car?”   I was unprepared for what happened next and the feeling of total helplessness was the most frightening feeling during the crash.  The car didn’t stop.  It continued on its forward path and started to roll me underneath it, I was unable to do anything at this point.  Soon I felt the entire weight of the car on top of me rolling me over like I wasn’t even there.  My helmet started cracking, the air was pushed out of my lungs and I thought “ I’m going to die”.  Thoughts of my wife and son went through my mind and all I wanted was the car to stop.  After rolling me about two and a half times the car finally stopped.  I learned later that the driver stopped because he felt the car lift up and thought he was on a construction barrel, it was actually my body lifting the car up.  I had never been so relieved as I was when that car stopped, however that exuberant feeling of relief was soon cut short.  The car started to reverse and roll me back the other way.  Helmet crunching, crushing weight, and now I could feel the heat of the cars engine…  Finally the car was off of me and I jumped up to make sure it wasn’t going to roll over me again.  Everything happened so quick, yet it all felt like it was in slow motion.  My eyes were all blurry because the weight of the car on top of me had popped both of my contacts out of my eyes.  Quick scan of the body and surprisingly I don’t feel like I’m hurt very bad.  The driver quickly apologized and told me he just didn’t see me.  I wasn’t even mad at this point I was just happy to not be under that car anymore.  Despite being hit and rolled under a car with about 18 inches of clearance I didn’t have any broken bones.  Both of the front tires missed rolling over every part of my body.  My head and left eye were bruised and swollen from the weight of the car crushing my helmet.  I had road rash all over my body, but the worst was a chunk that was taken out of my right hip area.  The doctor said it probably needed stitches, but there wasn’t anything there to stitch.  Scrubbing the road rash to get the gravel out of my skin was the most painful part of the entire ordeal.  Open wounds and plastic bristles don’t really mix.  Training for my triathlon took a hit for a couple days as I was still pretty sore from the accident.  That first triathlon ended up being a complete success.  The accident put a whole new perspective on why I was doing triathlons.  I started doing triathlons to stay fit and see what my body was capable of.  After the accident I was just happy that I was able to live an active lifestyle and do something that I enjoyed.  As the results were posted I was pleasantly surprised to see that I had placed 3rd in my age group.  I was so happy and grateful just to be out there and the fact that I actually placed was the icing on the cake.  I will never forget that first triathlon or the training that led up to it.  I learned much more than what I was capable of or how to train my body.  I learned that there are many things to be grateful for and that it can all end in the blink of an eye.  I am thankful for that accident because every time I think about it I know that I am truly lucky to still be alive, and able to do something that I really enjoy!
 
The pictures I have included are of the chunk taken out of my right hip, the bruising on my head from the car crushing my helmet, and my wife and I with my age group medal.

See the Syndiacte putting ENVE DH Wheels and Bars through their paces in this rad video!