Jay Thomson and Jake Keough will be working together this year to get to the line first. (Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
While Jake Keough (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling) may very well have been the Tour de San Luis's revelation of stage 2 - finishing third in the field sprint finale behind Omega Pharma-Quick Step teammates Francesco Chicchi and Tom Boonen - just four hours prior to the 24-year-old American's stunning result he and teammate Jay Thomson told Cyclingnews about the eventful finale to Monday's opening stage.
Under gruelling conditions dominated by rain and even hail, the ProTour teams at the Tour de San Luis decimated the field in the final 40 kilometres resulting in an elite selection of 38 riders arriving together in Villa Mercedes. Keough and Thomson both made the split for the US-based Pro Continental squad and in the team's first race of 2012 Keough cracked the top ten with a ninth-place result.
Both felt the effects of a hard day in the saddle. Keough crashed once, while Thomson made due with a single gear, a 54x11, over the final 50 kilometres following a near accident with a Movistar rider.
Keough spoke about the mistakes he made in the finale of his first outing of the 2012 season, while Thomson downplayed his potential for a general classification result - although he suggested he'd be full-on for Thursday's time trial stage in advance of South Africa's national time trial championship in March.
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Based in the southeastern United States, Peter produces race coverage for all disciplines, edits news and writes features. The New Jersey native has 30 years of road racing and cyclo-cross experience, starting in the early 1980s as a Junior in the days of toe clips and leather hairnets. Over the years he's had the good fortune to race throughout the United States and has competed in national championships for both road and 'cross in the Junior and Masters categories. The passion for cycling started young, as before he switched to the road Peter's mission in life was catching big air on his BMX bike.
