Ride in the country

Stage 2 marks Day 2 out on the prairie, but the parcours is a little more varied than the previous day’s. “It’s going to be flat and fast for the first half, but then it really starts rolling at the end,” Corbett says. “It’s sort of a story of two stages.”

The pack will head south from Devon. The sprinters will be able to fight for bonuses in Wetaskiwin and Ponoka. Then the rollers begin. At about 10 km from Red Deer, the group will encounter the first king-of-the-mountains challenge of the race. It’s a 1 km run that hits grades of 7 per cent. Corbett sees this spot as a great launching pad for attacks. In Red Deer, riders will have to navigate the three-lap circuit before their day is done. Each lap will feature a small hill that could lead to more attacks. “This is a day the sprinters will be challenged,” Corbett says, “because the kom is just outside of town and because of the hill on the finishing circuit. If the sprinters want to win, they are going to have to work hard for it.”

This stage could also lead to some changes in the general classification. If a criterium-style sprinter has been leading the race, he might have a hard time holding on to the leader’s jersey. But a WorldTour-level sprinter or hardman could succeed on this route. Of course, much also depends on the teams behind the general- classification contenders. The teams will have to control the race, and manage that prairie wind, to keep their leaders protected.