Stage 3 is the hilliest of the stages to date, and will offer the general classification favourites the first chance to take time on their opponents. The 177 kilometres between Antelope Island and Bountiful should offer some very attacking racing, especially in the last half of the stage.
30 kilometres of flat roads greet the riders on the opening, before the first intermediate sprint in the town of Hooper.
There is the potential for a break to not be formed by Hooper, due to the sprinters wanting to fight for the points, as they will not likely be able to contest the stage victory at the end of proceedings.
The first climb of the day should be familiar, as the riders descended North Ogden Divide from this side yesterday. This side of the climb is much harder, at just under 10 per cent for 4.2 kilometres, and is a category 2 climb.
A further 10 kilometres down the road is the intermediate sprint in the town of Eden, before the second climb on today’s stage is completed, as the category three climb of Trappers loop is crested at the 100 kilometre mark. The 5-kilometre climb averages 6 per cent.
A long descent of Trappers loop is then completed, with the next 50 kilometres being fairly simple. The last 25 kilometres of the stage though are anything but.
Two circuits around the finishing town of Bountiful are on the agenda, including twice over the third category climb at Bountiful Beach. The climb is first summitted at 25 kilometres to go, the last time with only 11 kilometres before the finish. In between those two points is an intermediate sprint through the finishing line for the first time at 15 kilometres to go.
The climb itself is similar to the first climb of the day: short, but extremely sharp. Only the best climbers will be in a position to win the stage after completing the 2.3 kilometres at 9 per cent twice in such a short period.
After a hard day’s racing, it should be the general classification favourites or hilly classics riders featuring in the finale.
Bardiani-CSF have a plethora of good climbers, so expect them to attack the race.
Some of the riders to look out for include Joe Dombrowski, Brent Bookwalter, Matthew Busche, Frank Schleck, Nathanel Berhane, Youcef Reguigi, Alex Cano, Enrico Barbin, Franceso Bongiorno, Phillip Gaimon and Chris Horner.
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