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2017 Tour of Alberta (2.1), Canada

5th edition: September 1 - 4, 2017

The Tour of Alberta podium history | 2016 edition
Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 3 | Stage 4


Monday, September 4: 4th & final stage, Edmonton Circuit, 124.1 kilometers (77.1 miles)

Stage 4 map

Wouter Wippert

Wouter Wippert wins the final stage

The race: Here'sthe organizer's telling of the day's racing.

Cycling's 50 Craziest Stories

Cannondale Drapac’s Wouter Wippert of The Netherlands outsprinted the field to win his second stage of the four-day ATB Tour of Alberta as American Evan Huffman of Rally Cycling held on to convincingly win the overall title of the 5th edition of the ATB Tour of Alberta Monday in the Province’s capital city of Edmonton.

“You could say this is the biggest victory of my career, for sure for an overall title,” said Huffman, who won two stages of the Amgen Tour of California earlier this year. “My Rally Cycling team fought off a lot of attacks and kept me in good position all day. But, that’s the way this team has been all year and why we continue to put up good results.”

On Monday, the 27-year-old Huffman finished with the group and bested his teammate Sepp Kuss by 18 seconds with American Alex Howes of Cannondale-Drapac by 31 seconds to round out the podium.

Jack Burke, a 22-year-old riding for Aevolo, won both the Pomeroy Inn & Suites Canada 150 Best Canadian Jersey and FC Edmonton Best Young Rider Jersey. Burke finishes 6th overall, the third highest overall finish by a Canadian in the history of the ATB Tour of Alberta.

Another young Canadian, 20-year-old Alec Cowan of Calgary won the Lexus of Edmonton King of the Mountains Jersey. Both Burke and Cowan are part of a strong youth movement in Canadian cycling and a sign of good times ahead for the sport.

“In 2014, I was watching this race on the side of the road in Calgary with my family, and now I am racing against these guys,” said Cowan. “This race is special for me, and I think for all the Canadians in the race. It’s our biggest and most important stage race. So, for me, to earn this jersey is special and I look forward to coming back to this race next year.”

Monday’s crowd was the biggest of the four days and one of the bigger crowds in the past five years according to race organizers.

CEO and President of the ATB Tour of Alberta, Scott Fisher said: “The Edmonton finish provides us great hope for the future. We’ve had a lot of great comments from the athletes, team directors, sponsors and fans this year. This race has a lot of pride and we look forward to the next level.”

The race was broadcast to 180 countries and 335 million households daily.

Alberta Peloton Association, the non-profit organization, that owns the event, Peter Verhesen said: “The athletes put on a good show all week and the race is on solid footing. We’ve had some great response this week and we were able to showcase a nice part of the province. We look forward to a bright future.”

As for the final stage, which was battled with blistering speeds that averaged almost 47 kilometres per hour, set up the strong Cannondale-Drapac team perfectly.

Wippert was riding with extra motivation as his team, which turned in arguably the biggest result in team history in July when Rigoberto Uran placed second in the Tour de France, said the team’s three consecutive victories were “good timing for a lot of reasons.” Until Saturday’s victory in Spruce Grove, Wippert hadn’t won a race since 2015 and found good form throughout the week of competition at the ATB Tour of Alberta.

The final stage in Edmonton saw a total of nine different breakaways, and at the end, none of them succeeded. Rally Cycling and Cannondale-Drapac were just too strong and controlled the race with the final outcome playing in both of their favors.

Complete results:

