Tour of Alberta Stage 4

Stage 4 of the Tour of Alberta was a 162km stage where we did 3 laps of a circuit just outside of Jasper then climbed a 12km climb to Marmot Basin Ski Area. The plan for today was to get anyone on the team in a break except for Kyle, and for the rest of us to position Kyle into the final climb. Like yesterday the stage started off in frigid temperatures around the high 30s. I was once again wearing almost all my clothes and used that Enzo’s Embro Stick on my legs, feet, and chest. That thing has really saved me this week. A few kilometers into the stage we went over a climb that appeared smaller on the profile, and Thomas was off the front yet again! Chad, Michael Olheiser, and myself were positioned to go with another move if Thomas’ move came back. On the descent a Bora rider and an Axeon rider joined Thomas, and Trek sat up. That meant the break was established for the day and that was it. After this happened we mostly rolled along in the field and enjoyed the beautiful scenery around Jasper. I made sure to eat and hydrate a lot. That is very important in these races. Near the middle of the second lap I shed my shoe covers, cap, full-fingered gloves, and knee warmers. It was nice to not be riding in a full winter kit for once in the past few days! Near the end of the third lap we all started positioning Kyle toward the front of the peloton. Our whole team lined up next to Orica, and we got Kyle into the climb in decent position. I felt good, but after about a mile the pace was too much. I rolled up the climb with Chad, and we caught a group that had Thomas with about 5km to go. I feel pretty good going into tomorrow. Up the road Kyle fought it out near the front and finished a solid 15th. Tomorrow’s stage is a 204 km stage from Edson to Spruce Grove that starts at 10:35. The stage features around 56km of dirt roads, so it should be a fun one! Check out the live coverage here http://tourofalberta.ca/broadcast/ Here is a link to my ride on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/385754954/