A major crash Saturday morning in Skull Valley during stage one of the Triple Valley Stage Race sent one rider to the hospital and prevented three others from competing in the next two stages.

The two-day cycling event, sponsored by Ski Utah Cycling, included an 80-mile road race Saturday morning on SR-196 from I-80 to Dugway and back to I-80, a 7.5 mile time trial near Herriman in Salt Lake Valley on Saturday afternoon and a 25-mile criterium in Tooele Valley on Sunday.

Nearly 200 riders from from Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and Idaho participated in the races.

"This was a bigger event than I expected. It was incredible to see so many racers come out and compete this early in the season," said race organizer Jeremy Smith.

Gary Dastrup of Stansbury Park and Ryan King of Tooele were the only riders from Tooele County participating in the event.

Dastrup, competing in category three, was one of four riders who could not compete in the next to stages after he crashed in Skull Valley.

King, a newcomer to bike racing, placed 13th in category five.

Cyclists compete in one of five categories depending on skill level. Category one includes the top racers, then category two, three, four and five.

"We had some hurdles that challenged us including that significant crash in the category three road race through Skull Valley on Saturday," Smith said.

Ski Utah Cyling racer Clint Carter, who was flown to a hospital, broke his nose and received 11 stitches above his eye as a result of the crash.

Dastrup was riding a few cyclists back in single file.

"The riders were in single file and we were going pretty fast between 25 and 30 mph and were about 23 miles into the race when one racer got aggressive and went to the front. He must have become tired, because he slowed down real fast and swung to the right. My friend (Carter) was wearing glasses and he ran into the guy and drilled his face into the road," Dastrup said.

"Then there was a bunch of guys, maybe 10 or 12 that hit the pavement. I ran over somebody and then two people ran over me," Dastrup said.

After the crash, Dastrup's bike was hurting with two bent wheels and his body hurt as well with a big goose egg on his thigh and chain marks on his legs.

Smith said that racers commented about how they enjoyed Sunday's criterium in Tooele Valley. The five-mile loop ran down Droubay Road to Pine Canyon Road, through Pine Canyon to Blue Peak Drive, to Erickson Road, to Smelter Road and then back on Droubay ending at 1100 North. Riders circled the course five times.

"It was challenging, but not too advantageous to the climbers, as it definitely separated the strong riders from the ones still trying to work out the winter cobwebs. We're really looking forward to putting together an event on this course again next year," Smith said.

King said his first stage race was a difficult challenge.

"The time trials were the hardest for me because you don't have anybody out in front drafting for you. The races were really competitive," he said.

"The race around Pine Canyon was fast with some going upward to 36 mph," King added. "The average pace on Sunday was 25 mph."

mwatson@tooeletranscript.com