Posted by Editoress on 09/6/13
Rohan Dennis of Team Garmin-Sharp is the new Tour of Alberta leader, after the third stage. Ryan Anderson (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) replaced Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp) in the red jersey of Top Canadian rider, after finishing eighth on the stage. In addition to the yellow jersey, Dennis takes the white jersey of Best Young Rider. Former race leader Peter Sagan (Cannondale) retains the green Poinys jersey, although he is tied at 25 points with Dennis. Robert Gesink (Belkin) takes over the Polka Dot mountain jersey.
On the road on a beautiful prairie day
This stage, running from Strathmore to Drumheller, marks the midpoint of the Tour of Alberta. The Australian cyclist riding with Team Garmin-Sharp was part of a large 18-man break for most of the race until a smaller group of six ProTour riders took the lead after the second categorized climb of the day.
Cross winds split the field into multiple echelons
The wind was a major factor in the race all day, with crosswinds forcing the peloton to form echelons and breaking apart the field regularly. The beginnings of the final break took off approximately 60 kilometres after the start of the race with 12 riders, which was later joined by a six-rider chase. With five guys in the break at the top of the General Classification, the powerful group was certainly one to watch.
The break with Rohan Dennis at the front
Once the merger between the chase and the break was completed, the 18-man group worked well together and managed to increase their lead throughout the entire race. Race leader Peter Sagan's small team of six received little help in chasing down the leaders, and eventually stopped chasing, enabling the lead to ballon to nearly 17 minutes.
Peter Sagan, the leader entering the stage, missed the critical break and was forced to rely on his exhausted teammates from Cannondale Pro Cycling team, who have been pulling the peloton for the last two days to keep him at the top of the standings. The other teams, with GC leaders in the break, did not help Cannondale close the gap.
Six riders attacked the lead group after the final KoM, and eventually would gain close to a one-minute gap on the chase group, before being brought back to nine seconds at the line.. The winning group group consisted of Dennis, Brent Bookwalter (BMC Racing), Patrick Gretsch (Argos-Shimano), Steve Morabito (BMC Racing), Robert Gesink (Belkin Pro Cycing) and Damiano Caruso (Cannondale Pro Cycling)
The final six
The group of six riders stayed together until the finish, with Rohan taking the first place in a photo finish in front of Bookwalter in second and Caruso in third.
In the General Classification, Dennis takes over the lead. Dennis enter stage four tomorrow with an 18 second lead on Brent Bookwalter of BMC racing, and 30 seconds on Damiano Caruso of Cannondale Pro Cycling. Anderson came in second in the chase group. Peter Sagan, who was leading since the opening prologue, drops to the 19th place, 16:35 behind.
The third stage finished in Drumheller, a small town tucked away in the picturesque Canadian Badlands along the Dinosaur Trail. To honour this special stage, Dennis received as a gift a 65 million year old dinosaur bone.
Anderson jumps to the eighth place of the overall classification, just 56 seconds outside Dennis. With two more stages left in the race and a lead of 7:20 on Alex Cataford of Garneau-Quebecor, second in the Best Canadian ranking, Anderson has a golden opportunity to end the Tour of Alberta in red. (right)
"I think today we got a true stage that the Tour of Alberta can provide, with winds and rollers. We raced hard all day to make that stage even better, even more exciting. It was game on pretty much from the first right turn today, and it's made it exciting for everyone watching. It adds to what the Tour of Alberta can be like, and develop into a hard race, not necessarily into climbs," said Anderson, who grew up just outside Edmonton in the small town of Spruce Grove. "Especially from being originally from Alberta, it's pretty sweet to wear red. I still want to get a stage podium, and I'll try for that the next couple of days. I think this is a nice addition for the tour, and we'll be hungry for more."
Anderson was part of the strategic attack and remained for the most part with the main group until the six riders detached themselves at the front: "I was pretty close to making that lead group at the end, but it was just a little too tough for me. I really didn't think it would come back, but it ended up being quite close. At least I was able to take the red jersey, which makes the day a little better. I helped chase a bit when I could. I didn't really want to chase by myself because I had no chance to win the stage."