124.1 kilometers raced at an average speed of 44.734 km/hr

1 Wouter Wippert Cannondale-Drapac 2hr 46min 27sec
2 John Murphy Holowesko-Citadel s.t.
3 Colin Joyce Rally Cycling s.t.
4 Alex Howes Cannondale-Drapac s.t.
5 Pier-André Côté Silber Pro Cycling s.t.
6 Michael Hernandez Aevolo s.t.
7 Tanner Putt UnitedHealthcare s.t.
8 Daniel Eaton UnitedHealthcare s.t.
9 Tom-Jelte Slagter Cannondale-Drapac s.t.
10 Eder Frayre Elevate-KHS s.t.
11 Christopher Jones UnitedHealthcare s.t.
12 Sepp Kuss Rally Cycling s.t.
13 Óscar Sevilla Medellín-Inder s.t.
14 Jonathon Clarke UnitedHealthcare s.t.
15 Jack Burke Aevolo s.t.
16 Tyler Stites Aevolo s.t.
17 Christopher Prendergast H&R Block s.t.
18 Evan Huffman Rally Cycling s.t.
19 Travis McCabe UnitedHealthcare s.t.
20 Luis Villalobos Aevolo s.t.
21 Serghei Tvetcov Jelly Belly s.t.
22 Juan Esteban Arango Medellín-Inder s.t.
23 Matteo Dal-Cin Rally Cycling s.t.
24 José Alfredo Rodríguez Elevate-KHS s.t.
25 Ulises Castillo Jelly Belly s.t.
26 César Paredes Medellín-Inder s.t.
27 Bruno Langlois Garneau-Quebecor s.t.
28 Nigel Ellsay Silber Pro Cycling s.t.
29 Jordan Cheyne Jelly Belly s.t.
30 Ryan MacAnally H&R Block s.t.
31 Lachlan Norris UnitedHealthcare s.t.
32 Rob Britton Rally Cycling s.t.
33 Kristijan Koren Cannondale-Drapac s.t.
34 Alex Cataford UnitedHealthcare s.t.
35 Elliott Doyle Garneau-Quebecor s.t.
36 James Piccoli Elevate-KHS s.t.
37 Taylor Shelden Jelly Belly s.t.
38 Keegan Swirbul Jelly Belly s.t.
39 Brendan Rhim Holowesko-Citadel s.t.
40 Simon-Pierre Gauthier Garneau-Quebecor s.t.
41 Nathan Brown Cannondale-Drapac +10''
42 Émile Jean Silber Pro Cycling +14''
43 Andžs Flaksis Holowesko-Citadel +16''
44 Oscar Clark Holowesko-Citadel s.t.
45 Cyrus Monk Cannondale-Drapac +26''
46 Róbigzon Oyola Medellín-Inder +30''
47 Travis Samuel H&R Block +40''
48 Marc-Antoine Soucy Silber Pro Cycling +47''
49 Wéimar Roldán Medellín-Inder s.t.
50 Jure Rupnik H&R Block +51''
51 Jánier Acevedo UnitedHealthcare +56''
52 Eduardo Estrada Medellín-Inder +1' 50''
53 Oliver Evans H&R Block +2' 06''
54 Brian McCulloch Elevate-KHS s.t.
55 Olivier Brisebois Garneau-Quebecor s.t.
56 Lawson Craddock Cannondale-Drapac +2' 08''
57 Marc-Antoine Nadon H&R Block +2' 11''
58 Nickolas Zukowsky Silber Pro Cycling s.t.
59 Michael Sheehan Jelly Belly +2' 33''
60 Miguel Bryon Holowesko-Citadel +5' 04''
61 Taylor Eisenhart Holowesko-Citadel s.t.
62 Jason Saltzman Aevolo +5' 20''
63 Alexis Cartier H&R Block s.t.
64 Adam Roberge Silber Pro Cycling s.t.
65 Joshua Berry Jelly Belly +5' 39''
66 Alexander Cowan Silber Pro Cycling +5' 50''
67 Jesse Anthony Rally Cycling +6' 15''
68 Danny Pate Rally Cycling s.t.
69 Adam De Vos Rally Cycling s.t.
70 Ryan Roth Silber Pro Cycling s.t.
71 Connor Brown Elevate-KHS s.t.
72 Laurent Gervais Aevolo +7' 06''
73 Zeke Mostov Aevolo s.t.
74 Jokin Etxabe Aevolo s.t.
75 Joe Lewis Holowesko-Citadel +8' 01''
76 Ty Magner Holowesko-Citadel s.t.

Final GC after Stage 4:

541.1 kilometers raced at an average speed of 45.034 km/hr

1 Evan Huffman Rally Cycling 12hr 0min 55sec
2 Sepp Kuss Rally Cycling @ 18sec
3 Alex Howes Cannondale-Drapac +31''
4 Tom-Jelte Slagter Cannondale-Drapac s.t.
5 Christopher Jones UnitedHealthcare +33''
6 Jack Burke Aevolo +35''
7 Colin Joyce Rally Cycling +36''
8 Rob Britton Rally Cycling +41''
9 James Piccoli Elevate-KHS +50''
10 Nigel Ellsay Silber Pro Cycling +51''
11 Matteo Dal-Cin Rally Cycling +53''
12 Lachlan Norris UnitedHealthcare +53''
13 Óscar Sevilla Medellín-Inder +56''
14 Serghei Tvetcov Jelly Belly +58''
15 Jonathon Clarke UnitedHealthcare s.t.
16 Jordan Cheyne Jelly Belly +1' 01''
17 Taylor Shelden Jelly Belly +1' 04''
18 César Paredes Medellín-Inder +1' 10''
19 Luis Villalobos Aevolo +1' 12''
20 Alex Cataford UnitedHealthcare +2' 27''
21 Kristijan Koren Cannondale-Drapac +3' 03''
22 Róbigzon Oyola Medellín-Inder +3' 13''
23 Christopher Prendergast H&R Block +3' 16''
24 Travis McCabe UnitedHealthcare +3' 26''
25 Brendan Rhim Holowesko-Citadel +3' 31''
26 Keegan Swirbul Jelly Belly +3' 41''
27 Andžs Flaksis Holowesko-Citadel +5' 09''
28 Wéimar Roldán Medellín-Inder +5' 33''
29 Tanner Putt UnitedHealthcare +5' 50''
30 Juan Esteban Arango Medellín-Inder +6' 10''
31 Jánier Acevedo UnitedHealthcare +6' 37''
32 Nathan Brown Cannondale-Drapac +7' 28''
33 John Murphy Holowesko-Citadel +7' 36''
34 Eder Frayre Elevate-KHS +7' 48''
35 Oliver Evans H&R Block +8' 11''
36 Taylor Eisenhart Holowesko-Citadel +8' 15''
37 Cyrus Monk Cannondale-Drapac +9' 16''
38 Eduardo Estrada Medellín-Inder +9' 52''
39 Zeke Mostov Aevolo +9' 55''
40 Olivier Brisebois Garneau-Quebecor +10' 09''
41 Alexander Cowan Silber Pro Cycling +10' 13''
42 Tyler Stites Aevolo +10' 19''
43 Ulises Castillo Jelly Belly +10' 22''
44 Adam Roberge Silber Pro Cycling +10' 51''
45 Simon-Pierre Gauthier Garneau-Quebecor +11' 09''
46 Joe Lewis Holowesko-Citadel +12' 04''
47 Bruno Langlois Garneau-Quebecor +12' 18''
48 Daniel Eaton UnitedHealthcare +12' 26''
49 Jokin Etxabe Aevolo +12' 53''
50 Alexis Cartier H&R Block +13' 14''
51 Oscar Clark Holowesko-Citadel +13' 40''
52 Wouter Wippert Cannondale-Drapac +14' 55''
53 Pier-André Côté Silber Pro Cycling +15' 01''
54 Michael Hernandez Aevolo s.t.
55 José Alfredo Rodríguez Elevate-KHS s.t.
56 Elliott Doyle Garneau-Quebecor s.t.
57 Ryan MacAnally H&R Block +15' 24''
58 Nickolas Zukowsky Silber Pro Cycling +15' 33''
59 Laurent Gervais Aevolo +16' 00''
60 Jason Saltzman Aevolo +16' 23''
61 Marc-Antoine Soucy Silber Pro Cycling +16' 48''
62 Jure Rupnik H&R Block +17' 11''
63 Émile Jean Silber Pro Cycling +17' 16''
64 Travis Samuel H&R Block +18' 24''
65 Adam De Vos Rally Cycling +18' 39''
66 Lawson Craddock Cannondale-Drapac +18' 42''
67 Michael Sheehan Jelly Belly +18' 49''
68 Brian McCulloch Elevate-KHS +18' 57''
69 Joshua Berry Jelly Belly +19' 17''
70 Marc-Antoine Nadon H&R Block +20' 16''
71 Danny Pate Rally Cycling +20' 42''
72 Connor Brown Elevate-KHS +21' 16''
73 Ryan Roth Silber Pro Cycling +21' 48''
74 Miguel Bryon Holowesko-Citadel +22' 00''
75 Jesse Anthony Rally Cycling +24' 19''
76 Ty Magner Holowesko-Citadel +25' 29''

