James Piccoli (Elevate-KHS) surprised and impressed a lot of people with his prologue time trial win on Monday at the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah, but the overnight race leader nearly quit the sport in 2017 after two difficult seasons. As Piccoli was deciding his fate in July of 2017, Elevate-KHS manager Paul Abrams called the Canadian rider and offered him a spot in the US Continental team for that year`s Tour of Utah. Piccoli accepted the offer and finished 10th overall in the race, infusing him with confidence and breathing new life into his cycling ambitions. This year in Utah, Piccoli has paid back Abram`s confidence many times over, taking the team`s best result to date and wearing the race leader`s yellow jersey during stage 1.ADVERTISEMENT `I think if you look at the development of our team, you could say the same thing about Sam Bassetti, you could say the same thing about Jordan Cheyne, you could say the same thing about George Simpson, about Alfredo Rodriguez,` Abrams told Cyclingnews before the start of stage 1 in North Ogden City on Monday. Although many may have been surprised to see the 27-year-old from the relatively small US team win the prologue and take the race lead, those who have been following the North American domestic circuit this year could have seen the result coming. Piccoli has proved himself to be on the top stage racers in North America this year, finishing no worse than second in any of the stage races he`s entered in 2019 and taking the overall win at the Tour of the Gila in May. That race was also a turning point for Piccoli.
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