The young rider has been enjoying a terrific season to date, stepping twice on the podium at last week’s USA Pro Challenge, and taking the fourth place in the first stage of the Tour of Alberta, notably. Next week, he'll suit up in the Canadian uniform, representing Canada at the UCI WorldTour race in Quebec and Montréal.
"For me this year, it's been a really good season. Just been racing in North America, but all the UCI races I have done have gone extremely well for me. I think it's gonna leapfrog me forward. After this, I will try to continue and do well at the two WorldTour races with the Canadian National Team in Québec and Montreal."
The 2013 Tour of Alberta continues tomorrow with the fourth stage in Black Diamond (SW of Calgary), and end on Sunday in Calgary.
Results from today's stage in Alberta
Stage 3: Strathmore to Drumheller, 169.74 km | |
1 Rohan Dennis (Aus) Team Garmin-Sharp | 3:55:31 |
2 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
3 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling | |
4 Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano | |
5 Robert Gesink (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | |
6 Steve Morabito (Sui) BMC Racing Team | all s.t. |
7 Ryan Anderson (Can) Optum P/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | 0:09 |
8 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team | |
9 Jakub Novak (Cze) BMC Racing Team | |
10 Jeremy Vennell (NZl) Bissell Pro Cycling | |
11 Matthias Friedemann (Ger) Champion System Pro Cycling | |
12 Christopher Jones (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | |
13 Robert Sweeting (USA) 5-Hour Energy P/b Kenda | |
14 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | |
15 Francisco Mancebo (Esp) 5-Hour Energy P/b Kenda | |
16 Aidis Kroupis (Ltu) ORICA GreenEDGE | all s.t. |
17 James Stemper (USA) 5-Hour Energy P/b Kenda | 1:18 |
18 Alexander Cataford (Can) Equipe Garneau-Québecor | 7:03 |
19 Nicholai Brochner (Den) Bissell Pro Cycling | 16:44 |
20 Kirk Carlsen (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling | 16:48 |
21 Derrick St John (Can) Canadian National Team | |
22 Jean-Michel Lachance (Can) Canadian National Team | |
23 Scott Zwizanski (USA) Optum P/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | |
24 Zach Bell (Can) Champion System Pro Cycling | |
25 Michael Chauner (USA) Equipe Garneau-Québecor | |
26 Andrew Dahlheim (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling | |
27 Andres Diaz (Col) 5-Hour Energy P/b Kenda | |
28 Rob Britton (Can) Canadian National Team | |
29 Edward King (USA) Cannondale Pro Cycling | |
30 Adam Farabaugh (USA) Equipe Garneau-Québecor | |
31 Ryan Roth (Can) Champion System Pro Cycling | |
32 Dennis van Winden (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | |
33 Robert Forster (Ger) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | |
34 Christian Vandevelde (USA) Team Garmin-Sharp | |
35 Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | |
36 Jack Bobridge (Aus) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | |
37 Fabian Wegemann (Ger) Team Garmin-Sharp | |
38 David Millar (GBr) Team Garmin-Sharp | |
39 Chris Butler (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling | |
40 Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano | |
41 Luke Keough (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | |
42 Nic Hamlton (Can) Jelly Belly P/b Kenda | |
43 Moreno Hofland (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | |
44 William Clarke (Aus) Team Argos-Shimano | |
45 Ryan Aitcheson (Can) Canadian National Team | |
46 Tomas Vaitkus (Ltu) ORICA GreenEDGE | |
47 Tommy Nankervis (Aus) Bissell Pro Cycling | |
48 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | |
49 Silvan Dillier (Sui) BMC Racing Team | |
50 Max Jenkins (USA) 5-Hour Energy P/b Kenda | |
51 Frank Pipp (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling | |
52 Michael Olsson (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano | |
53 Jiyong Kang (Kor) ORICA GreenEDGE | |
54 Ken Hanson (USA) Optum P/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | |
55 Garrett McLeod (Can) Canadian National Team | |
56 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Team Garmin-Sharp | |
57 Lawrence Warbasse (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
58 Pierrick Naud (Can) Equipe Garneau-Québecor | |
59 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Team Argos-Shimano | |
60 Clay Murfet (Aus) SmartStop P/b Mountain Khakis | |
61 Travis Mccabe (USA) SmartStop P/b Mountain Khakis | |
62 Simon-Pierre Gauthier (Can) Equipe Garneau-Québecor | |
63 Stuart Wight (Can) Canadian National Team | |
64 Antoine Duchesne (Can) Canadian National Team | |
65 Thomas Damuseau (Fra) Team Argos-Shimano | |
66 Davide Frattini (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | |
67 Eric Marcotte (USA) SmartStop P/b Mountain Khakis | |
68 Shane Kline (USA) SmartStop P/b Mountain Khakis | |
69 Michel Koch (Ger) Cannondale Pro Cycling | |
70 Chad Haga (USA) Optum P/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | |
71 Benjamin Wolfe (USA) Jelly Belly P/b Kenda | |
72 Marc Goos (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | |
73 Chad Beyer (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling | |
74 Geoffroy Dussault (Can) Equipe Garneau-Québecor | |
75 Kristofer Dahl (Can) SmartStop p/b Mountain Khakis | |
76 Clinton Avery (NZl) Champion System Pro Cycling | |
77 Carter Jones (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling | |
78 Benjamin Day (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | |
79 David Zabriskie (USA) Team Garmin-Sharp | |
80 Fummi Beppu (Jpn) ORICA GreenEDGE | |
81 Nariyuki Masuda (Jpn) Cannondale Pro Cycling | |
82 Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team | |
83 Flavio De Luna (Mex) SmartStop P/b Mountain Khakis | |
84 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team | |
85 Brian Vandborg (Den) Cannondale Pro Cycling | |
86 Shawn Milne (USA) 5-Hour Energy P/b Kenda | |
87 Peter Sagan (Svk) Cannondale Pro Cycling | |
88 Ben Chaddock (Can) SmartStop P/b Mountain Khakis | |
89 David Williams (USA) 5-Hour Energy P/b Kenda | |
90 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Team Garmin-Sharp | |
91 Serghei Tvetcov (Mda) Jelly Belly P/b Kenda | |
92 Bobby Lea (USA) SmartStop P/b Mountain Khakis | |
93 Tom Zirbel (USA) Optum P/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | |
94 Michael Friedman (USA) Optum P/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | |
95 Jonas Ahlstrand (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano | |
96 Sean Mazich (USA) Jelly Belly P/b Kenda | |
97 Emerson Oronte (USA) Jelly Belly P/b Kenda | |
98 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Jelly Belly P/b Kenda | |
99 Thomas Soladay (USA) Optum P/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | |
100 Taylor Shelden (USA) 5-Hour Energy P/b Kenda | |
101 Eric Young (USA) Optum P/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | |
102 Jean-Sebastien Perron (Can) Canadian National Team | |
103 Aldo Ilesic (Slo) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | |
104 Jason Mccartney (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling | |
105 Bruno Langlois (Can) Equipe Garneau-Québecor | |
106 Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano | |
107 Jeremy Powers (USA) Jelly Belly P/b Kenda | |
108 Craig Lewis (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling | |
109 Michael Hepburn (Aus) ORICA GreenEDGE | |
110 Charles Huff (USA) Jelly Belly P/b Kenda | |
111 Cam Meyer (Aus) ORICA GreenEDGE | |
112 Jeffry Louder (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | |
113 John Murphy (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | |
114 Pieter Weening (Ned) ORICA GreenEDGE | all s.t. |