Stage 4 map:

Alberta stage 4 map


Sunday, September 3: Stage 3, Edmonton - Edmonton, 116 kilometers (73 miles)

Stage 3 map

Alex Howes

Alex Howes wins stage three.

The race: Here's the organizer's telling of the day's racing.

Tour de France: the Inside Story

Cannondale Drapac’s Alex Howes jumped from the field with about 300 metres to go and held off a chasing pack to win Delta Lodge at Kananaskis Stage 3 in Edmonton at the University of Alberta. The American outdistanced second-place finisher and teammate Wouter Wippert of The Netherlands who won Stage 2 on Saturday.

“I jumped coming to the top of the final climb (up out of the River Valley) and was trying to lead out Wouter because I think he’s the top sprinter in the race. When I got a gap, he yelled ‘to go for it’ so I kept going and held on. The end of the year is going well for me and the team.”

Howes had won a stage in the Colorado Classic last month and accelerates at shorter climbs and that played to his strength entering the final kilometre.

American Evan Huffman of Rally Cycling finished with the group and retained his overall lead by 18 seconds over teammate Sepp Kuss. Howes moved up to a tie in third place with teammate Tom-Jelte Slagter of The Netherlands, at 31 seconds behind.

“My Rally Cycling team came to race and Cannondale-Drapac is making it tough, but we’re pretty strong right now,” said Huffman, confident in holding his lead to the final kilometres tomorrow. “The course isn’t easy but it isn’t that difficult either. I’m hopeful and confident but tomorrow could be a dogfight.”

Jack Burke of Aevolo continues to impress and continues to be the highest placed Canadian as well as Best Young Rider. The 22-year-old is from Squamish, B.C. is currently in 6th place overall. Sepp Kuss (USA) of Rally Cycling retained the Lexus of Edmonton King of the Mountain jersey. And, Wippert took control of the EllisDon Sprint Points jersey.

Sunday’s stage averaged a blistering 45 kilometres per hour over the 116-kilometre course. The 11-lap circuit featured a long breakaway that at one point threatened Huffman’s lead. One of the key instigators was Canadian Alex Cataford of the UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling team. The main field, which had been chasing the breakaway up and down the River Valley on Groat Road in central Edmonton.

Monday’s stage is a 124 km circuit race through Centre City that starts and finishes at Churchill Square. The course features 11 laps with a climb up Bellamy Hill and a longer mild climb up Victoria Park Road. Best viewing spots are Churchill Square, Bellamy Hill Rd. climb, the corner of 107 Street and 100 Avenue NW, River Valley Road next to Victoria Golf Club. Start is 1:50 pm and estimated finish is 4:25 pm.

Complete results:

