Tour of Utah 2015 - a post with pictures, including several Tour de France veterans

I was able to watch Stage 5 (out of 7) of the 2015 Tour of Utah, and captured the following pictures:

Frank Schleck of Tour de France fame (red mark on helmet) and his Trek teammates on a warm-up ride before the start of the race.

The start, from behind the State Capitol building, and then turning onto Gravity Hill, heading north up City Creek and around Memory Grove.

A breakaway group of 8 riders escaped early in the first lap.

Here the peloton rounds the corner coming out of City Creek onto 11th Avenue. Notice the yellow jersey worn by Jure Kocjan (SmartStop) near right edge of photo. Also, Frank Schleck (Trek) near middle of photo.

The breakaway maintains its lead on the second lap, as they head into the city center on South Temple Street.

The peloton keeps the escapees close as they race up South Temple in hot pursuit.

In a flash, they have raced past my position as they near the next turn (State Street). Notice the Beneficial Office Tower in the background.

The gargoyles on the Cathedral of the Madeleine have the "best seat in the house."

As they approach the end of each lap, they must climb the insanely steep streets of the "Marmalade District." Did you recognize Frank Schleck again (left)?

The finish line is the green banner across the street in the distance, at the top of 500 North. At this point, the riders were about to finish the 5th of 7 laps.

Just prior to the start of the final 8-mile lap, Natnael Berhane (MTN Qhubeka), national champion from Eritrea, escaped the peloton for a daring solo attempt to win the stage. He built his lead to a maximum of 25 seconds, but was finally caught on the steep climb near the finish.

Michael Woods is shown here fighting to the finish line for the stage victory. With a 10-second bonus for first place, and his 5-second margin over Jure Kocjan, Woods captured the yellow jersey, which he will wear for Stage 6 on Saturday. It was an exciting race. And then, during the awards ceremony, a massive storm front roared through and blew down the finish line truss, sending one spectator to the hospital, and scattering everyone else.

The following day (Stage 6), Michael Dombrowski (Cannondale-Garmin) won the "Queen Stage" at the summit of Snowbird, and took over the Yellow Jersey, which he defended successfully in the final Stage 7 to Park City on Sunday.

Other notable cyclists in this year's Tour of Utah included Tayler Phinney, a crowd favorite because of his come back from serious injuries, and a veteran of the grand tours in Spain and Italy.

Janez Brajkovic TDF veteran climber (no photo available), and Matt Goss (MTN Qhubeka, No. 48), a veteran TDF sprinter and Green Jersey rival of Peter Sagan's:

Alex Howes (Cannondale Garmin), former World record holder for the one-hour speed record:

And finally, Chris Horner (Airgas Safeway No. 141), the patriarch of American Tour de France cyclists still competing.