Published September 5, 2016 09:23PM
Robin Carpenter wins the Tour of Alberta by one second
24-year-old American Robin Carpenter narrowly bests defending champ Bauke Mollema to nab the overall Tour of Alberta title
Robin Carpenter won a close GC battle to stand atop the Tour of Alberta's final podium after Monday's fifth and final stage. Photo: VeloImages
Robin Carpenter sealed up the overall victory at the Tour of Alberta Monday, closing out the fifth and final stage in Edmonton with the narrowest of margins on the overall leaderboard. The Holowesko – Citadel rider bested defending champion Bauke Mollema (Trek – Segafredo) by one second to claim the win. Rally’s Evan Huffman rounded out the podium in third overall.
Carpenter jumped into a late breakaway with Huffman in the third stage and held out to the finish to put himself into prime position in the general classification. Huffman took the stage and the leader’s jersey off the back of stage 1 winner Colin Joyce (Axeon Hagens Berman), with Carpenter just one second down.
He rode into the lead the following day in a crucial 12.1-kilometer time trial. Mollema won the stage, 16 seconds ahead of third-placed Carpenter, but Carpenter’s mark was eight seconds faster than Huffman’s. That propelled Carpenter to the top of the leaderboard with just a single second over Mollema.
The 24-year-old American finished safely in the peloton in Monday’s final stage, won by Francisco Mancebo (Skydive Dubai), to wrap up the overall title.