116 kilometers raced at an average speed of 46.241 km/hr

1 Alex Howes Cannondale-Drapac 2hr 30min 31sec
2 Wouter Wippert Cannondale-Drapac s.t.
3 Colin Joyce Rally Cycling s.t.
4 John Murphy Holowesko-Citadel s.t.
5 Serghei Tvetcov Jelly Belly s.t.
6 Tanner Putt UnitedHealthcare s.t.
7 Pier-André Côté Silber s.t.
8 Sepp Kuss Rally Cycling s.t.
9 Michael Hernandez Aevolo s.t.
10 Tyler Stites Aevolo s.t.
11 Christopher Jones UnitedHealthcare s.t.
12 Matteo Dal-Cin Rally Cycling s.t.
13 James Piccoli Elevate-KHS s.t.
14 Tom-Jelte Slagter Cannondale-Drapac s.t.
15 José Alfredo Rodríguez Elevate-KHS s.t.
16 Jack Burke Aevolo s.t.
17 Evan Huffman Rally Cycling s.t.
18 Rob Britton Rally Cycling s.t.
19 Kristijan Koren Cannondale-Drapac s.t.
20 Óscar Sevilla Medellín-Inder s.t.
21 Connor Brown Elevate-KHS s.t.
22 Félix Côté-Bouvette Garneau-Quebecor s.t.
23 Elliott Doyle Garneau-Quebecor s.t.
24 Ulises Castillo Jelly Belly s.t.
25 Taylor Shelden Jelly Belly s.t.
26 Luis Villalobos Aevolo s.t.
27 César Paredes Medellín-Inder s.t.
28 Jonathon Clarke UnitedHealthcare s.t.
29 Nigel Ellsay Silber s.t.
30 Róbigzon Oyola Medellín-Inder s.t.
31 Jean-Simon D'Anjou Garneau-Quebecor s.t.
32 Christopher Prendergast H&R Block s.t.
33 Jordan Cheyne Jelly Belly s.t.
34 Zeke Mostov Aevolo s.t.
35 Keegan Swirbul Jelly Belly s.t.
36 Lachlan Norris UnitedHealthcare s.t.
37 Eder Frayre Elevate-KHS s.t.
38 Nick Torraca Elevate-KHS +15''
39 Travis McCabe UnitedHealthcare s.t.
40 Adam Roberge Silber s.t.
41 Ryan MacAnally H&R Block s.t.
42 Olivier Brisebois Garneau-Quebecor s.t.
43 Laurent Gervais Aevolo s.t.
44 Nathan Brown Cannondale-Drapac +20''
45 Cyrus Monk Cannondale-Drapac s.t.
46 Ryan Roth Silber +27''
47 Marc-Antoine Soucy Silber +29''
48 Wéimar Roldán Medellín-Inder +31''
49 Jason Saltzman Aevolo +32''
50 Jokin Etxabe Aevolo +34''
51 Oliver Evans H&R Block +41''
52 Simon-Pierre Gauthier Garneau-Quebecor s.t.
53 Alexander Cowan Silber s.t.
54 Brendan Rhim Holowesko-Citadel +47''
55 Jure Rupnik H&R Block +53''
56 Juan Esteban Arango Medellín-Inder +55''
57 Alex Cataford UnitedHealthcare +57''
58 Daniel Eaton UnitedHealthcare s.t.
59 Émile Jean Silber +1' 02''
60 Bruno Langlois Garneau-Quebecor +1' 03''
61 Nickolas Zukowsky Silber s.t.
62 Eduardo Estrada Medellín-Inder s.t.
63 Michael Sheehan Jelly Belly s.t.
64 Jánier Acevedo UnitedHealthcare +1' 10''
65 Lawson Craddock Cannondale-Drapac +1' 14''
66 Brian McCulloch Elevate-KHS +1' 19''
67 Travis Samuel H&R Block s.t.
68 Adam De Vos Rally Cycling s.t.
69 Joe Lewis Holowesko-Citadel +1' 24''
70 Taylor Eisenhart Holowesko-Citadel s.t.
71 Oscar Clark Holowesko-Citadel s.t.
72 Miguel Bryon Holowesko-Citadel +1' 38''
73 Ty Magner Holowesko-Citadel s.t.
74 Marc-Antoine Nadon H&R Block +1' 44''
75 Andžs Flaksis Holowesko-Citadel +2' 02''
76 Danny Pate Rally Cycling +2' 35''
77 Jesse Anthony Rally Cycling +2' 58''
78 Joshua Berry Jelly Belly +3' 21''
79 Alexis Cartier H&R Block +3' 33''

GC after Stage 3:

