Home > News

2016 Tour of Alberta Stage 2: Putt victorious on wet day

Joyce keeps lead

September 2, 2016
Share on SMS

American Tanner Putt (UnitedHealthcare) triumphed on a miserable Stage 2 of the 2016 Tour of Alberta, outsprinting Canadian Alexis Cartier in Olds. Stage 1 winner Colin Joyce (USA/Axeon Hagens Berman) retained the yellow jersey.

The day’s profile certainly had a downward trend to it, but several spikes kept the route interesting.


Leaving the beautiful, cool climes of Kananaskis Country, the attacks started straight away but the peloton rolled along more or less intact for the first 50-km of so.


Finally, Putt, tired of his reluctant breakmates, took off down the road, drawing Cartier and then Travis Samuel of H&R Block. Putt was first through the day’s intermediate sprint and over the day’s only KOM point near Cochrane.

The climb at Cochrane made things a little tricky, gravity working with the head and crosswinds to split up the race. Six more riders–most of them from Holowesko-Citadel–got across to the break. The weather worsened with lightning crackling in the distance.

With 65-km to go and the roads drying, the now nine-man break was caught. Putt and Cartier bolted once more as the sky started to tip down again. As the duo’s gap increased, the conditions deteriorated, with snow lurking to the west.

Twenty-four kilometres to go and the temperature only ten degrees, Putt and Cartier had 2:30 over the soggy, Axeon Hagen Bermans-led peloton. Just before the road turned to the east to create a tailwind, other teams got involved in the chase. With 11-km remaining the gap was only a minute.

National time trial champion Ryan Roth (Silber) tried to bridge over with 9-km. Inside 3-km, with chasers like fourth-place Evan Huffman (USA/Rally) forming, Putt attacked Cartier. The Canadian hung tough.

The Polar Bear attacked with 200-metres to go and took the victory, like Colin Joyce on Thursday, the first of his career.

Saturday is another lumpy day, one with gravel roads, as the peloton heads from Rocky Mountain House to Drayton Village

2016 Tour of Alberta Stage 2
1) Tanner Putt (USA/UnitedHealthcare) 4:06:46
2) Alexis Cartier (Canada/Team Canada) +0:01
3) Tyler Williams (USA/Axeon HagenBermans) +0:10

2016 Tour of Alberta GC
1) Colin Joyce (USA/Axeon Hagens Berman) 6:30:18
2) Alex Howes (USA/Cannondale-Drapac) +0:07
3) Robin Carpenter (USA/Holowesko-Citadel) +0:09
5) Antoine Duchesne (Canada/Team Canada) +0:15