“For a first-year event, we are extremely pleased with the response from the cycling community that enabled us to assemble a world-class field of athletes,” said Duane Vienneau, the Tour of Alberta’s Executive Director.
Some of the world’s top cycling teams will be racing through Drumheller as part of the first Tour of Alberta.
The 15 teams that will make up the roster of Canada’s first Tour of Alberta have been confirmed and will see some of the world’s top teams and cyclists taking to the 900-kilometre route September 3 to 8, 2013.
Five additional teams have been confirmed, including the Canadian National Team, comprised of top Canadian talent, and managed by former elite Canadian cyclist Gord Fraser.
The pro teams include Team Argos-Shimano (Netherlands), Belkin Pro Cycling Team (Netherlands), BMC Racing Team (USA), Cannondale Pro Cycling (Italy), Team Garmin-Sharp (USA), Orica GreenEDGE (Australia), Champion System Pro Cycling Team (China), United Healthcare Pro Cycling Team (USA), Bissell Pro Cycling (USA), Canadian National Team (Canada), 5-Hour Energy p/b Kenda Racing Team (USA), Equipe Garneau-Quebecor (Canada), Jelly Belly p/b Kenda Racing Team (USA), Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefits Strategies (USA), and Team SmartStop p/b Mountain Khakis (USA).
United Healthcare is one of the world’s top Pro Continental teams and features top sprinter Jacob Keough and climbers Philip Deignan of Ireland and Mac de Maar of Curacao, a stage winner at this year’s Tour of Beauce. Jelly Belly p/b Kenda features current U.S. National Champion Fred Rodriguez, who is the only American to win four national championships in the road race. 5-Hour Energy p/b Kenda features Spain’s Francisco Mancebo, three times a top 10 finisher in the Tour de France, and rising American talent like Nathan English and Max Jenkins. The Bissell Pro Cycling team features former U.S. National Time Trial Champion Chris Baldwin, New Zealand’s former Time Trial champion Jeremy Vennell, Jason McCartney, a winner of the Tour of Spain, and up and comer Carter Jones, the King of the Mountain jersey winner at the 2013 Amgen Tour of California.
Orica-GreenEDGE is having a successful start to the 2013 Tour de France, which is currently underway, with rider Simon Gerrans winning Stage 3, the team winning the team time trial on the fourth day of the event, and Gerrans and Daryl Impey then wearing the yellow leader jersey for a total of four days of the race so far.
“For a first-year event, we are extremely pleased with the response from the cycling community that enabled us to assemble a world-class field of athletes,” said Duane Vienneau, the Tour of Alberta’s Executive Director. “We are very excited to have a Canadian National Team competing in Canada’s first major race of its kind, and I think we can pretty much guarantee there will be many world and national champions, as well as heroes from the major races around the world racing on Alberta roads this September.”
