BOULDER, Colo. — Defending champion Levi Leipheimer opened a 9-second lead Saturday in the USA Pro Challenge overall standings, while Australia’s Rory Sutherland won the uphill sixth stage.
Leipheimer, the Omega Pharma-Quickstep rider based in Santa Rosa, Calif., began the day in fourth place — 8 seconds back. He was fourth in the stage, 26 seconds behind Sutherland.
Bend’s Chris Horner, riding for RadioShack-Nissan, is 13th overall, 57 seconds behind Leipheimer.
The second-year race will end today with a 9.5-mile time trial in Denver.
Sutherland, who competes for U.S.-based UnitedHealthcare, completed the 102.8-mile stage from Golden, the last mountain stage of the weeklong race, in 4 hours, 6 minutes, 12 seconds for his second win of the season.
Former race leader Christian Vande Velde of Garmin-Sharp and Lemont, Ill., dropped to second overall.
Tejay van Garderen, the Garmin-Sharp rider from Bozeman, Mont., who has twice led the race via tiebreaker, faded in the waning miles and finished 11th. Van Garderen was third overall, trailing Leip-heimer by 21 seconds.
Fabio Aru of Italy was second in the stage, 20 seconds behind Sutherland.
— The Associated Press
