Tour of Alberta hopes Hesjedal returns to race
Organizers of the Tour of Alberta believe this year’s edition of the sixday cycling road race will have the strongest lineup of teams “pound for pound” in the three- year history of the event.
The tricky part in professional cycling is nailing down the athletes who will headline the event, which comprises 16 teams of eight riders, expanded from 15 teams the last two years. The roster won’t be finalized until 12 to 14 days before the Sept. 2- 7 race.
That said, there are hopeful signs Ryder Hesjedal of Victoria, B. C., who competes for the Cannondale Garmin team and won the 2012 Giro d’Italia, may return to the Alberta race for the first time since its inception in 2013.
“We’ve talked to Ryder already and he’s much better than 50- 50,” said Steve Brunner, the president of KOM Sports Marketing, a consultant to the Tour of Alberta. “He wants to see how he ( feels) after the Tour de France, but his plan was not only to come, but, because of the high mountains, he believes that he could contend and win the race.”
The addition of two mountain stages for the first time on this year’s Tour — from Grande Cache to Jasper, and the circuit in and around Jasper — suits the strengths of the 34- year- old Hesjedal.
“Different disciplines are being highlighted ( sprinting, team time trial, climbing) and I think that’s enticing ( for teams),” Brunner said.
The teams this year include Trek Factory Racing, Orica- GreenEdge Cycling, Team Giant- Alpecin, Team Katusha and Team Cannondale-Garmin. “( In the past) we had to beg, borrow and steal to convince teams to come up to an event they had never heard of,” said Brunner, noting 25 or 26 teams wanted to participate this year. “Now, you’ve got to turn ( some teams) down.”
There are three Canadian- based teams — Garneau- Quebecor, Silber Pro Cycling and H& R Block — as well as Bora Argon 18, a Germanbased team that uses Argon 18 high- performance bicycles, which are manufactured in Montreal.
U. S.- based Team SmartStop features top Canadian riders Rob Britton and Zach Bell, a two- time Olympian and the 2014 national road cycling champion.
Spruce Grove’s Ryan Anderson will be racing for Optum, another U. S.- based outfit.
The other competing teams are: Drapac Professional Cycling; Lupus Racing Team; Hincapie Racing Team; Axeon Cycling Team, which is managed by Axel Merckx, the Kelowna, B. C.- based son of Belgian cycling legend Eddie Merckx; and Team Jelly Belly.
“If you look down the roster, it’s probably the best ‘ pound- forpound’ roster of teams,” Brunner said.
The Tour of Alberta opens in Grande Prairie on Sept. 2 and concludes with a circuit race in Edmonton on Sept. 7. The race will not be contested in the Calgary area.