Tour of Alberta Stage 2

Today’s stage of the Tour of Alberta was a 172km stage that started and Finished in Grande Prairie. It was relatively flat, and we expected a break to roll. It was my job to go into the break today. The temperatures at the start were around 40 degrees Fahrenheit with overcast conditions. We used Enzo’s Buttonhole Embro Stick on our legs, chest, and feet to stay warm. All the riders in the race were bundled up in winter gear. Trek pretty much let a break of 4 riders roll at kilometer zero. I was positioned near the front, but Thomas rolled with the move. That made my job for the day pretty easy. The rest of the team and stayed out of the wind and ate and drank while Trek set a tempo keeping the break in check. It is important to conserve energy in these stage races, even if it feels easy for the time being. You have to keep gas in the tank for later stages. I went back to get bottles at about 50kms in. After about 116 km we entered a circuit with a shallow 1.5km climb that we had to do twice. The first time up the climb we rolled easy. The second time up the climb at about 142km in we rolled harder, but the group was still huge. It started raining from this point on, which made it very cold. However, the pace ramped up at this point, so it made it fine. With about 10km to go we hit a similar climb coming out of the valley, and once again the group was huge over the top. Most of our team rolled in same time to the finish. Up at the front of the race Thomas was aggressive enough to earn the Most Aggressive Rider jersey. I think it is pretty incredible what our team is doing at the biggest race we have ever been to. After one road stage we are in a jersey. I’d say that really helps our cause of raising awareness for lupus, and it shows the race and other teams that we are here to race. It was a really fun stage to be out on the bike. Stage 3 is a 182km stage from Grande Cache to Miette Hot Springs. It looks like it finishes up a short climb from the profile. Tomorrow’s stage starts at 10:10 mountain time. Check out the live coverage here http://tourofalberta.ca/broadcast/

Here is a link to my ride on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/384354985