Earlier today Team Omega Pharma-QuickStep's Levi Leipheimer climbed to stage victory in the final stage of the 2012 Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah, while Team BMC Racing's Johann Tschopp took the overall race victory.

Leipheimer was part of a select group of 18 riders featuring yellow jersey wearer Tschopp who worked hard on chasing down Team UnitedHealthcare's Rory Sutherland up the road on the brutal final categorized climb of the day in the 123.5 kilometer stage six. Leipheimer, who is very familiar with the climb, chose to attack just as Tschopp's teammate fell off the pace.

The only rider who tried to stick to Leipheimer's wheel at the moment of attack was Sutherland himself. However, not even he could keep up with Leipheimer who was aiming for not only the stage win, but also the general classification as he was tailing Tschopp by just 2 minutes and 7 seconds.

According to Leipheimer he went into time trial mode, and his gap only grew going into the final kilometers. Team Omega Pharma-QuickStep sports director Brian Holm shouted encouragement at him as he continued increasing his lead.

Leipheimer won the stage solo, crossing the finish line with both hands raised above his head in Park City.

Tschopp's 4th place finish behind Leipheimer sealed a 43-second win over Matthew Busche of Team RadioShack-Nissan.

"It's a great day for me and for the whole team," Tschopp commented after the race finish and added "I had so much support from my teammates and the staff. They did a great job and it helped to have all of them around me the whole week. This is a very special day for both me and the team."

The race victory comes after BMC Racing's disappointing performance in this year's Tour de France. Tschopp's win is the BMC team's first stage race victory since Cadel Evans won the two-day stage race Critérium International in March.

"I am really happy about this victory. I was really looking forward to this race and for Colorado (USA Pro Cycling Challenge)," Leipheimer told Roadcycling.com and our mobile sister site Roadcycling.mobi after realizing his great accomplishment.

"Already yesterday I felt that I was improving. I only miscalculated the final a little bit, but today I knew the course really well. I train a lot here. I have a good friend who lives here, so I know the area. I'm not saying this was easy, but after a lot of training on this climb and staying in this area, it showed with my result. It was marvelous to attack and arrive solo after the descent," Leipheimer explained.

After a Spring campaign marked by the accident which hit Leipheimer, he deliberately decided to re-plan his 2012 season and made the Tour of Utah and the USA Pro Cycling Challenge his main goals of the season.

"After the Tour de France I stayed focused. I didn't gain weight, I recovered and I continued to ride and train. Now I will really look forward to Colorado. These two races (Utah and Colorado) are important to me and I am the defending champ of both of them. When you start with the number one on your back, you have to always try your best for the good of your team, yourself, and the race."

Leipheimer, as a result of his solo attack, climbed to 6th position in the final general classification (+1'08") of the 2012 Tour of Utah.