Ty Schmidt wraps up the first Grand Tour of 2014 with a solid ride on the final day. 

It looked over on the line, but Ty Schmidt still needed to survive one final circuit of the SOL course to wrap up the pink jersey. And staying upright and safe wasn’t the easiest, with over 60 riders taking the start and the sands of July coming almost a month early, especially in the opening salvos of the infamous SOL lap.

But upright and in touch with the leaders for most of the day, Schmidt finished up a brilliant May campaign that gives him his first Giro title. With the win, he also becomes the first rider to win two Grand Tours, with Bennett Paul and Jason Lowetz each holding one a piece. Schmidt rode consistent and smart, finishing in the top seven in every start.

The field wasn’t going to give Schmidt a parade of a final day, however, and it was Eli Brown who went straight to the head of affairs from the gun, yanking out a lead group of around 7 riders that included Tom White, Chris Kushman, Nate St. Onge, Ryan Kushman, Craig Webb, Brian Beauchamp and the pink jersey, Schmidt. Behind, second placed rider Cody Sovis ceded more time to the leader, and also lost his bid at the KOM and Sprint competitions. He chased hard onto the Power Section, with Josh Zelinski on his wheel and contributing, but they pair were caught by Eric Pollard, Jason Whittaker, Paul Olson, and others. He faded late, finishing the Giro with a seven minute gap to Schmidt.

The Vasa CC Climb went to Brian Beauchamp, but Ty Schmidt did enough to take the Mountains jersey in addition to his GC win. Keegan Myers was second in the competition with 32 points to Schmidt’s 38, a great result after missing Stage Two. Cody Sovis was third in the Mountain competition, 16 points back.

The sprint competition was tight, but Ryan Kennedy survived in the red jersey despite missing the final two stages. He pulled down double points before leaving, however, and it was enough to hold a four point lead over the man of the month, Ty Schmidt. 24 points to 20, it was then tie for second with Sovis matching Schmidt at 20, and just two more points back to Myers at 18.

Rob Goeprich survived the day to not only finish in the white Best Old Rider’s jersey, but also an impressive third overall. He gave Einstein Racing two men on the podium yet again, almost as solid as their 1-2-3 at the Giro last spring, when Bennett Paul, Scott Luca and Cody Sovis swarmed the steps in SOL’s first ever Grand Tour.

Schmidt’s win gives him a nice head start in the year-long WorldTour series, a full 50 points heading in the Classics month of June. Classics races begin next week, with double points going to everyone riding a fat bike!

Final General Classification

Mountains Classification

Sprint Classification