September 06, 2013 (Red Deer, AB) – Rohan Dennis of Team Garmin-Sharp is your new Tour of Alberta leader, after the third of five stages. On this third stage of the race, departing from Strathmore to Drumheller, the Australian cyclist riding with Team Garmin – Sharp was part of a large 18-man break, packed with power, for most of the race until a smaller group of six emerged in front that went all the way to the finish line.

A break of 12 riders took off approximately 60km after the start of the race in Strathmore, which was later joined by a six-rider chase. Once the merger between the chase and the break was completed, the 18-man break worked well together and managed to increase their lead throughout the entire race.

With a rolling terrain, strong winds and some climbs toward the end of the 169.8km course, Dennis and 17 other riders smelled that an early break could be the winning move today, and they were proven right. With five guys in the break at the top of the General Classification, the powerful group was certainly one to watch.

Peter Sagan, the leader entering the race, missed the critical break and was forced to rely on his exhausted teammates from Cannondale Pro Cycling team, who have been pulling the peloton for the last two days to keep him at the top of the standings. The other teams, with GC leaders in the break, did not help Cannondale close the gap.

Six riders attacked the lead group, and eventually would gain upwards of a one-minute gap on the chase group. That group consisted of Dennis, Brent Bookwalter (BMC Racing), Patrick Gretsch (Argos-Shimano), Steve Morabito (BMC Racing), Robert Gesink (Belkin Pro Cycing) and Damiano Caruso (Cannondale Pro Cycling)

At the finish line, a group of six riders crossed together, with Rohan taking the first place in a photo finish in front of Bookwalter in second and Caruso in third.

In the General Classification, Dennis takes over the lead as his lead group crossed the finish line with over 16 minutes ahead of the main peloton, of which Sagan was part of. Dennis enter stage four tomorrow with an 18 second lead on Brent Bookwalter of BMC racing, and 30 seconds on Damiano Caruso of Cannondale Pro Cycling. Peter Sagan, who was leading since the opening prologue, drops to the 19th place, 16:35 behind.

The third stage finished in Drumheller, a small town tucked away in the picturesque Canadian Badlands along the Dinosaur Trail. To honour this special stage, Dennis received as a gift a dinosaur bone, a gift he will cherish forever.

Anderson Continues Successful Season – Takes over Red Jersey
The Best Canadian jersey also exchanged hands after today’s stage, with Ryan Anderson of Optum-Kelly Benefits being part of the winning break. He jumps to the seventh place of the overall classification, just 44s outside Dennis, dislodging Ryder Hesjedal. With two more stages left in the race and a lead of 7:20 on Alex Cataford of Garneau-Quebecor, second in the Best Canadian ranking, Anderson has a golden opportunity to end the Tour of Alberta in red.

“I think today we got a true stage that the Tour of Alberta can provide, with winds and rollers. We raced hard all day to make that stage even better, even more exciting. It was game on pretty much from the first right turn today, and it’s made it exciting for everyone watching. It adds to what the Tour of Alberta can be like, and develop into a hard race, not necessarily into climbs,” said Anderson, who grew up just outside Edmonton in Spruce Grove, AB. “Especially from being originally from Alberta, it’s pretty sweet to wear red. I still want to get a stage podium, and I’ll try for that the next couple of days. I think this is a nice addition for the tour, and we’ll be hungry for more.”

Anderson was part of the strategic attack and remained for the most part with the main group until the six riders detached themselves at the front: “I was pretty close to making that lead group at the end, but it was just a little too tough for me. I really didn’t think it would come back, but it ended up being quite close. At least I was able to take the red jersey, which makes the day a little better. I helped chase a bit when I could. I didn’t really want to chase by myself because I had no chance to win the stage.”

The young rider has been enjoying a terrific season to date, stepping twice on the podium at last week’s USA Pro Challenge, and taking the fourth place in the first stage of the Tour of Alberta, notably. Next week, he’ll suit up in the Canadian uniform, representing Canada at the UCI WorldTour race in Quebec and Montréal.

“For me this year, it’s been a really good season. Just been racing in North America, but all the UCI races I have done have gone extremely well for me. I think it’s gonna leapfrog me forward. After this, I will try to continue and do well at the two WorldTour races with the Canadian National Team in Québec and Montreal.”

Anderson was part of the SpiderTech project led by Steve Bauer, and grew as a racer with the program. “After SpiderTech I was a little bit disappointed. I didn’t quite know what I wanted to do, and coming back to a team like Optum-Kelly Benefits has been a good home for me, to refocus and come out stronger than I have ever been.

