By Rebecca Reza, RadioTour

Scott McGill bolted to the line to win Stage 2 at the 2024 Tour of the Gila at Fort Bayard. The winds were battling the riders as the reduced bunch made the final turn into the finishing straight. McGill outsprinted the General Classification leader Wilmar Paredes (Team Medellín) in second and his teammate, Tyler Stites in third.

“We had to put a few guys on the front in there to bring back the breakaway, and then it was a little chaotic when we caught him,” McGill said. “It was super windy, everyone was getting blown across the road. There was a large crash that we avoided which was good. In the end, there were attacks, there were some gaps, and then I ended up off the front. The peloton caught us in the sprint, but I was able to get back in the slipstream and be able to sprint for the win.”

The pro men raced 76.2 miles, starting before the pro women Thursday morning at Fort Bayard. On the menu were the same intermediate sprint lines the women faced, along with three Category 2 King of the Mountain points available. The winds were forecasted to increase exponentially by the afternoon, with average speeds expected at 23 mph.

The first intermediate sprint was only 5.7 miles into the stage, but teams wasted no time attacking to get into position for the points. Stephen Schaeffer was first to launch an attack off the front of the field, which several riders countered–Ulises Castillo (Above & Beyond Cancer) was first to close the gap, soon followed by Team Medellín’s Fabio Duarte and others.

Schaeffer scored the top points at the line and took the opportunity to increase his gap on the field. He then went on to gain as much as a 1:45 minute gap as he descended the Sapillo solo, picking up KOM points along the way. The Landis/Trek rider managed to maintain his gap for close to 100km of the stage.

Back in the field, Team Medellín were controlling the peloton, taking care of red jersey leader Paredes. Robigzon Oyola and Fabio Duarte handled the majority of the pace work for the team, keeping Paredes safe at the front of the field and fresh for the days to come.

“The team worked really well taking care of Wilmar,” Oscar Sevilla said. “It was a hard day for the team but one that we are happy to have gotten through. I don’t want to say that we will win, but the way we work we can earn it with the strong riders that we have like Walter Vargas and Paredes who is leading. Stites is close, but we know how to lead and we are a winning team so we will fight to win.”

Paredes leads the GC by a mere six seconds ahead of the time trial on Friday. Tyler Stites is a TT specialist and currently in second on GC for Project Echelon. He has won Friday’s stage in the past and is also in top form after winning the Redlands Bicycle Classic.

“Today went well, we will see if we held on to the lead,” Paredes said after finishing. “Walter [Vargas] should have a good time trial, he’s the Pan American Time Trial Champion. We hope he does well and that we’re able to keep the leader’s jersey within the team.”

The pro men will start the Stage 3 Tyrone Individual Time Trial with the first rider rolling out on course at 9:15 a.m. MDT.