2013 Tour of Alberta: Stage 1 preview

The second stage takes the riders to the prairie. But the flat parcours doesn’t mean the stage will be an easy pedal. On the highway outside of Strathcona County, the riders will run into the race’s most significant variable. “The only wildcard in this whole race is the wind,” Alex Stieda says. “And it can blow. Out here in the Prairies, it can blow from any direction at any time of the day. These guys are going to have to know how to ride in a crosswind. There’s no question about that.” With crosswinds come echelons in the peloton. But the narrow roads will keep these formations down to about eight riders deep. There are some forest-lined parts of the route for some respite, but in general, the stage will be taxing.

The second day of the Tour could feature some active riding by those trying to work their way up the general classification or those trying to hold on to their gains. “Coming out of a prologue that’s only going to divide the riders by a handful of seconds,” says Jeff Corbett, the race technical director, “the time bonuses available at the sprint locations in Fort Saskatchewan and Ardrossan will be key. Somebody might be able to steal the leader’s jersey on a couple of little time bonuses.”

The stage will mostly likely end with a bunch sprint in Camrose. The group will ride in from the north of town and do three laps before crossing the finish line. There’s a downhill run to the last corner and then an uphill drag to the line. Look for strong sprinters, on the drops, pushing hard.