James Piccoli’s run in yellow at the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah came to a quick end on Tuesday during stage 1 after the Elevate-KHS rider punctured inside the final 10km and burned up his teammates to get back to the bunch, leaving him isolated when Lawson Craddock (EF Education First) attacked successfully with a small group and took the overall lead via his time gap and a bonus for finishing second. The bad news for Piccoli was furthered when the UCI officials decided to fine Piccoli for "sheltering behind or taking advantage of the slipstream of a vehicle" and give him a 20-second time penalty. Craddock now leads Piccoli by 26 seconds in the general classification heading into Wednesday’s summit finish on stage 2 at the top of Powder Mountain. Piccoli is now 13th overall.ADVERTISEMENT "I got a flat tyre at the bottom corner with one lap to go," Piccoli told Cyclingnews in the finishing straight. "I made it back on the climb, but I didn’t have much to cover attacks over the top. It’s a shame that the situation was taken advantage of, but I guess that’s bike racing. It’s part of the deal." Piccoli didn’t appear upset as he spoke, but seemed more determined to strike back on Wednesday. For his part, Craddock said he was aware of the Piccoli’s predicament, but at that point in the race everything was full gas and there was no turning back.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com.read full article
