Tour of Alberta Stage 1: Colin Joyce wins and Mollema sprints to 7th from breakaway

The Tour of Alberta kicked off with a fast and furious 106.9-kilometer circuit race and with only two WorldTour teams on the start line, it was a difficult race to control

An early six-man breakaway was contained after one lap and the next move of 29 riders - almost a third of the peloton - surged ahead and would maintain a lead until the last few laps when more attacks pared it to 11.

29 riders went away including Bauke Mollema, Peter Stetina, and Fränk Schleck from Trek-Segafredo were part of the large breakaway group, and when the final selection was made, Mollema – wearing number one to signify last year's overall winner – quickly reacted to the move.

It was not an easy day as there are only two World Tour teams and 10 continental teams, it is not easy to control the race. 

Most of the 11 men traded pulls, maintaining the two-minute buffer to the finish, while the rest of the breakaway slowed and was eventually caught by the peloton.

In the sprint, Colin Joyce (Axeon Hagens Berman) out-kicked Alex Howes (Cannondale-Drapac), while Mollema crossed in the same time for seventh place.

Joyce notched the first UCI victory of his career and Axeon Hagens Berman's 32nd win of the year - a team record in the ninth year of the American Under 23 development squad.

"Alex Howes was coming up on my wheel pretty fast, so that was kind of scary," Joyce said. "But then I saw him beat his handlebars and I thought that meant I held on."

Axeon Hagens Berman General Manager Axel Merckx said he was glad the 22-year-old who lives and trains in Pocatello, Idaho, was able to stay in the front group the last time over the lone climb on the circuit and later when crosswinds sliced the escape group in half.

"I was talking to Colin on the radio and telling him it was all going to come down to the last climb and then whoever had the best legs for the sprint,"  Merckx said. "I knew Colin had a fast kick. But to beat those guys in that group was a pleasant surprise."

In what was once a breakaway of 29 riders were two of Joyce's teammates, Irish Under 23 national time trial champion Eddie Dunbar - who was celebrating his 20th birthday - and Chad Young. Joyce eventually joined them by bridging the gap with two other riders.

"The team was amazing," Joyce said. "I was definitely kind of stressing the first couple of laps. But those guys were covering everything. Having Eddie and Chad up there was great and when I bridged across, they had a lot of faith in me. So the team absolutely rode amazingly. It was not happening today without them."

VIDEO: Tour of Alberta 2016 Stage 1 Recap

 
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