Gavin Mannion is a rider who has been knocking on the door of a big victory for a while. In April he took his first UCI win on the final day at the 2.2 Tour of the Gila, taming the Gila Monster in front of overall winner Rob Britton (Rally Cycling) and finishing second overall. The win he took on Friday in the Vail Pass time trial at the 2.HC Colorado Classic, however, was in front of riders who have raced Grand Tours and competed in top races all over the world. It was by far his biggest win to date, and it came as part of a UnitedHealthcare one-two finish with teammate Serghei Tvetcov at a time when the team is searching for new title sponsor. "I knew this course suits me well, and I pretty much go into every time trial thinking I can win or at least giving myself a fair shot," Mannion said in the post-stage press conference. "Normally it doesn't pan out, but today it did, so I'm really happy with that."ADVERTISEMENT After starting stage 2 in a large group that was 18 seconds down on overnight leader Gage Hecht (Aevolo), Mannion covered the iconic Vail Pass course in 25:41, 21 seconds faster than previous leader Hugh Carthy (EF Education First-Drapac). Only Tvetcov came close to Mannion after that, finishing 11 seconds behind his teammate and new race leader. Behind Mannion was a long list of riders who have scored results in the biggest races in the US and in the world. "For me, personally, this is huge," he said. "I've never won a race at this level before. Gila was my first professional victory earlier this year, so to continue that trend and finish the season strong is awesome for me and just goes to show that I'm continuing to develop. Hopefully, I can continue this for the next few years and take a few more victories." Getting over the final mountains
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