Before heading out on the highway on Thursday to follow the race until its finish in Calgary the past two nights have seen me watching the inaugural Tour of Alberta from the comfort of my couch cheering on my favourite teams *cough Garmin cough* and revelling in the fact that this race with such big names in the world of cycling is actually happening in my own backyard. The Time Trial Prologue of last night held little surprise with one of the best riders I’ve seen in a long time Cannondale’s Peter Sagan easily completing the 7.3 km course in 8 minutes and 23 seconds a full 13 seconds ahead of second place Dennis Rohan of Garmin-Sharp. Nicely done.
Wednesday’s stage ran from Strathcona County to the town of Strathcona ending in a three lap sprint finish with Sagan again taking the stage and retaining the leader’s jersey for the second day straight as well as receiving his second stetson for his efforts. Here’s hoping that there are some challenges to Sagan’s lead if only for a more interesting race. With only six days of racing that may be a long shot but the upcoming sprint finishes in central Aberta and terrain near Black Diamond will hopefully show some good GC and KOM action.
So! Thursday I will head from Calgary-Red Deer-Big Valley (pit stop for dinner at my parents’ place a girl’s gotta eat)-Drumheller. Looking forward to watching the riders in those Badlands! Will keep you posted.
Go Christian Vande Velde!
