Evan Huffman wins opening stage at Tour of Alberta

Huffman grabs leader's jersey on summit finish from Jasper to Marmot Basin as Rally cycling team mate Sepp Kuss finishes second

Huffman soloed to stage victory from the day's breakaway with 10 kms to to secure a big margin over the favorites on the only stage summit finish.

Rally cycling teammate Sepp Kuss held off the rest of the breakaway to take second on the stage. Meanwhile Tom-Jelte Slagter (Cannondale-Drapac) attacked from the peloton just ahead of the final kilometer, blowing past the remnants of the breakaway to take third on the stage.

Huffman success comes after a strong season that included stage wins in the Tour of California and Cascade Classic and the overall Tour of the Gila.

The overall Tour of Alberta could well be the next reace to add to his palmares this year.

"I think the time bonuses could play a factor, but I know we're first and second and we have a really strong team that's capable of controlling the race," Huffman said. "We're going to ride the front and play defense, and I'm pretty confident we will be able to keep the GC all the way to the last day."

2017 Tour of Alberta Stage 1 Top Ten

1 Evan Huffman (USA) Rally Cycling 3:48:46 
2 Sepp Kuss (USA) Rally Cycling 0:00:15 
3 Tom-Jelte Slagter (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac 0:00:28 
4 Christopher Jones (USA) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team 0:00:30 
5 Jack Burke (Can) Aevolo 0:00:32 
6 Alex Howes (USA) Cannondale-Drapac 0:00:38 
7 Colin Joyce (USA) Rally Cycling 0:00:41 
8 Rob Britton (Can) Rally Cycling 0:00:42 
9 Taylor Shelden (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis 0:00:44 
10 James Piccoli (Can) Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling 0:00:47

2017 Tour of Alberta GC after Stage 1

1 Evan Huffman (USA) Rally Cycling   
2 Sepp Kuss (USA) Rally Cycling   
3 Tom-Jelte Slagter (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac   
4 Christopher Jones (USA) UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team   
5 Jack Burke (Can) Aevolo   
6 Alex Howes (USA) Cannondale-Drapac   
7 Colin Joyce (USA) Rally Cycling   
8 Rob Britton (Can) Rally Cycling   
9 Taylor Shelden (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis   
10 James Piccoli (Can) Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling

VIDEO: 2017 Tour of Alberta GC after Stage 1