Tuesday, Aug. 21 – Montrose to Crested Butte (159.3 km/99 mi)
Start Time: 11:25 a.m. MT
Estimated Finish Time: 3:20-4:30 p.m. MT
Satellite Feed Time: 5 – 5:15 p.m. MT
At 99 miles, Stage 2 is a mix of old and new. Beginning with a new course for the first 65 miles, the race then visits familiar territory as it passes through Gunnison and retraces the 2011 route up to the grueling finish in Mt. Crested Butte. Beginning at Montrose Pavilion, the stage will begin with a quick neutral lap before the riders head east out of town. As Montrose fades into the distance, the short but challenging climbs over Cerro Summit and Blue Mesa Summit await and make for early launch pads for the breakaway specialists.
As the road levels, giving way to the picturesque twists and turns along the shores of Blue Mesa Reservoir, the riders approach the first Sprint Line of the day in Gunnison, 65 miles away from the start in Montrose. Gunnison will host the race two days in a row, first as a pass-through in Stage 2 and then as the start city for Stage 3. Moving north out of Gunnison breakaway time gaps will shrink, team leaders will move to the front and domestiques will protect and position their leaders. As the riders head into downtown Crested Butte, they’ll face the day’s last Sprint Line. From there it’s a 2-mile climb to the line at Mt. Crested Butte. A dynamic and exciting uphill finish, this short, but steep hill gave Levi Leipheimer the leader’s jersey in 2011.
