Andy Schleck made his mark on the fifth stage of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. With a five rider break up the road en route from Steamboat Springs to Breckenridge, Andy blasted out of the peloton on Rabbit Ears Pass. He quickly blew past two of the riders who had been dropped from the break and joined the three who were rotating together up the road.

“I took a chance today,” said Andy. “I knew that I had two opportunities for a stage win -- today and yesterday. I had to try today.”

Andy and his three breakaway companions were reeled in by the field, but Andy would not stay in the pack for long. He launched a second attack and was joined by Tom Petersen (Garmin-Cervélo), Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Cannondale), Laurens Ten Dam (Rabobank) and Javier Acevedo (Gobernacion de Antioquia). Acevedo, the highest placed rider in the breakaway, would fall back with a mechanical and leave the other four riders to forge ahead alone. They gained a maximum advantage of four minutes with 40 kilometers left to race.

UnitedHealthCare and BMC lead the chase, and brought the gap under 1:30 on the final climb of the day. With the peloton reeling in the move and breakmates who could potentially best him in the sprint, Andy attacked the front group on Swan Pass to establish a 15 second advantage. Ten kilometers from the finish, Andy remained alone off the front. Behind him, the three riders gave chase. Further back, Fränk Schleck blocked on front of a field that had splintered on the climb.

“I knew that I was going to attack on the last climb,” said Andy. “That’s my strength. It wasn’t a very long climb, so I couldn’t get more than 15 seconds out of it.”

Two kilometers later the three chasers caught Andy. Ten Dam immediately countered the catch. A game of cat and mouse ensued.

“The moment they caught me, I had to try something else,” said Andy. “I wanted to win or I didn’t care about the result. I didn’t want to be second or third. It was win or nothing.”

On the streets of downtown Breckenridge, the field began to close in on the break. Less than a kilometer from the finish, Andy and his breakmates were back in the bunch.

“They caught us in the last 500 meters because we were riding to win,” said Andy. “We each had to gamble. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. It’s like that in life. I wanted to win a stage. I picked yesterday and today as possibilities, so I took a chance today. I may try again tomorrow or I’ll have to come back next year.”

Elia Viviani (Liquigas-Cannondale) took his second stage victory in front of roaring crowds. Andy’s efforts were rewarded with the most aggressive rider jersey. The mass finish left the general classification untouched with one day of racing remaining in the Colorado Tour.