417 kilometers raced so far at an average speed of 45.124 km/hr

1 Evan Huffman Rally Cycling 9hr 14min 28sec
2 Sepp Kuss Rally Cycling @ 18sec
3 Alex Howes Cannondale-Drapac +31''
4 Tom-Jelte Slagter Cannondale-Drapac s.t.
5 Christopher Jones UnitedHealthcare +33''
6 Jack Burke Aevolo +35''
7 Colin Joyce Rally Cycling +40''
8 Rob Britton Rally Cycling +45''
9 James Piccoli Elevate-KHS +50''
10 Nigel Ellsay Silber +52''
11 Matteo Dal-Cin Rally Cycling +53''
12 Óscar Sevilla Medellín-Inder +56''
13 Lachlan Norris UnitedHealthcare +57''
14 Serghei Tvetcov Jelly Belly +58''
15 Jonathon Clarke UnitedHealthcare s.t.
16 Jordan Cheyne Jelly Belly +1' 01''
17 Taylor Shelden Jelly Belly +1' 07''
18 César Paredes Medellín-Inder +1' 10''
19 Luis Villalobos Aevolo +1' 12''
20 Alex Cataford UnitedHealthcare +2' 27''
21 Róbigzon Oyola Medellín-Inder +2' 43''
22 Zeke Mostov Aevolo +2' 49''
23 Kristijan Koren Cannondale-Drapac +3' 03''
24 Taylor Eisenhart Holowesko-Citadel +3' 11''
25 Christopher Prendergast H&R Block +3' 16''
26 Travis McCabe UnitedHealthcare +3' 26''
27 Brendan Rhim Holowesko-Citadel +3' 31''
28 Keegan Swirbul Jelly Belly +3' 41''
29 Joe Lewis Holowesko-Citadel +4' 03''
30 Alexander Cowan Silber +4' 23''
31 Wéimar Roldán Medellín-Inder +4' 46''
32 Andžs Flaksis Holowesko-Citadel +4' 53''
33 Adam Roberge Silber +5' 31''
34 Jánier Acevedo UnitedHealthcare +5' 41''
35 Jokin Etxabe Aevolo +5' 47''
36 Tanner Putt UnitedHealthcare +5' 50''
37 Oliver Evans H&R Block +6' 05''
38 Juan Esteban Arango Medellín-Inder +6' 10''
39 Nathan Brown Cannondale-Drapac +7' 18''
40 John Murphy Holowesko-Citadel +7' 42''
41 Eder Frayre Elevate-KHS +7' 48''
42 Alexis Cartier H&R Block +7' 54''
43 Eduardo Estrada Medellín-Inder +8' 02''
44 Olivier Brisebois Garneau-Quebecor +8' 03''
45 Cyrus Monk Cannondale-Drapac +8' 50''
46 Laurent Gervais Aevolo +8' 54''
47 Félix Côté-Bouvett Garneau-Quebecor +9' 10''
48 Tyler Stites Aevolo +10' 19''
49 Jean-Simon D'Anjou Garneau-Quebecor s.t.
50 Ulises Castillo Jelly Belly +10' 22''
51 Jason Saltzman Aevolo +11' 03''
52 Simon-Pierre Gauthier Garneau-Quebecor +11' 09''
53 Bruno Langlois Garneau-Quebecor +12' 18''
54 Adam De Vos Rally Cycling +12' 24''
55 Daniel Eaton UnitedHealthcare +12' 26''
56 Nickolas Zukowsky Silber +13' 22''
57 Oscar Clark Holowesko-Citadel +13' 24''
58 Joshua Berry Jelly Belly +13' 38''
59 Danny Pate Rally Cycling +14' 27''
60 Michael Hernandez Aevolo +15' 01''
61 José Alfredo Rodríguez Elevate-KHS s.t.
62 Pier-André Côté Silber s.t.
63 Elliott Doyle Garneau-Quebecor s.t.
64 Connor Brown Elevate-KHS s.t.
65 Wouter Wippert Cannondale-Drapac +15' 05''
66 Nick Torraca Elevate-KHS +15' 16''
67 Ryan MacAnally H&R Block +15' 24''
68 Ryan Roth Silber +15' 33''
69 Marc-Antoine Soucy Silber +16' 01''
70 Michael Sheehan Jelly Belly +16' 16''
71 Jure Rupnik H&R Block +16' 20''
72 Lawson Craddock Cannondale-Drapac +16' 34''
73 Brian McCulloch Elevate-KHS +16' 51''
74 Miguel Bryon Holowesko-Citadel +16' 56''
75 Émile Jean Silber +17' 02''
76 Ty Magner Holowesko-Citadel +17' 28''
77 Travis Samuel H&R Block +17' 44''
78 Jesse Anthony Rally Cycling +18' 04''
79 Marc-Antoine Nadon H&R Block +18' 05''

Stage 3 map:

Tour of Alberta stage 3 map


Saturday, September 2: Stage 2, Spruce Grove, 139 kilometers (84 miles)

Stage 2 map

Wputer Wippert

Wouter Wippert wins the second stage

The race: Here's the report from stage winner Wouter Wippert's Cannondale-Drapac team.

Melanoma: It Started with a Freckle

Wouter Wippert sprinted to his first victory in #GreenArgyle on the second stage of the ATB Tour of Alberta on Saturday. The Dutchman took full advantage of a strong Cannondale-Drapac sprint train and timed his sprint to perfection in his surge to the line. John Murphy (Holowesko-Citadel) and Ryan Macanally (H&R Block) rounded out the podium.

“For the team, the win is a really positive way to handle the things that are happening internally at the moment,” said Wippert. “On a personal level, after a really bad start to the year, I’m really happy and relieved that things are finally going as they should be since Nationals.”

Wippert said Cannondale-Drapac wanted to make “a real race” on the 139-kilometer Spruce Grove stage. As a result, all early escape attempts were neutralized. “We tried to put it in echelons, but there wasn’t enough wind for that,” said Wippert. “When we realized that we couldn’t split the field, we let the break go away.”

The move included Alex Catagord (UnitedHealthCare), Eduardo Estrada (Medellin-Inder) and Bruno Langois (Garneau-Quebecor). The trio built a maximum advantage of two minutes before Rally, riding in defense of Evan Huffman’s overall lead, began to chip away at the gap. Forty kilometers from the finish, Cannondale-Drapac and Holowesko-Citadel lent riders to the cause.

“Three guys are easy to control while preparing for the sprint,” noted Wippert. “The situation was perfect for us. Nate [Brown] and Lawson [Craddock] did a great job bringing back the break, and even after those guys were caught, Nate and Lawson kept riding.”

The catch was made shortly before the peloton entered the Spruce Grove finish circuit where the peloton contested three laps around a five-kilometer loop.

“The last lap the guys did an awesome job,” said Wippert. “We communicated it all perfectly and hit it on the right moment with just a little less than two kilometers to go. It was a block headwind, so I wanted to wait a little bit longer than normal. It worked out pretty well.”

