Coming off of a dominant U23 National Championships, Aevolo Cycling hit the start of the Larry H. Mller Tour of Utah ready to impress. The 5.3-kilometer individual time trial saw Gage Hecht finish with the team’s top time which put in into 33rd place, just 19.6 seconds back.

 

“The prologue isn’t the end all be all,” Creed said. “But it can give hints of what’s to come. Gage, Luis Villalobos and Fernando Islas rode really solidly. But the one I’m really impressed with is Alex Hoehn. He’s a smaller guy and time trials haven’t been his strong point this year.”

 

Hoehn finished in 44th place, just 22.4 seconds off the pace of the overall winner, Tejay van Garderen (BMC).

 

“If I wanted to read the results like chicken bones in a voodoo ceremony, I would be getting really excited to see what Alex can do,” Creed said.

 

The recent U23 road champion said today’s stage was short, but still painful. Despite the distance, five kilometers is going to hurt, especially under the hot Utah sun.

 

“I had to leave everything out on the table,” Hoehn said. “With it being a little lumpy that gave me a slight advantage over it being flat so that was something I was looking forward to. In the end, I was able to minimize my losses to most of the GC contenders. I can’t wait for the rest of the week.”