115 Michael Woods (Can) Equipe Garneau-Québecor | 23:26 |
GC | |
1 Rohan Dennis (Aus) Team Garmin-Sharp | 10:59:18 |
2 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team | at 0:18 |
3 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling | 0:30 |
4 Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano | 0:31 |
5 Robert Gesink (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | 0:34 |
6 Robert Sweeting (USA) 5-Hour Energy P/b Kenda | 0:54 |
7 Francisco Mancebo (Spain) 5-Hour Energy P/b Kenda | 0:55 |
8 Ryan Anderson (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | 0:56 |
9 Matthias Friedemann (Ger) Champion System Pro Cycling | 1:12 |
10 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | 1:15 |
11 Jakub Novak (Cze) BMC Racing Team | 1:20 |
12 Steve Morabito (Sui) BMC Racing Team | 1:25 |
13 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team | 2:27 |
14 Jeremy Vennell (NZl) Bissell Pro Cycling | 5:13 |
15 Aidis Kroupis (Ltu) ORICA GreenEDGE | 6:06 |
6 Christopher Jones (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 6:25 |
17 Alexander Cataford (Can) Equipe Garneau-Québecor | 8:16 |
18 James Stemper (USA) 5-Hour Energy P/b Kenda | 9:51 |
19 Peter Sagan (Svk) Cannondale Pro Cycling | 16:35 |
20 Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano | 17:03 |
21 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team | 17:11 |
22 Pieter Weening (Ned) ORICA GreenEDGE | 17:18 |
23 Tom Zirbel (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | 17:21 |
24 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Team Garmin-Sharp | s.t. |
25 Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano | 17:23 |
26 Chad Haga (USA) Optum P/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | 17:24 |
27 Silvan Dillier (Sui) BMC Racing Team | 17:26 |
28 John Murphy (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | s.t. |
29 Cam Meyer (Aus) ORICA GreenEDGE | 17:30 |
30 Shawn Milne (USA) 5-Hour Energy P/b Kenda | s.t. |
31 Benjamin Day (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 17:33 |
32 Serghei Tvetcov (Mda) Jelly Belly P/b Kenda | 17:34 |
33 Christian VandeVelde (USA) Team Garmin-Sharp | 17:36 |
34 Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team | 17:38 |
35 Lawrence Warbasse (USA) BMC Racing Team | 17:40 |
36 Eric Young (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | 17:41 |
37 Rob Britton (Can) Canadian National Team | 17:42 |
38 Michael Olsson (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano | s.t. |
39 Antoine Duchesne (Can) Canadian National Team | 17:43 |
40 Ryan Roth (Can) Champion System Pro Cycling | 17:45 |
41 Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | s.t. |
42 Travis Mccabe (USA) SmartStop P/b Mountain Khakis | 17:46 |
43 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Jelly Belly P/b Kenda | 17:47 |
44 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Team Argos-Shimano | s.t. |
45 Fabian Wegemann (Ger) Team Garmin-Sharp | 17:48 |
46 Tomas Vaitkus (Ltu) ORICA GreenEDGE | s.t. |
47 Andres Diaz (Col) 5-Hour Energy P/b Kenda | 17:50 |
48 Clinton Avery (NZl) Champion System Pro Cycling | 17:51 |
49 Moreno Hofland (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | 17:53 |
50 Nicholai Brochner (Den) Bissell Pro Cycling | |
51 Taylor Shelden (USA) 5-Hour Energy P/b Kenda | both s.t. |
52 Kirk Carlsen (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling | 17:54 |
53 Edward King (USA) Cannondale Pro Cycling | 17:57 |
54 Bruno Langlois (Can) Equipe Garneau-Québecor | s.t. |
55 Clay Murfet (Aus) SmartStop P/b Mountain Khakis | 18:00 |
56 Jean-Michel Lachance (Can) Canadian National Team | 18:03 |
57 Shane Kline (USA) SmartStop P/b Mountain Khakis | |
58 Tommy Nankervis (Aus) Bissell Pro Cycling | both s.t. |
59 Craig Lewis (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling | 18:05 |
60 Marc Goos (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | 18:11 |
