Leipheimer returns to defend Tour of Utah title
Six host cities announced for 2011 edition
Organisers of the UCI 2.1 Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah announced six host venues for this year's six-stage race, set to take place from August 9-14 aro🐟und Salt Lake City, Utah. And t𒅌here will be four ProTeams in attendance, with defending champion Levi Leipheimer confirmed as part of Team RadioShack's lineup, which will take on HTC-Highroad, Garmin-Cervélo and BMC Racing.
The race will begin with a prologue in Park City and m💖ove on to stage one in Ogden. Stage two's road race will take place in Provo followed by the stageಞ three time trial at the Miller Motorsports Park.
The penultimate stage four will offer th🦩e peloton a circuit race in Salt Lake City before the event concludes with the 'queen' stage five that finishes atop the decisive climb of Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort.
🎃"We appreciate all the support of the State of Utah, Salt Lake County, civic communities, corporations and the loyal fans who truly appreciate such a well-established and esteemed sporting event," said Steve Miller, president of the Utah Cycling Partnership which owns the Tour of Utah in a press release.
"It really is more than just a bicycle race now. All of us with the Tour of Utah applaud the continued support to grow this event, which is no🐓w in the spotlight as an international event."
Defending champion Levi Leipheimer (RadioShack) 🎃will return to Utah this August, having beaten former Grand Tour contender Francisco Mancebo and Ian Boswell at last year's event.
"It was a great week in Utah last year," Leipheimer said in a press statement. "The whole week was hard, a hard course every day. I really appreciate a race like the Tour of Utah, which keeps getting bigger and better. From all the volunteers in the local c💎ommunities, to the sponsors, and to all the fans who come to each stage, I look forward to defending my title with Team RadioShack this year.
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"The 2011 Tour of Utah is a must-see race for US fans, where you'll find the best cycling athletes in the world c🥂ompeting across one of the most scenic regions in the world."
The Tour of Utah is in its seventh edition and upgraded to a UCI-sanctioned 2.1 stage race this year. It is one of nine UCI-sanctioned men's races in North Americꦆa that includes the UCI 2.HC Amgen Tour of California, UCI 2.2 Tour de Beauce, UCI 1.HC TD Bank Philadelphia International Championships, UCI 2.2 Tour of Elk Grove, UCI 2.1 Quiznos Pro Challenge, UCI 1.2 Univest Grand Prix and the two Canadian World Tour single-day events Grand Prix Cycli🍃ste de Quebec and Grande Prix Cycliste de Montreal.
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Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She🍒 has 🦹been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of woꦬmen's professional cycling – before becoming Dep🍒uty Editor in 2023.