Bauke Mollema wins Tour of Alberta Edmonton time trial

Image 1 of 18

Defending champion Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) took his first stage win of the 2016 Tour of Alberta Sunday during the stage 4 Edmonton time trial, beating Andz Flaksis (Holowesko-Citadel) by nine seconds and third-placed Robin Carpenter (Holowesko-Citadel) by 16.

But it was Carpenter who came away with the top prize as he took the yellow jersey from overnight leader Evan Huffman (Rally Cycling), who finished fifth, 24 seconds back. Mollema placed himself well in the GC battle, however, as he'll start the final stage in Edmonton just one second behind Carpenter.

Mollema, who started the day 18 seconds back in the general classification, covered the 12.1km course in 14:44, while Carpenter came in at 15 minutes and Huffman came in another eight seconds down. Ryder Hesjedal (Trek-Segafredo) put in another good ride for Trek-Segafredo, finishing fourth at 15:03.

Mollema said he was obviously happy to take his first time trial win as a pro and set up a close contest for the final general classification on Monday.

"My goal this week was to do a really good time trial," Mollema said. "I knew it was on the road bike, and we have a really fast, aero bike, so I knew there as a chance for me to win. Of course I’m happy to have won; it’s a good feeling. I think I did a really good time trial technically and the way I built up. I kept the best for the final kilometres, and I’m happy with that. It’s the first time trial I’ve won since I’m a pro, so that’s a nice feeling."

Carpenter, who also wore yellow for a day at the Tour of Utah, said he was a bit surprised to have put in such a good ride, especially considering he lost his bike's computer early on in the stage.

"I didn’t have a radio in my ear, and I lost power a quarter of the way through the ride, so I was just kind of doing it on feel," Carpneter said. "You can kind of look at the sections and see where people are relative to where you are, and I knew that coming down the hill when I didn’t see Evan for about the same amount of time that I saw Colin [Joyce] on the way up, I knew that I was probably close, so that gave me some motivation to really pour the gas on at the end, but I didn’t really know I was on a good ride until I saw the time coming through. I Got back to the team bus and watched Evan roll though, and that was about it."

Huffman said he out in a solid effort on the course, but he was simply beaten by riders who were better on the day.

"The result is a little bit disappointing," the Rally Cycling rider said. "Obviously I really wanted to keep the jersey and thought I could do it. As far as my actual performance, I think I did well. I went as hard as I could and I didn’t make any major errors, but I just got beaten by faster guys today, so it’s kind of bittersweet, I guess."

Sunday's result sets up what should be a major throw down on the streets of Edmonton dying the final circuit race on Monday. The peloton will tackle 11 laps of a technical, lumpy 11km course, with the top10 on GC now separated by just 1:03.

How it unfolded

The Sunday evening Edmonton time trial, in which tme trial bikes and aero gear were not allowed, started and finished in Hawrelak Park following the ITU Edmonton Triathlon earlier in the day.

The riders, who started the 12.1km course one-minute apart, crossed over the Saskatchewan River and rode east along the Victoria Gold Course before turning around and heading northwest toward another turn around that led them back to the park.

The parcour was relatively flat, with the exception of a roughly 1.5km climb that gained 40 metres about two-thirds of the way through the stage.

Starting in 20th position, Canadian Ryder Hesjedal (Trek-Segafredo) set the top early mark at 15:03, a time that would stand for nearly 45 minutes before Holowesko-Citadel's 25-year-old Latvian Andz Flaksis went under 15 minutes with a time of 14:53.

Hejsedal's and Mollema's teammate, Frank Schleck, also put I a good ride, coming in 15:24 to claim a spot in the top 10 with 19 riders remaining. Schleck and Hesjedal no doubt were able to supply Mollema with information about the course and how to pace his effort.

Cannondale-Drapac's Kristoffer Skjerping put in a good ride at 15:08, but he wasn't able to unseat the Latvian.

Nigel Ellsay, who started the day 10th overall at 31 seconds down, was the first of the GC contenders to finish, setting a mark of 15:22 to finish 30 seconds behind the leader. UnitedHealthcare's Daniel Eaton, 22 seconds down in seventh place, crossed the line with a time of 15:11, leaving only six riders who could unseat Flaksis.

Silber’s Alex Cataford put in a fast time at 15:12, but it was not close to the time of Mollema, who's effort was visible as he swayed side to side on his bike with an average speed of 49.2km/h. Next up was Alex Howes (Cannondale-Drapac) who finished more than a minute slower than Mollema at 15:45.

Stage 1 winner and previous race leader Colin Joyce (Axeon Hagens Berman) finished with a time of 15:13 to keep himself in contention for the overall. Carpenter, who started the day two seconds behind Huffman, crossed next at 15 minutes, keeping him ahead of Mollema on the GC and waiting anxiously to see the race leader's time.

Huffman came into view at the finish quickly, but as he approached the line it became clear that he wouldn't go fast enough to hold the jersey, finishing eight seconds behind Carpenter and ceding the race lead to the Holowesko-Citadel rider.

Full Results