Organisers of the 2019 Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah have announced details for the 15th edition of the seven-day UCI 2.HC race, which starts August 12 with a short uphill prologue time trial to Snowbird Resort and concludes August 18 with the traditional Park City stage that finishes with the climb and descent of Empire Pass. The 767.8km race features 13 classified climbs and 15 intermediate sprints throughout the prologue and six stages, with the major challenges for the overall contenders coming on day 3 [stage 2] from Brigham City to Powder Mountain Resort and again during the Park City stage on the final day. The event that bills itself as `America`s Toughest Stage Race` will feature a total of 11,546.4 metres of elevation gain. The general classification hunt will be established early on with the Snowbird prologue, which takes in 200 metres of elevation gain over just 5.3km. Riders begin climbing in Little Cottonwood Canyon almost immediately before a short descent and then more climbing to just past the halfway mark. A descent comes next before a final brief rise to the finish in front of the Snowbird Lodge.ADVERTISEMENT Riders shouldn`t count on any rest during the non-climbing days, as a new route stage 1 in North Logan City features two loops around Little Mountain and five fast finishing laps back in town for 1,314 metres of elevation gain on a lumpy 139.9km course. After the GC pecking order is set in the first day`s uphill prologue, the contenders for overall victory will get another chance to stake their claims to the 2019 Utah title during the stage 2 climb to Powder Mountain resort, which includes grades of up to 16 per cent and tops out at 2,712 metres of elevation. The long, mostly flat preamble to the climb includes just one category 2 climbs of North Ogden Divide less than halfway through the race, setting up the final 10km as a real GC showdown. Tom Danielson won the stage here in 2014, setting up his second overall win, but this year`s ...
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