61 Thomas Damuseau (Fra) Team Argos-Shimano | 18:14 |
62 Scott Zwizanski (USA) Optum P/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | |
63 Flavio De Luna (Mex) SmartStop P/b Mountain Khakis | both s.t. |
64 Pierrick Naud (Can) Equipe Garneau-Québecor | 18:17 |
65 Fummi Beppu (Jpn) ORICA GreenEDGE | 18:18 |
66 Frank Pipp (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling | s.t. |
67 Emerson Oronte (USA) Jelly Belly P/b Kenda | 18:19 |
68 Andrew Dahlheim (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling | 18:23 |
69 Michael Hepburn (Aus) ORICA GreenEDGE | 18:23 |
70 Chris Butler (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling | s.t. |
71 Luke Keough (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 18:34 |
72 Chad Beyer (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling | 18:35 |
73 Derrick St John (Can) Canadian National Team | 18:37 |
74 Davide Frattini (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | s.t. |
75 Charles Huff (USA) Jelly Belly P/b Kenda | 18:46 |
76 Dennis van Winden (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | 18:50 |
77 Jean-Sebastien Perron (Can) Canadian National Team | 18:52 |
78 Ben Chaddock (Can) SmartStop P/b Mountain Khakis | s.t. |
79 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | 18:56 |
80 Max Jenkins (USA) 5-Hour Energy P/b Kenda | 18:57 |
81 Garrett McLeod (Can) Canadian National Team | s.t. |
82 Eric Marcotte (USA) SmartStop P/b Mountain Khakis | 19:01 |
83 Ken Hanson (USA) Optum P/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | 19:05 |
84 Michael Chauner (USA) Equipe Garneau-Québecor | 19:12 |
85 Adam Farabaugh (USA) Equipe Garneau-Québecor | 19:21 |
86 Carter Jones (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling | 19:23 |
87 Jeffry Louder (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 19:27 |
88 David Millar (GBr) Team Garmin-Sharp | 19:32 |
89 Robert Forster (Ger) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 19:37 |
90 Ryan Aitcheson (Can) Canadian National Team | 19:48 |
91 Jonas Ahlstrand (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano | 19:52 |
92 Stuart Wight (Can) Canadian National Team | 19:53 |
93 Geoffroy Dussault (Can) Equipe Garneau-Québecor | 19:54 |
94 Jiyong Kang (Kor) ORICA GreenEDGE | 20:15 |
95 David Zabriskie (USA) Team Garmin-Sharp | 20:17 |
96 Kristofer Dahl (Can) SmartStop P/b Mountain Khakis | 20:18 |
97 Sean Mazich (USA) Jelly Belly P/b Kenda | 20:24 |
98 Michael Friedman (USA) Optum P/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | 20:44 |
99 Benjamin Wolfe (USA) Jelly Belly P/b Kenda | 20:50 |
100 David Williams (USA) 5-Hour Energy P/b Kenda | 20:51 |
101 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Team Garmin-Sharp | 20:56 |
102 Jack Bobridge (Aus) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | 20:59 |
103 Thomas Soladay (USA) Optum P/b Kelly Benefit Strategies | 21:13 |
104 Jason Mccartney (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling | 21:48 |
105 Michel Koch (Ger) Cannondale Pro Cycling | 21:55 |
106 Brian Vandborg (Den) Cannondale Pro Cycling | 22:00 |
107 Jeremy Powers (USA) Jelly Belly P/b Kenda | 22:10 |
108 Nariyuki Masuda (Jpn) Cannondale Pro Cycling | 23:33 |
109 Zach Bell (Can) Champion System Pro Cycling | 23:47 |
110 William Clarke (Aus) Team Argos-Shimano | 24:21 |
111 Michael Woods (Can) Equipe Garneau-Québecor | 24:42 |
112 Nic Hamlton (Can) Jelly Belly P/b Kenda | 25:31 |
113 Aldo Ilesic (Slo) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 26:21 |
114 Bobby Lea (USA) SmartStop P/b Mountain Khakis | 27:20 |
115 Simon-Pierre Gauthier (Can) Equipe Garneau-Québecor | 30:22 |
Jerseys
Green (Sprint) Peter Sagan (Cannondale)
Polka Dot (Climber) Robert Gesink (Belkin)
White (best young rider) Rohan Dennis (Garmin Sharp)
Maple Leaf (best Canadian) Ryan Anderson (Optum)
Blue (Most Aggressive) Steve Morabito (BMC)