Dozens of spectators lined 54 Street near Centennial Park on Sept. 2 to watch Tanner Putt from Team United Healthcare win Stage 2 of the Tour of Alberta.
It was the 24-year-old American's first victory as a professional cyclist, passing Team Canada's Alexis Cartier near the end of the race.
"We kind of played a bit of cat-and-mouse going into it, attack each other a bit. And at one (kilometre) to go, it was just going to come down to sprinting it out," Putt said afterward at a press conference held at the Cow Palace.
Tyler Williams from Team Axeon Hagens Berman finished third.
Stage 2 of the race started in Kananaskis at about 12:30 p.m. that day, a cold and rainy one. The 182-kilometre leg took Putt 4:06:46 to complete.
"I really like that kind of course. I'm not a huge fan of big mountains and we didn't have to go over any big mountains so that was awesome," Putt said about the route. "My favourite part of it was probably the start. It was a real nice area going through the mountains. It was real pretty so I really liked the start of it."
At the awards ceremony afterward in Centennial Park, USA's Colin Joyce, 21 years old from Axeon Hagens Berman, retained the yellow jersey for best overall time, the green jersey as the top sprinter and the white jersey as the best young rider.
The polka-dotted King of the Mountain jersey went to Danilo Celano from Amore & Vita-Selle SMP and Alexander Cataford from Silber Pro Cycling won the red jersey for best Canadian.
The Tour of Alberta in its entirety concluded on Sept. 5.
Along the Centennial Park pathway, Larissa Manser kept a tent featuring glass art. She has framed glass etchings that look three-dimensional in sunlight and some decorative bowls. But next to her tent are green flags, marking where additional vendors should have been.
Forty-five vendors had registered for the event festival but a number did not show up. Organizers not track how many did.
"It's too bad people sort of bailed out on us," Manser said. "If there's lots to see and do, people will brave the weather."
Manser paid $20 to be a vendor. She said being a part of the festival was enough to increase exposure of her work, handing out business cards to passersby.
Tour of Alberta chair Jared Smith brought his family to Olds. Despite the rainy day, they enjoyed themselves.
"My kids are actually here. They loved the festival. There was lots of entertainment and it was fantastic, so you guys did a great job," Smith said.
Hosting this event was a joint effort between four partners: the Town of Olds, Mountain View County, Olds College and the Olds Institute.
Those partners each paid a share of the fee to host the stage finish. OI executive director Mitch Thomson said Olds and Mountain View County pitched in $15,000 each -- $5,000 more than first reported -- and the college and OI with $10,000 each.
In his initial delegation to council in February, Tour of Alberta CEO Duane Vienneau said the event's economic impact on the province over the first three years has between $20-25 million. He adds that the event draws 200,000 live spectators each year and a television audience of 50 million people.
Thomson said the most important benefit to the OI was the chance to reach beyond its core group of volunteers and find people interested in a community initiative like this one, bringing businesses and residents together. It took more than 100 volunteers plus contributions from local service clubs to host the event.
Moreover, the lasting legacy of the race could be increased interest in cycling, said Smith.
"The Tour of Alberta leaves a mark. We've seen it time and time again, four years now," he said.
"Small towns that have been a part of our race have experienced an influx of kids riding their bikes, more energy around the idea of a riding culture.”
Thomson happens to be one of the newly converted, saying he's started riding his bike more often – more times in the past few weeks than he's had in years.
"I think it will inspire athletes, young and old, to participate in this sport. The old saying that you never forget how to ride a bike holds true and it's inspiring," he said.
"The Tour of Alberta leaves a mark. We've seen it time and time again, four years now." JARED SMITH, Tour of Alberta chair
