FLAT STAGE FAVOURS SPRINTERS IN PENULTIMATE STAGE AT TOUR OF ALBERTA
Longest race of the week ends with a bunch sprint; Hugo Houle 14th of the stage
(Sherwood Park, AB – September 6, 2014) An early breakaway that included two Canadians – Bruno Langlois of Team 5-Hr Energy and Nic Hamilton of Team Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis, as well as members from both Canadian-based continental teams Garneau-Quebecor and Silber Pro Cycling highlighted the fourth and penultimate stage at the Tour of Alberta.
The breakaway launched very early with six riders taking off, joined shortly thereafter by a duo of chasers. The group gained a maximum gap of four minutes before the peloton started to increase the pace. The exhausted breakaway was caught by the pack with approximately 5 kilometers to go.
On the finishing circuit in Sherwood Park, a few attacks took place, but none created a significant gap. Reacting quickly, the peloton led by the WorldTour teams responded to every attempt.
At the finish line, Theo Bos of Team Belkin Pro Cycling took the bunch sprint win by more than a bike length after 163-km of racing. Daryl Impea of Orica-GreenEDGE came second, followed in third by Jure Kocjan of Team SmartStop.
In the main pack, Tom Dumoulin of Giant-Shimano kept his overall lead and will start the last stage with the yellow jersey on his back. Dumoulin won the opening Prologue at Winsport Canada in Calgary and has been leading the race ever since. Dumoulin has an 8-second lead over Ruben Zeptunke in second place, and a 9-second lead over Daryl Impea in third place.
Ryan Anderson of Optum-Kelly Benefit Strategies, who has been wearing the red jersey as the Top Canadian since the second stage, managed to keep the jersey thanks to the bunch sprint. Anderson crossed the finish line in 15th position.
On the stage, Hugo Houle of Ste-Perpétue, QC was the top Team Canada member in 14th place, his best placing of the week. Hugo Houle is still the top-ranked team member in the general classification, jumping up to the 34th position.
Team Canada’s Adam De Vos crashed in the second “Canadian Pavé” section and did not finish the race. In the crash, he sustained a wrist injury and has been transported to the hospital for treatment and observation.
Garneau-Quebecor’s Janvier Hadi, a guest rider from Rwanda riding at the Tour of Alberta, was awarded the most aggressive rider.
The fifth and last stage at the Tour of Alberta will feature an 11-km circuit in Edmonton. Tomorrow, the new Tour of Alberta champion will be crowned, as well as the winners of each category with three King of the Mountain sprints and two intermediate sprints.
2014 TOUR OF ALBERTA
RESULTS – STAGE 3 (Edmonton to Strathcona County)
1. BOS Theo BELKIN Pro Cycling (ST)
2. IMPEY Daryl ORICA-GREENEDGE (ST)
3. KOCJAN Jure Team SMARTSTOP (ST)
4. SWEETING Robert 5-HOUR ENERGY pb KENDA (ST)
5. FÖRSTER Robert UNITEDHEALTHCARE Pro Cycling (ST)
6. NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas Team GARMIN-SHARP (ST)
7. VON HOFF Steele Team GARMIN-SHARP (ST)
8. BROCHNER Nicolai * BISSELL DEVELOPMENT (ST)
9. MAGNER Tyler * HINCAPIE SPORTSWEAR DEVELOPMENT (ST)
10. KING Benjamin Team GARMIN-SHARP (ST)
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14. HOULE Hugo * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team (ST)
38. PERRON Jean-Sebastian # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team (ST)
44. PERRY Benjamin * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team (ST)
54. CHEYNE Jordan * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team (ST)
57. MCLEOD Garrett # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team (ST)
61. WIGHT Stuart * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team (ST)
DNF. DE VOS Adam CANADIAN NATIONAL Team
RESULTS – GENERAL CLASSIFICATION (AFTER STAGE 4)
1. DUMOULIN Tom * Team GIANT-SHIMANO 13:21:35
2. ZEPUNTKE Ruben * BISSELL DEVELOPMENT +0:08
3. IMPEY Daryl ORICA-GREENEDGE +0:09
4. NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas Team GARMIN-SHARP +0:13
5. TVETCOV Serghei JELLY BELLY pb MAXXIS +0:14
6. HOWARD Leigh ORICA-GREENEDGE +0:15
7. ANDERSON Ryan # OPTUM pb KELLY BENEFIT STRATEGIES +0:16
8. SUMMERHILL Daniel UNITEDHEALTHCARE Pro Cycling +0:18
9. ORAM James * BISSELL DEVELOPMENT +0:23
10. WEENING Pieter ORICA-GREENEDGE +0:26
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34. HOULE Hugo * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team +1:36
43. MCLEOD Garrett # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team +2:43
65. PERRY Benjamin * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team +8:18
72. WIGHT Stuart * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team +9:30
91. CHEYNE Jordan * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team +15:51
106. PERRON Jean-Sebastian # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team +22:53
JERSEYS (AFTER STAGE 4)
- Yellow Jersey (Race Leader): DUMOULIN Tom (Team GIANT-SHIMANO)
- Green Jersey (Top Sprinter): NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas (Team GARMIN-SHARP)
- Polka Dot Jersey (Best Climber): YATES Simon (ORICA-GREENEDGE)
- White Jersey (Best Young): DUMOULIN Tom (Team GIANT-SHIMANO)
- Red Jersey (Top Canadian): ANDERSON Ryan (OPTUM pb KELLY BENEFIT STRATEGIES)
- Blue Jersey (Most Aggressive Rider): HADI Janvier * (GARNEAU-QUEBECOR)
