Winning Spirit Magazine September-October 2019 | Page 10

r h u a o T Ut 2019 OF A total of 117 athletes representing 24 countries clashed across 477 miles of Utah’s most challenging terrain during the 2019 Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah, held August 12–18. If the miles weren’t enough, the riders faced a particularly daunting elevation climb—nearly 38,000 feet—during the week of racing. Over the course of seven days of hard racing, three diff erent riders wore the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies Overall Leader’s yellow jersey. Aft er the teams pushed themselves to their absolute limits, a winner emerged. Belgium’s Ben Hermans, a rider with Israel Cycling Academy, took home the overall champion’s jersey in front of cheering crowds in Park City 8 aft er Sunday’s concluding stage. Hermans climbed into the lead on the third day of racing, which included a heroic ascent to the top of Powder Mountain Resort. “I think now it’s for sure the toughest race,” Hermans noted. “It’s even the toughest race including Europe, I think. It’s hard to climb at this altitude.” LHM Winning Spirit September/October 2019 “It was a great week of racing. We are so proud of this state, and we wanted to showcase it to the world.” John Kimball Tour of Utah Managing Director “It was a great week of racing. We are so proud of this state, and we wanted to showcase it to the world. Th ank you to the Miller family, for our nine host communities, for the over 50 corporate partners that step up to make this race happen, and most importantly, to the volunteers that step up and really contribute to pull this thing off ,” said Tour of Utah Managing Director John Kimball. Th e Tour of Utah marked its 15th year with this year’s edition and will be back next year to the thrill of cycling fans in Utah and across the world. ◆