BMC's Mathias Franck won the second stage of the US Pro Challenge.
Today's stage was all about the Independence Pass which at 12,000 feet is the highest point any professional cycle race in the world goes.
Three riders in Michael Schär of BMC, Davila Lamus of Jelly Belly and Matt Cooke of Jamis got away on this 202.9km stage from Aspen to Breckenridge after Team Sky's Peter Kennaugh and Jamis' JJ Haedo had abandoned on the long climb up to Independence Pass.
Cooke took the twelve points for being first over the highest point in cycling. They were to be joined by David Millar and Siutsou of Team Sky after bridging a gap of 7.55.
Davila was first to the sprint and he was the last man out of the break left as the peloton led by Radio Shack put the hammer down and brought the escapers back.
Into the final sixty kilometres and Josh Edmonson of Team Sky, Rohan Dennis, Lachlan Morton, Andy Schleck, Tiago Machado, Mathias Frank, Greg Van Avermaet, Bruno Pires, Davide Villella , Chad Beyer,
Christopher Jones, Phil Gaimon, Lawson Craddock, Tyler Wren and Jesse Anthony took over at the front with a lead of 1.05 to a chasing group and 4.05 to the peloton with 52kms remaining.
Greg Van Avermaet took the maximum points at the intermediate sprint ahead of Andy Schleck.and Chad Bayer.
With 35kms to go on the second category climb Hoosier Pass, the lead group started to split. Laclan Morton of Garmin Sharp took advantage of this and went away. No-one in the group of ten riders behind him followed.
Morton took the full points on Hoosier Pass and then sped off on the descent with 22.6kms to go, with a fifteen second lead to the chasing group and 1.15 to the peloton.
On to the final climb and Morton was joined by Craddock and BMC's Mathias Frank who went away on the final category three climb.
Race leader Peter Sagan, with BMC's Tejay Van Gardeen, was only forty seconds them and started to chase them down.
Franck, who admitted that he was starting to black out due to the altitude was not be caught and he coasted to victory in 5.06.10 with Lachlan Morton second and Peter Sagan was third, some fourteen back.
The second place for Morton was enough to give him the race leader's jersey by two seconds from Franck and eleven seconds from Sagan.