ASPEN – As Tom Danielson neared the top of Independence Pass on Wednesday afternoon, he could feel a wave of enthusiasm growing around him.

“I wanted to give everyone a high-five,” he said. “But I had to go.”

And go he did, descending off the 12,095-foot summit like he was riding for his life. And, in a way, he was as a pack of hungry riders wanted nothing more than to beat the Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda rider to the Stage 3 finish of the USA Pro Challenge.

See photos from Stage 3!

Fighting the urge to peer back at his pursuers, Danielson dug for home on the streets of downtown Aspen. His bold move had paid off and, in mere seconds, he had the victory to prove it.

“With (two kilometers) to go, I didn’t think I was going to win,” he said. “Honestly, what went through my mind was my wife yelling at me saying, ‘Don’t ever look back. Don’t look back.’ I wanted to look back so bad.”

What was happening behind him would change the look of the race.

As a mass of riders crossed the line 2 seconds after Danielson, officials began sorting out the overall standings. Once the dust cleared, a new rider was wearing the yellow jersey.

Christian Vande Velde is now the leader of the seven-day stage race, swapping spots with BMC rider Tejay Van Garderen. Both are credited with the same time after three stages. And both have the same number of points based on placing. The third tiebreaker is most recent placing, and Vande Velde finished ninth Wednesday while Van Garderen was 12th.

“Getting yellow was the last thing on my mind today,” said Vande Velde, who rides for Garmin.

Russian Ivan Rovny is third, 6 seconds back. Defending champion Levi Leipheimer trails by 8 seconds in fourth while Danielson moved up to sixth at 10 seconds behind.

Stage 4 is Thursday as the riders leave Aspen and head back over Independence Pass for a finish in Beaver Creek. The race returns to Colorado Springs on Friday for the finish of Stage 5 before moving on to Golden-Boulder on Saturday and concluding Sunday with a time trial in Denver.

The first three stages have been characterized by aggressive riding, with much of that coming from Boulder-based Garmin.

“I think it’s paying off,” Vande Velde said. “If nothing else, it’s been a lot of fun, and it’s been quite fruitful up to now.”

Added Danielson: “We came up with some crazy plans. Fortunately, we had the legs. You can do all the crazy plans you want, but if you don’t have the legs you can’t do it.”

Danielson had the legs and needed every bit of power he could muster from them on the 130.5-mile route. He also had the support of fans, who formed walls on either side of him as he climbed the final turns of Independence Pass.

“That was awesome,” he said. “When you do the Tour de France climbs, it’s pretty exciting because everybody’s running and screaming. But when you go over Colorado climbs and you’re a Colorado guy, it’s such a dream come true.

“I’ve dreamed about going over Independence Pass first alone and today for it to come true the way it did, that was something I’ll never forget. Honestly, that was my finish line.”

Leipheimer won the inaugural USA Pro Challenge in 2011.

See photos, race maps, stories and more at the USA Pro Challenge page at OutThereColorado.com.

Stage 3 Highlights•    First Place – Tom Danielson (USA) of Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda•    Second Place – Damiano Caruso (ITA) of Liquigas-Cannondale•    Third Place – Jakob Fuglsang (DEN) of RadioShack-Nissan-TrekJerseys•    Exergy Leader Jersey – Christian Vande Velde (USA) of Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda•    Waste Management Sprint Jersey – Damiano Caruso (ITA) of Liquigas-Cannondale•    Nissan King of the Mountains Jersey – Tom Danielson (USA) of Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda•    Aquadraat Best Young Rider Jersey – Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) of Bontrager Livestrong Team•    Evolve Most Aggressive Rider Jersey – Francisco Jarley Colorado Hernandez (COL) of EPM-UNE

Stage 4 on Thursday will see a race from Aspen to Beaver Creek. It starts with that monster climb up the west side of Independence Pass, includes a sprint section in Leadville, and finishes with a climb into Beaver Creek Village.

See spectator info at the USA Pro Cycling Challenge website.