“Going forward, I think I still want to do races in Europe and the bigger North American races, so we’ll see how the rest of the year fans out. I think this year I’ve shown that I when I need to, I can take care of myself, and get some good results in a sprint. I certainly am not focussing on sprints as a specialty of sort. I think in Europe and hard one-day races I can take care of myself when opportunities arise.

The 2013 Tour of Alberta continues tomorrow with the fourth stage in Black Diamond, and end on Sunday in Calgary. The race can be watched on Sportsnet in Canada, with the last two hours of the race shown live.

Results

1. Rohan Dennis (Aus) Garmin-Sharp  3:55:31
2. Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team
3. Damiano Caruso (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
4. Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano
5. Robert Gesink (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
6. Steve Morabito (Sui) BMC Racing Team
7. Ryan Anderson (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies  0:09
8. Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team
9. Jakub Novak (Cze) BMC Racing Team
10. Jeremy Vennell (Nzl) Bissell Pro Cycling
11. Matthias Friedemann (Ger) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
12. Christopher Jones (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
13. Robert Sweeting (USA) 5-hour Energy p/b Kenda
14. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
15. Francisco Mancebo Perez (Spa) 5-hour Energy p/b Kenda
16. Aidis Kruopis (Ltu) Orica-GreenEdge
17. James Stemper (USA) 5-hour Energy p/b Kenda  1:18
18. Alexander Cataford (Can) Equipe Garneau-Québecor  7:03
19. Nicolai Brochner (Den) Bissell Pro Cycling  0:16:44
20. Kirk Carlsen (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling  0:16:48
21. Derrick St. John (Can) Canadian National Team
22. Jean-Michel Lachance (Can) Canadian National Team
23. Scott Zwizanski (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
24. Zachary Bell (Can) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
25. Michael Chauner (USA) Equipe Garneau-Québecor
26. Andrew Dahlheim (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling
27. Andres Diaz (Col) 5-hour Energy p/b Kenda
28. Rob Britton (Can) Canadian National Team
29. Edward King (USA) Cannondale Pro Cycling
30. Adam Matthew Farabaugh (USA) Equipe Garneau-Québecor
31. Ryan Roth (Can) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
32. Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
33. Robert Förster (Ger) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
34. Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin-Sharp
35. Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
36. Jack Bobridge (Aus) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
37. Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Garmin-Sharp
38. David Millar (Gbr) Garmin-Sharp
39. Chris Butler (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
40. Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano
41. Luke Keough (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
42. Nic Hamlton (Can) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
43. Moreno Hofland (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
44. William Clarke (Aus) Team Argos-Shimano
45. Ryan Aitcheson (Can) Canadian National Team
46. Tomas Vaitkus (Ltu) Orica-GreenEdge
47. Tommy Nankervis (Aus) Bissell Pro Cycling
48. Mark Renshaw (Aus) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
49. Silvan Dillier (Sui) BMC Racing Team
50. Max Jenkins (USA) 5-hour Energy p/b Kenda
51. Frank Kevin Pipp (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling
52. Michael Olsson (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano
53. Kang Jiyong (Kor) Orica-GreenEdge
54. Ken Hanson (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
55. Garrett McLeod (Can) Canadian National Team
56. Thomas Dekker (Ned) Garmin-Sharp
57. Lawrence Warbasse (USA) BMC Racing Team
58. Pierrick Naud (Can) Equipe Garneau-Québecor
59. Luka Mezgec (Slo) Team Argos-Shimano
60. Clay Murfet (Aus) Team SmartStop p/b Mountain Khakis
61. Travis McCabe (USA) Team SmartStop p/b Mountain Khakis
62. Simon-Pierre Gauthier (Can) Equipe Garneau-Québecor
63. Stuart Wight (Can) Canadian National Team
64. Antoine Duchesne (Can) Canadian National Team
65. Thomas Damuseau (Fra) Team Argos-Shimano
66. Davide Frattini (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
67. Eric Marcotte (USA) Team SmartStop p/b Mountain Khakis
68. Shane Kline (USA) Team SmartStop p/b Mountain Khakis
69. Michel Koch (Ger) Cannondale Pro Cycling
70. Chad Haga (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
71. Ben Wolfe (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
72. Marc Goos (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
73. Chad Beyer (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
74. Geoffroy Dussault (Can) Equipe Garneau-Québecor
75. Kristofer Dahl (Can) Team SmartStop p/b Mountain Khakis
76. Clinton Robert Avery (Nzl) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
77. Carter Jones (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling
78. Benjamin Day (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
79. David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin-Sharp
80. Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Orica-GreenEdge
81. Nariyuki Masuda (Jpn) Cannondale Pro Cycling
82. Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team
83. Flavio De Luna (Mex) Team SmartStop p/b Mountain Khakis
84. Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team
85. Brian Vandborg (Den) Cannondale Pro Cycling
86. Shawn Milne (USA) 5-hour Energy p/b Kenda
87. Peter Sagan (Svk) Cannondale Pro Cycling
88. Benjamin Chaddock (Can) Team SmartStop p/b Mountain Khakis
89. David Williams (USA) 5-hour Energy p/b Kenda
90. Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Sharp
91. Serghei Tvetcov (Mda) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
92. Bobby Lea (USA) Team SmartStop p/b Mountain Khakis
93. Tom Zirbel (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
94. Michael Friedman (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
95. Jonas Ahlstrand (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano
96. Sean Mazich (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
97. Emerson Oronte (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
98. Fred Rodriguez (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
99. Thomas Soladay (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
100. Taylor Shelden (USA) 5-hour Energy p/b Kenda
101. Eric Young (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
102. Jean-Sebastien Perron (Can) Canadian National Team
103. Aldo Ino Ilesic (Slo) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
104. Jason McCartney (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling
105. Bruno Langlois (Can) Equipe Garneau-Québecor
106. Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano
107. Jeremy Powers (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
108. Craig Lewis (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
109. Michael Hepburn (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
110. Charles Bradley Huff (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
111. Cameron Meyer (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
112. Jeffry Louder (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
113. John Murphy (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
114. Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge
115. Michael Woods (Can) Equipe Garneau-Québecor  0:23:26
DNF  Lachlan David Morton (Aus) Garmin-Sharp
DNF  Cheung Fu Shiu (HKg) Champion System Pro Cycling Team