The ATB Tour of Alberta continues on Sunday with a 116-kilometer stage that starts and finishes in Edmonton. Tom-Jelte Slagter heads into the second half of the four-day Canadian stage race in third overall, 31-seconds down on Huffman

Complete results:

139 kilometers raced at an average speed of 47.594 km/hr

1 Wouter Wippert Cannondale-Drapac 2hr 55min 14sec
2 John Murphy Holowesko-Citadel s.t.
3 Ryan MacAnally H&R Block s.t.
4 Michael Hernandez Aevolo s.t.
5 José Alfredo Rodríguez Elevate-KHS s.t.
6 Elliott Doyle Garneau-Quebecor s.t.
7 Wéimar Roldán Medellín-Inder s.t.
8 Róbigzon Oyola Medellín-Inder s.t.
9 Serghei Tvetcov Jelly Belly s.t.
10 Pier-André Côté Silber s.t.
11 Joshua Berry Jelly Belly s.t.
12 Christopher Jones UnitedHealthcare s.t.
13 Jesse Anthony Rally s.t.
14 Tyler Stites Aevolo s.t.
15 Sepp Kuss Rally s.t.
16 James Piccoli Elevate-KHS s.t.
17 Eder Frayre Elevate-KHS s.t.
18 Jack Burke Aevolo s.t.
19 Juan Esteban Arango Medellín-Inder s.t.
20 Ryan Roth Silber s.t.
21 Zeke Mostov Aevolo s.t.
22 Evan Huffman Rally s.t.
23 Óscar Sevilla Medellín-Inder s.t.
24 Luis Villalobos Aevolo s.t.
25 Jean-Simon D'Anjou Garneau-Quebecor s.t.
26 Taylor Shelden Jelly Belly s.t.
27 Matteo Dal-Cin Rally s.t.
28 Connor Brown Elevate-KHS s.t.
29 Lachlan Norris UnitedHealthcare s.t.
30 Rob Britton Rally s.t.
31 Tom-Jelte Slagter Cannondale-Drapac s.t.
32 Christopher Prendergast H&R Block s.t.
33 Nigel Ellsay Silber s.t.
34 Jordan Cheyne Jelly Belly s.t.
35 Jonathon Clarke UnitedHealthcare s.t.
36 Alex Howes Cannondale-Drapac s.t.
37 Keegan Swirbul Jelly Belly s.t.
38 Nick Torraca Elevate-KHS s.t.
39 Ulises Castillo Jelly Belly s.t.
40 Kristijan Koren Cannondale-Drapac s.t.
41 Olivier Brisebois Garneau-Quebecor s.t.
42 Colin Joyce Rally s.t.
43 Simon-Pierre Gauthier Garneau-Quebecor +9''
44 César Paredes Medellín-Inder +12''
45 Oliver Evans H&R Block s.t.
46 Miguel Bryon Holowesko-Citadel s.t.
47 Jason Saltzman Aevolo s.t.
48 Alex Cataford UnitedHealthcare s.t.
49 Michael Sheehan Jelly Belly s.t.
50 Eduardo Estrada Medellín-Inder s.t.
51 Lawson Craddock Cannondale-Drapac +19''
52 Jure Rupnik H&R Block +21''
53 Alexis Cartier H&R Block +23''
54 Laurent Gervais Aevolo s.t.
55 Nathan Brown Cannondale-Drapac +29''
56 Marc-Antoine Soucy Silber +31''
57 Adam Roberge Silber s.t.
58 Jokin Etxabe Aevolo s.t.
59 Brian McCulloch Elevate-KHS s.t.
60 Alexander Cowan Silber s.t.
61 Brendan Rhim Holowesko-Citadel s.t.
62 Daniel Eaton UnitedHealthcare +33''
63 Joe Lewis Holowesko-Citadel s.t.
64 Travis McCabe UnitedHealthcare +0''
65 Taylor Eisenhart Holowesko-Citadel +40''
66 Cyrus Monk Cannondale-Drapac +42''
67 Ty Magner Holowesko-Citadel +44''
68 Adam De Vos Rally +46''
69 Tanner Putt UnitedHealthcare s.t.
70 Andžs Flaksis Holowesko-Citadel s.t.
71 Jánier Acevedo UnitedHealthcare +49''
72 Émile Jean Silber +59''
73 Bruno Langlois Garneau-Quebecor s.t.
74 Nickolas Zukowsky Silber +1' 05''
75 Oscar Clark Holowesko-Citadel +1' 07''
76 Marc-Antoine Nadon H&R Block +1' 15''
77 Travis Samuel H&R Block s.t.
78 Félix Côté-Bouvette Garneau-Quebecor +1' 22''
79 Danny Pate Rally +1' 27''
80 Matthew Staples H&R Block DNF

GC after stage 2:

