Tour of Alberta: Hansen wins stage 5 in Spruce Grove

Lasse-Norman Hansen (Cannondale-Garmin) won stage 5 at the Tour of Alberta Sunday in Spruce Grove after the chasing riders rode off course near the end of the stage. Officials neutralised the planned two finishing circuits in town as Hansen soloed in for the win. Officials gave second place to Trek Factory Racing's Laurent Didier and third to his teammate Bauke Mollema, who remains in the overall lead.

"Approximately two kilometres to go, I got the report that I had won the stage, the peloton had done a wrong turn,” Hansen said. “I would have liked to have finished the race in a proper way, and I’m pretty sure I would have made it to the line anyway but I’m satisfied – a win is a win.”

Sven Erik Bystrøm (Katusha) had been chasing Hansen, who was away solo near the end of the stage. Bystrøm approached an intersection where volunteer course marshals were waving and directing him to turn right, however, he continued to ride straight through the intersection, which was not blocked off. The peloton followed Bystrom's lead and also continued off the course. Bystrøm noted on the Katusha team's website that he had followed the motorbikes in front of him. 

While the rest of the field was led back onto the course, officials told a confused Hansen, who had already completed a lap and a half of the two final circuits, that he had officially won the stage before crossing the finish line.

 How it unfolded

After the sun-kissed and breathtaking views of the Canadian Rockies during the fourth stage that finished at the Marmot Basin Ski Area, the weather conditions took a turn back to rain and cold temperatures for stage 5, the longest day at the Tour of Alberta.

The men bundled up and then lined up in Edson for the start of the 204km race, which included nearly 19km of sloppy dirt roads, before finishing on two circuits in Spruce Grove. Race organisers made the decision to remove a third of the originally planned dirt road sectors due to bad road conditions, and with the foul weather on hand, no one complained.

An original group of six riders set off in the early kilometres of the stage, but two riders were reeled back in by the field. The four riders who continued on together were Hansen (Cannondale-Garmin), Tom Zirbel (Optum Pro Cycling), Derrick St John (Silber Pro Cycling) and Fred Rodriguez (Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis).

Hansen dropped his three breakaway companions over the third dirt sector, with roughly 40km to go. He continued on alone with a 1:30 lead, negotiating the waterlogged potholes and skinny ruts across the final dirt-road second.

Katusha led the field, but there were only small remnants of the peloton left intact with 30km to go, and it was much more difficult for the group of riders to negotiate the road conditions than for the solo rider Hansen. "If you were riding at the front of the field, or if you were solo, it was ok, and you could see what you were riding on, but if you were further back in the field, you couldn't see where you were riding."

Mollema, covered in cold-weather gear, dirt and grime, was barely visible as the overall race leader in the small field. He did, however, continue to hold his position near the front and stay out of trouble.

Logan Owen (Axeon) attacked the group and bridged across to dropped breakaway riders Zirbel and Rodriguez. They were joined by Ryder Hesjedal (Cannondale-Garmin), Bystrøm and Dion Smith (Hincapie Racing), who was only 45 seconds back in GC.

As the group was about to get caught, Bystrøm launched a second attack against his companions to open a solo chase behind Hansen. Andzs Flaksis from the Hincapie Racing Team tried to bridged across to Bystrøm, but he was not successful. 

Back on the tarmac, Trek Factory Racing resumed their place at the front of the field for Mollema, trying to preserve his overall lead.

Hansen rode onto the first of two finishing circuits with one-minute lead. Unfortunately, chaser Bystrøm missed the course marshals who were waving at him to turn right, and rode off course, and so did the entire peloton behind him. 

"I attacked alone and at first I didn’t realise there was one guy still ahead since there are no radios in this race," Bystrøm said. "But then suddenly before we hit the local circuits they showed me the wrong way to go, I was just following the moto bikes in front of me. Then they tell me I have to turn around and also the entire peloton who were about 30-seconds behind me. It was over at that point."

Race officials made the decision to cancel the final two circuits for everyone, and made Hansen, who had already competed a lap and a half of the circuits, the official stage winner, to his own surprise. All of the jerseys at the start of the day remained the same.

Didier, who had been dropped from the main field with two kilometres before the circuits after working all day for Mollema, made the proper right-hand turn and entered the finishing circuits in second place on the road behind Hansen. He completed one full lap of the circuit and then was told to stop by race officials, who awarded him with second place on the podium.

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