PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Colombian Sergio Henao captured the nasty prologue at the ramped-up Tour of Utah on Tuesday, leading the field of 118 riders up a steep road that parallels the Olympic bobsled course.
He finished the 1.3-mile monster uphill in 4 minutes, 5 seconds, ahead of Spain’s Francisco Mancebo (4:07), who won in Utah in 2009. Spain’ Oscar Sevilla, teammates on Henao’s Colombian team, was third (4:10).
Defending champion Levi Leipheimer was sixth (4:12).
The prologue provided a quick introduction to the six-day, 409-mile event billed as America’s Toughest Stage Race. This year it was upgraded to a UCI 2.1-sanctioned stage race — one of only three in North America.
The 23-year-old Henao was hardly a favorite going into Utah, but won the mountainous Vuelta in 2010.