301 kilometers raced so far at an average speed of 44.709 km/hr

1 Evan Huffman Rally 6hr 43min 57sec
2 Sepp Kuss Rally @ 18sec
3 Tom-Jelte Slagter Cannondale-Drapac +31''
4 Christopher Jones UnitedHealthcare +33''
5 Jack Burke Aevolo +35''
6 Alex Howes Cannondale-Drapac +41''
7 Colin Joyce Rally +44''
8 Rob Britton Rally +45''
9 James Piccoli Elevate-KHS +50''
10 Matteo Dal-Cin Rally +53''
11 Óscar Sevilla Medellín-Inder +56''
12 Lachlan Norris UnitedHealthcare +57''
13 Serghei Tvetcov Jelly Belly +58''
14 Nigel Ellsay Silber s.t.
15 Jonathon Clarke UnitedHealthcare s.t.
16 Jordan Cheyne Jelly Belly +1' 01''
17 Taylor Shelden Jelly Belly +1' 07''
18 César Paredes Medellín-Inder +1' 10''
19 Luis Villalobos Aevolo +1' 12''
20 Alex Cataford UnitedHealthcare +1' 31''
21 Taylor Eisenhart Holowesko-Citadel +1' 47''
22 Joe Lewis Holowesko-Citadel +2' 42''
23 Róbigzon Oyola Medellín-Inder +2' 43''
24 Brendan Rhim Holowesko-Citadel +2' 44''
25 Zeke Mostov Aevolo +2' 49''
26 Andžs Flaksis Holowesko-Citadel +2' 51''
27 Kristijan Koren Cannondale-Drapac +3' 03''
28 Travis McCabe UnitedHealthcare +3' 11''
29 Christopher Prendergast H&R Block +3' 16''
30 Keegan Swirbul Jelly Belly +3' 41''
31 Alexander Cowan Silber +3' 42''
32 Wéimar Roldán Medellín-Inder +4' 15''
33 Alexis Cartier H&R Block +4' 21''
34 Jánier Acevedo UnitedHealthcare +4' 31''
35 Jokin Etxabe Aevolo +5' 13''
36 Juan Esteban Arango Medellín-Inder +5' 15''
37 Adam Roberge Silber +5' 16''
38 Oliver Evans H&R Block +5' 24''
39 Tanner Putt UnitedHealthcare +5' 50''
40 Nathan Brown Cannondale-Drapac +6' 58''
41 Eduardo Estrada Medellín-Inder +6' 59''
42 John Murphy Holowesko-Citadel +7' 42''
43 Eder Frayre Elevate-KHS +7' 48''
44 Olivier Brisebois Garneau-Quebecor s.t.
45 Cyrus Monk Cannondale-Drapac +8' 30''
46 Laurent Gervais Aevolo +8' 39''
47 Félix Côté-Bouvette Garneau-Quebecor +9' 10''
48 Joshua Berry Jelly Belly +10' 19''
49 Tyler Stites Aevolo s.t.
50 Jean-Simon D'Anjou Garneau-Quebecor s.t.
51 Ulises Castillo Jelly Belly +10' 22''
52 Simon-Pierre Gauthier Garneau-Quebecor +10' 28''
53 Jason Saltzman Aevolo +10' 31''
54 Adam De Vos Rally +11' 05''
55 Bruno Langlois Garneau-Quebecor +11' 15''
56 Daniel Eaton UnitedHealthcare +11' 29''
57 Danny Pate Rally +11' 52''
58 Oscar Clark Holowesko-Citadel +12' 00''
59 Nickolas Zukowsky Silber +12' 19''
60 José Alfredo Rodríguez Elevate-KHS +15' 01''
61 Michael Hernandez Aevolo s.t.
62 Elliott Doyle Garneau-Quebecor s.t.
63 Pier-André Côté Silber s.t.
64 Connor Brown Elevate-KHS s.t.
65 Nick Torraca Elevate-KHS s.t.
66 Jesse Anthony Rally +15' 06''
67 Ryan Roth Silber s.t.
68 Ryan MacAnally H&R Block +15' 09''
69 Wouter Wippert Cannondale-Drapac +15' 11''
70 Michael Sheehan Jelly Belly +15' 13''
71 Miguel Bryon Holowesko-Citadel +15' 18''
72 Lawson Craddock Cannondale-Drapac +15' 20''
73 Jure Rupnik H&R Block +15' 27''
74 Brian McCulloch Elevate-KHS +15' 32''
75 Marc-Antoine Soucy Silber s.t.
76 Ty Magner Holowesko-Citadel +15' 50''
77 Émile Jean Silber +16' 00''
78 Marc-Antoine Nadon H&R Block +16' 21''
79 Travis Samuel H&R Block +16' 25''

Stage 2 map:

Alberta Tour stage 2 map


Friday, September 1: Stage 1, Jasper - Jasper, 162 kilometers (100 miles)

Stage 1 map

Evan Huffman

Evan Huffman wins the first stage.

The race: Here's the organizer's telling of the day's racing.

Story of the Giro d'Italia volume 2

American Evan Huffman of Rally Racing took a flyer and broke away from the lead group on the lower slopes of the climb up to Marmot Basin to win Delta Air Lines Stage 1, Friday.

Huffman’s win was his sixth of the year, after winning two stages of the Tour of California in May. Last year’s 3rd place finisher overall jumped from the lead group of approximately 20 with less than 8-kilometres from the summit to defeat teammate and fellow American Sepp Kuss. The 2015 winner up to Marmot Basin Ski Area, The Netherlands’s Tom-Jelte Slagter of Cannondale-Drapac, finished third a distant :27 seconds behind Huffman.

“I felt like I was cracking about one kilometre from the finish,” admitted Huffman. “I kept looking back, but I didn’t see anyone so I just hung on.”

Slagter, perhaps Huffman or Kuss’s biggest threat to win the overall championship by Monday’s finish in Centre City Edmonton, said he didn’t want to go too soon on the final 10-kilometre climb, afraid to “blow up”. Slagter knew the steep grades of the final 300 metres were steep and more could be lost than gained.

Young Canadian Jack Burke of Squamish, B.C., who races for Aevolo, garnered both the FC Edmonton Best Young Rider and Pomeroy Inn & Suites Canada 150 Best Canadian Jersey. Burke said it was by far the biggest accomplishment for the 22-year-old who got his start by racing mountain bikes.

“This is the biggest accomplishment of my career and great for our team, which is a new one,” said Burke. “We hope to keep it going the next few days.”

The 165-kilometre race started in the Town of Jasper before routing three laps through the majestic roads of Jasper National Park. Smoke from the wild fires in British Columbia at times made breathing tough for the world-class field of cyclists from 14 countries. The stage finish at Marmot Basin was the second in the five-year history of the ATB Tour of Alberta. A replica of Friday’s stage was raced two years ago.