GC after Stage 3

1. Rohan Dennis (Aus) Garmin-Sharp  10:59:18
2. Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team  0:18
3. Damiano Caruso (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling  0:30
4. Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano  0:31
5. Robert Gesink (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team  0:34
6. Robert Sweeting (USA) 5-hour Energy p/b Kenda  0:54
7. Francisco Mancebo Perez (Spa) 5-hour Energy p/b Kenda  0:55
8. Ryan Anderson (Can) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies  0:56
9. Matthias Friedemann (Ger) Champion System Pro Cycling Team  1:12
10. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team  1:15
11. Jakub Novak (Cze) BMC Racing Team  1:20
12. Steve Morabito (Sui) BMC Racing Team  1:25
13. Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team  2:27
14. Jeremy Vennell (Nzl) Bissell Pro Cycling  5:13
15. Aidis Kruopis (Ltu) Orica-GreenEdge  6:06
16. Christopher Jones (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team  6:25
17. Alexander Cataford (Can) Equipe Garneau-Québecor  8:16
18. James Stemper (USA) 5-hour Energy p/b Kenda  9:51
19. Peter Sagan (Svk) Cannondale Pro Cycling  0:16:35
20. Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano  0:17:03
21. Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team  0:17:11
22. Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge  0:17:18
23. Tom Zirbel (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies  0:17:21
24. Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Sharp
25. Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano  0:17:23
26. Chad Haga (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies  0:17:24
27. Silvan Dillier (Sui) BMC Racing Team  0:17:26
28. John Murphy (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
29. Cameron Meyer (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge  0:17:30
30. Shawn Milne (USA) 5-hour Energy p/b Kenda
31. Benjamin Day (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team  0:17:33
32. Serghei Tvetcov (Mda) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda  0:17:34
33. Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin-Sharp  0:17:36
34. Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team  0:17:38
35. Lawrence Warbasse (USA) BMC Racing Team  0:17:40
36. Eric Young (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies  0:17:41
37. Rob Britton (Can) Canadian National Team  0:17:42
38. Michael Olsson (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano
39. Antoine Duchesne (Can) Canadian National Team  0:17:43
40. Ryan Roth (Can) Champion System Pro Cycling Team  0:17:45
41. Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
42. Travis McCabe (USA) Team SmartStop p/b Mountain Khakis  0:17:46
43. Fred Rodriguez (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda  0:17:47
44. Luka Mezgec (Slo) Team Argos-Shimano
45. Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Garmin-Sharp  0:17:48
46. Tomas Vaitkus (Ltu) Orica-GreenEdge
47. Andres Diaz (Col) 5-hour Energy p/b Kenda  0:17:50
48. Clinton Robert Avery (Nzl) Champion System Pro Cycling Team  0:17:51
49. Moreno Hofland (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team  0:17:53
50. Nicolai Brochner (Den) Bissell Pro Cycling
51. Taylor Shelden (USA) 5-hour Energy p/b Kenda
52. Kirk Carlsen (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling  0:17:54
53. Edward King (USA) Cannondale Pro Cycling  0:17:57
54. Bruno Langlois (Can) Equipe Garneau-Québecor
55. Clay Murfet (Aus) Team SmartStop p/b Mountain Khakis  0:18:00
56. Jean-Michel Lachance (Can) Canadian National Team  0:18:03
57. Shane Kline (USA) Team SmartStop p/b Mountain Khakis
58. Tommy Nankervis (Aus) Bissell Pro Cycling
59. Craig Lewis (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team  0:18:05
