Juan Pedro López, stagiaire with Trek-Segafredo in the Tour of Utah 2019
Tour of Utah
From 12 to 18 August
The Sevillian Juan Pedro López will compete with the colours of the Trek-Segafredo during the next American Tour of Utah. The WorldTour team confirmed this Monday the call of Lebrija as stagiaire for the American race and the rest of the season. López takes the baton from Michel Ries, who already competed as an ‘apprentice’ in this same race a year ago.
The appointment of the state of Nevada is held between Monday 12 and Sunday 18 August on a track in which the mountain and altitude are of paramount importance, a route where miles and meters give way to miles and feet. To begin, a prologue against the clock above 2,000 meters.
The zenith will arrive on the last day, with the ascent of the Empire Pass, a demanding port of more than 2,600 metres with its summit near the finish line. In the days leading up to the event, there will be a major role for the steep slopes that will mark out several stages that will be disputed, either at the end or in their entirety, on urban or semi-urban circuits. The second stage, which reaches 2,500 metres, will be another capital day in the fight for the general classification.
Recent winner of a stage in the Giro Ciclístico del Valle d´Aosta, the opportunity received by López reinforces the role of the continental structure of the Alberto Contador Foundation as the Trek-Segafredo development team. “The truth is that it is still difficult to believe it. A few weeks ago the main possibility was to go to the Tour del Porvenir, but finally crystallized this option and, look, eager to do very well and see if we can set a great role”, says López.
“When they told me I’d get the chance to be a stagiaire with Trek-Segafredo, I could barely believe it. To be honest, I still need to pinch myself when I think about it because wearing the jersey of a WorldTour team is like a dream come true. I hope to help the team in whatever they ask me to do. I think my ambitions are not very different from what other stagiaires in the WorldTour are aiming for: if I can show myself worthy and try to secure a place in the team for the years to come, I will definitely fight for that”, tells López to the squad.
Being a very young race, its first edition dates back to a cycling festival for amateur runners that was held for three days since 2004, the jump to August made in 2006 with the arrival of the sponsorship of Larry H. Miller has consolidated this event as the second most prestigious in the United States, behind the ‘WorldTour’ Tour of California.
The stages.
August 12: Snowbird Resort – Snowbird Resort (5.3 km CRI).
August 13: North Logan City – North Logan City (145.2 km).
August 14: Brigham City – Powder Mountain Resort (138.2 km).
August 15: Antelope Island State Park – North Salt Lake (137, 5 km).
August 16: Salt Lake City – Salt Lake City (86.6 km).
August 17: Canyons Village – Park City Mountain (142.1 km).
August 18: Park City – Park City (133.1 km).
