The Rockies to feature in 2015 Tour of Alberta

After two years of Prairie-centric stages, the 2015 edition of the Tour of Alberta will take riders into the Rocky Mountains. The 2014 six-day race stayed out of the mountains, while the inaugural event lost its stage from Black Diamond, up Highwood Pass and on to Canmore because of flood damage caused earlier in 2013. Stage 3 of the 2015 race will run from Grande Cache through the Municipal District of Greenview to finish in Jasper National Park. Stage 4 will start in the town of Jasper and finish at the top of the Marmot Basin ski resort. The inclusion of these mountain stages came with the co-operation of federal body Parks Canada.

“The Government of Canada is pleased to welcome the Tour of Alberta to Jasper National Park as the first ever mountain stage of this exhilarating event,” said Jim Eglinski, member of Parliament for Yellowhead. “We look forward to welcoming participants and spectators to experience and connect with this incredible mountain national park during this exciting international event.”

Other host communities were announced Thursday at a conference in Spruce Grover, Alta., which is a new community for the Tour and will see the finish of Stage 5. After Spruce Grove, Grande Cache and Jasper, Edison rounds out the list of new locations. During the 2014 TOC, executive director of the Tour of Alberta presented by ATB Financial Duane Vienneau announced that Grande Prairie would be in the 2015 race. It will host the Stage 1 team time trial. The boreal forests of the County of Grande Prairie will feature in Stage 2.

“Our host communities are really an integral part of the success of the event,” said Vienneau. “Each community is highly involved in the planning of the route and festivals. Their commitment and planning begin months before the race rolls through. Their dedication to this event is one of the many reasons why we are able to showcase Alberta internationally. We are thrilled that all of these communities have come aboard so some of the world’s best mountains and most breathtaking scenery can be seen around the planet.”

Calgary is one notable host city that is not in the 2015 event. In 2013, the race finished in the major metropolitan centre. In 2014, the event kicked off at the Olympic Park with a steep, 4-km individual time trial. Tom Dumoulin, then of Giant-Shimano, won the TT. He held the race lead until the last day in Edmonton, where Daryl Impey of Orica-GreenEdge took the GC win by one second. Edmonton returns to the TOA and will again host the final Stage 6, a circuit race in the city. While the routes for the TOA won’t be announced until spring, the Edmonton circuit is likely to include the descent and climb around the Alberta legislature, which featured in the first two editions of the event.

“As a province-wide event whose route changes each year, we are thrilled to bring this world-class event to so many new host communities in 2015,” said Brian Jolly, chair of the Alberta Peloton Association. “As a part of this northern route, we are able to include a true mountain stage for the first time ever. This aspect is crucial as the Tour of Alberta presented by ATB Financial continues to gain momentum in the international professional cycling community. We are already looking forward to a tour focused primarily in southern Alberta in 2016.”

In both 2013 and 2014, the top Canadian finisher was Ryan Anderson of Optum presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies. It’s fitting that Thursday’s TOA announcement came from Spruce Grove as it’s Anderson’s hometown.

2015 Tour of Alberta