Intro:

Robin Carpenter won stage two of cycling's USA Pro Challenge in Colorado on Tuesday (19 August), while Alex Howes became the new race leader.

Script:

The second stage of the week-long USA Pro Challenge got underway in Aspen, Colorado on Tuesday.

Ty Magner (Hincapie Sportswear Development) won the second sprint of the race through the city of Carbondale.

A dozen riders broke away from the rest of the field as the peloton headed towards the 8,700 foot McClure Pass.

German Jens Voigt, of Trek Factory Racing, broke away from the leaders over here over the McClure Pass.

Yet, heavy rain hit on the descent and officials deemed it too dangerous to cycle down.

Robin Carpenter (Hincapie Sportswear Development) held a lead of 45 seconds when the race was halted.

When the race resumed, Carpenter built back his 45 second advantage through the sprint in downtown Crested Butte.

Carpenter maintained his lead with one kilometre to go and went on to capture the second stage of the USA Pro Challenge.

Carpenter holding off race leader Alex Howes by six seconds for his first career win.

Howes, who also finished second in the first stage, claimed the tour leader's yellow jersey heading into Stage 3.