“It was a great day overall,” said ATB Tour of Alberta CEO Scott Fisher. “

With such an important stage for time gaps out of the way, today’s Stage 2 road race in Spruce Grove, will make teams like Cannondale-Drapac and Holowesko | Citadel presented by Hincapie Sportswear no doubt re-evaluate how they will attack.

Saturday’s 133-kilometre race will start at 1:15 pm on King Street in Spruce Grove and routes north and west of the city out on Range Roads 274 and 540, up 779 to 37 westerly before heading north on Highway 777 before heading back east on Highway 642 around Sandy Beach and south on Highway 44 and zigging around 633 and back in. The finale in Spruce Grove will feature three finish laps. The estimated finish is between 4:25 and 4:45 pm.

Complete results & GC:

162 kilometers raced at an average speed of 42.489 km/hr

1 Evan Huffman Rally Cycling 3hr 48min 46sec
2 Sepp Kuss Rally Cycling @ 15sec
3 Tom-Jelte Slagter Cannondale-Drapac +28''
4 Christopher Jones UnitedHealthcare +30''
5 Jack Burke Aevolo +32''
6 Alex Howes Cannondale-Drapac +38''
7 Colin Joyce Rally Cycling +41''
8 Rob Britton Rally Cycling +42''
9 Taylor Shelden Jelly Belly +44''
10 James Piccoli Elevate-KHS +47''
11 Matteo Dal-Cin Rally Cycling +50''
12 César Paredes Medellín-Inder +55''
13 Nigel Ellsay Silber s.t.
14 Óscar Sevilla Medellín-Inder s.t.
15 Serghei Tvetcov Jelly Belly s.t.
16 Jonathon Clarke UnitedHealthcare s.t.
17 Lachlan Norris UnitedHealthcare s.t.
18 Jordan Cheyne Jelly Belly +58''
19 Taylor Eisenhart Holowesko-Citadel +1' 04''
20 Luis Villalobos Aevolo +1' 09''
21 Alex Cataford UnitedHealthcare +1' 17''
22 Andžs Flaksis Holowesko-Citadel +2' 02''
23 Joe Lewis Holowesko-Citadel +2' 06''
24 Brendan Rhim Holowesko-Citadel +2' 10''
25 Róbigzon Oyola Medellín-Inder +2' 40''
26 Kristijan Koren Cannondale-Drapac s.t.
27 Zeke Mostov Aevolo +2' 46''
28 Alexander Cowan Silber +3' 08''
29 Travis McCabe UnitedHealthcare s.t.
30 Christopher Prendergast H&R Block +3' 13''
31 Keegan Swirbul Jelly Belly +3' 38''
32 Jánier Acevedo UnitedHealthcare +3' 39''
33 Alexis Cartier H&R Block +3' 55''
34 Wéimar Roldán Medellín-Inder +4' 12''
35 Jokin Etxabe Aevolo +4' 39''
36 Adam Roberge Silber +4' 42''
37 Tanner Putt UnitedHealthcare +5' 01''
38 Oliver Evans H&R Block +5' 09''
39 Juan Esteban Arango Medellín-Inder +5' 12''
40 Nathan Brown Cannondale-Drapac +6' 26''
41 Eduardo Estrada Medellín-Inder +6' 46''
42 John Murphy Holowesko-Citadel +7' 45''
43 Félix Côté-Bouvette Garneau-Quebecor +7' 45''
44 Olivier Brisebois Garneau-Quebecor s.t.
45 Cyrus Monk Cannondale-Drapac s.t.
46 Eder Frayre Elevate-KHS s.t.
47 Laurent Gervais Aevolo +8' 13''
48 Simon-Pierre Gauthier Garneau-Quebecor +10' 16''
49 Jean-Simon D'Anjou Garneau-Quebecor s.t.
50 Adam De Vos Rally Cycling s.t.
51 Jason Saltzman Aevolo s.t.
52 Joshua Berry Jelly Belly s.t.
53 Tyler Stites Aevolo s.t.
54 Bruno Langlois Garneau-Quebecor s.t.
55 Ulises Castillo Jelly Belly +10' 19''
56 Danny Pate Rally Cycling +10' 22''
57 Oscar Clark Holowesko-Citadel +10' 50''
58 Daniel Eaton UnitedHealthcare +10' 53''
59 Nickolas Zukowsky Silber +11' 11''
60 Nick Torraca Elevate-KHS +14' 58''
61 Brian McCulloch Elevate-KHS s.t.
62 Matthew Staples H&R Block s.t.
63 José Alfredo Rodríguez Elevate-KHS s.t.
64 Connor Brown Elevate-KHS s.t.
65 Marc-Antoine Soucy Silber s.t.
66 Émile Jean Silber s.t.
67 Pier-André Côté Silber s.t.
68 Elliott Doyle Garneau-Quebecor s.t.
69 Michael Sheehan Jelly Belly s.t.
70 Michael Hernandez Aevolo s.t.
71 Lawson Craddock Cannondale-Drapac s.t.
72 Miguel Bryon Holowesko-Citadel +15' 03''
73 Ty Magner Holowesko-Citadel s.t.
74 Jure Rupnik H&R Block s.t.
75 Marc-Antoine Nadon H&R Block s.t.
76 Ryan Roth Silber s.t.
77 Jesse Anthony Rally Cycling s.t.
78 Travis Samuel H&R Block +15' 07''
79 Ryan MacAnally H&R Block +15' 10''
80 Wouter Wippert Cannondale-Drapac +15' 18''
81 Angus Morton Jelly Belly DNF
82 Jean-François Soucy Garneau-Quebecor DNF

Stage 1 map:

Alberta Tour stage 1 map