60. Marc Goos (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team  0:18:11
61. Thomas Damuseau (Fra) Team Argos-Shimano  0:18:14
62. Scott Zwizanski (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
63. Flavio De Luna (Mex) Team SmartStop p/b Mountain Khakis
64. Pierrick Naud (Can) Equipe Garneau-Québecor  0:18:17
65. Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Orica-GreenEdge  0:18:18
66. Frank Kevin Pipp (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling
67. Emerson Oronte (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda  0:18:19
68. Andrew Dahlheim (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling  0:18:23
69. Michael Hepburn (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
70. Chris Butler (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
71. Luke Keough (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team  0:18:34
72. Chad Beyer (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team  0:18:35
73. Derrick St. John (Can) Canadian National Team  0:18:37
74. Davide Frattini (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
75. Charles Bradley Huff (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda  0:18:46
76. Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team  0:18:50
77. Jean-Sebastien Perron (Can) Canadian National Team  0:18:52
78. Benjamin Chaddock (Can) Team SmartStop p/b Mountain Khakis
79. Mark Renshaw (Aus) Belkin Pro Cycling Team  0:18:56
80. Max Jenkins (USA) 5-hour Energy p/b Kenda  0:18:57
81. Garrett McLeod (Can) Canadian National Team
82. Eric Marcotte (USA) Team SmartStop p/b Mountain Khakis  0:19:01
83. Ken Hanson (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies  0:19:05
84. Michael Chauner (USA) Equipe Garneau-Québecor  0:19:12
85. Adam Matthew Farabaugh (USA) Equipe Garneau-Québecor  0:19:21
86. Carter Jones (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling  0:19:23
87. Jeffry Louder (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team  0:19:27
88. David Millar (Gbr) Garmin-Sharp  0:19:32
89. Robert Förster (Ger) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team  0:19:37
90. Ryan Aitcheson (Can) Canadian National Team  0:19:48
91. Jonas Ahlstrand (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano  0:19:52
92. Stuart Wight (Can) Canadian National Team  0:19:53
93. Geoffroy Dussault (Can) Equipe Garneau-Québecor  0:19:54
94. Kang Jiyong (Kor) Orica-GreenEdge  0:20:15
95. David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin-Sharp  0:20:17
96. Kristofer Dahl (Can) Team SmartStop p/b Mountain Khakis  0:20:18
97. Sean Mazich (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda  0:20:24
98. Michael Friedman (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies  0:20:44
99. Ben Wolfe (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda  0:20:50
100. David Williams (USA) 5-hour Energy p/b Kenda  0:20:51
101. Thomas Dekker (Ned) Garmin-Sharp  0:20:56
102. Jack Bobridge (Aus) Belkin Pro Cycling Team  0:20:59
103. Thomas Soladay (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies  0:21:13
104. Jason McCartney (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling  0:21:48
105. Michel Koch (Ger) Cannondale Pro Cycling  0:21:55
106. Brian Vandborg (Den) Cannondale Pro Cycling  0:22:00
107. Jeremy Powers (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda  0:22:10
108. Nariyuki Masuda (Jpn) Cannondale Pro Cycling  0:23:33
109. Zachary Bell (Can) Champion System Pro Cycling Team  0:23:47
110. William Clarke (Aus) Team Argos-Shimano  0:24:21
111. Michael Woods (Can) Equipe Garneau-Québecor  0:24:42
112. Nic Hamlton (Can) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda  0:25:31
113. Aldo Ino Ilesic (Slo) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team  0:26:21
114. Bobby Lea (USA) Team SmartStop p/b Mountain Khakis  0:27:20
115. Simon-Pierre Gauthier (Can) Equipe Garneau-Québecor  0:30:22