Stage 5 this year started in Avon and wrapped up in Steamboat, taking the less traveled route along 131. The route itself was pretty casual, given the stages in the previous stages in Vail and Aspen. I only had a chance to pre-ride the run in to Steamboat and catch the finish in town, and didn't take nearly enough photos.
That said, I'm pretty happy with what I did shoot. I had a chance to stay in the Brooklyn neighborhood just south of
Howelsen Hill and was about a mile from the course itself. Getting out on the course was worth the trip itself. My legs were still pretty thrashed from riding the Stage 3 course and getting in some long miles the previous day, so the chance to get some nice rolling miles in and bring along the camera was a nice change.
Given the relatively mellow nature of the stage, it was no surprise that it ended in a bunch sprint. I haven't seen an event like this in while - crowds 4 deep all long the last 2+ kilometers leading into the finish line. We were well placed - maybe 300 meters to the finish line - right where Viviani broke past his lead out man. I didn't get alot of shots of the sprint, but I'm pretty happy with the ones I did. This one really captures the action of the sprint.
One last shot of the Schlecks riding back to their hotel post-race. I believe this was Andy's last day in the Most Aggressive jersey, but he definitely went all out for it the next day...
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