Alberta
Alberta is a western province of Canada. With an estimated population of 4,067,175 as of 2016 census, it is Canada's fourth most populous province and the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces, its area is about 660,000 square kilometres. Alberta and its neighbour Saskatchewan were districts of the Northwest Territories until they were established as provinces on September 1, 1905; the premier has been Rachel Notley since May 2015. Alberta is bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, the U. S. state of Montana to the south. Alberta is one of three Canadian provinces and territories to border only a single U. S. state and one of only two landlocked provinces. It has a predominantly humid continental climate, with stark contrasts over a year. Alberta's capital, Edmonton, is near the geographic centre of the province and is the primary supply and service hub for Canada's crude oil, the Athabasca oil sands and other northern resource industries.
About 290 km south of the capital is the largest city in Alberta. Calgary and Edmonton centre Alberta's two census metropolitan areas, both of which have populations exceeding one million, while the province has 16 census agglomerations. Tourist destinations in the province include Banff, Drumheller, Sylvan Lake and Lake Louise. Alberta is named after the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria. Princess Louise was the wife of Marquess of Lorne, Governor General of Canada. Lake Louise and Mount Alberta were named in her honour. Alberta, with an area of 661,848 km2, is the fourth-largest province after Quebec and British Columbia. To the south, the province borders on the 49th parallel north, separating it from the U. S. state of Montana, while to the north the 60th parallel north divides it from the Northwest Territories. To the east, the 110th meridian west separates it from the province of Saskatchewan, while on the west its boundary with British Columbia follows the 120th meridian west south from the Northwest Territories at 60°N until it reaches the Continental Divide at the Rocky Mountains, from that point follows the line of peaks marking the Continental Divide in a southeasterly direction until it reaches the Montana border at 49°N.
The province extends 660 km east to west at its maximum width. Its highest point is 3,747 m at the summit of Mount Columbia in the Rocky Mountains along the southwest border while its lowest point is 152 m on the Slave River in Wood Buffalo National Park in the northeast. With the exception of the semi-arid steppe of the south-eastern section, the province has adequate water resources. There are numerous lakes used for swimming, fishing and a range of water sports. There are three large lakes, Lake Claire in Wood Buffalo National Park, Lesser Slave Lake, Lake Athabasca which lies in both Alberta and Saskatchewan; the longest river in the province is the Athabasca River which travels 1,538 km from the Columbia Icefield in the Rocky Mountains to Lake Athabasca. The largest river is the Peace River with an average flow of 2161 m3/s; the Peace River originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows through northern Alberta and into the Slave River, a tributary of the Mackenzie River.
Alberta's capital city, Edmonton, is located at about the geographic centre of the province. It is the most northerly major city in Canada, serves as a gateway and hub for resource development in northern Canada; the region, with its proximity to Canada's largest oil fields, has most of western Canada's oil refinery capacity. Calgary is about 280 km south of Edmonton and 240 km north of Montana, surrounded by extensive ranching country. 75% of the province's population lives in the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. The land grant policy to the railroads served as a means to populate the province in its early years. Most of the northern half of the province is boreal forest, while the Rocky Mountains along the southwestern boundary are forested; the southern quarter of the province is prairie, ranging from shortgrass prairie in the southeastern corner to mixed grass prairie in an arc to the west and north of it. The central aspen parkland region extending in a broad arc between the prairies and the forests, from Calgary, north to Edmonton, east to Lloydminster, contains the most fertile soil in the province and most of the population.
Much of the unforested part of Alberta is given over either to grain or to dairy farming, with mixed farming more common in the north and centre, while ranching and irrigated agriculture predominate in the south. The Alberta badlands are located in southeastern Alberta, where the Red Deer River crosses the flat prairie and farmland, features deep canyons and striking landforms. Dinosaur Provincial Park, near Brooks, showcases the badlands terrain, desert flora, remnants from Alberta's past when dinosaurs roamed the lush landscape. Alberta has a humid continental climate with cold winters; the province is open to cold arctic weather systems from the north, which produce cold conditions in winter. As the fronts between the air masses shift north and south across Alberta, the temperature can change rapidly. Arctic
Robin Carpenter
Robin Carpenter is an American cyclist, who rides for UCI Professional Continental team Rally UHC Cycling. Carpenter studied at Swarthmore College and graduated in 2014 with a degree in economics and environmental studies. Robin Carpenter at ProCyclingStats
Matteo Dal-Cin
Matteo Dal-Cin is a Canadian cyclist, who rides for UCI Professional Continental team Rally UHC Cycling. Matteo Dal-Cin at ProCyclingStats
David Veilleux
David Veilleux is a Canadian former professional cyclist, who competed as a professional between 2011 and 2013. He is best known for his victories in the Italian semi-classic Tre Valli Varesine in 2012 and winning a stage of the 2013 Critérium du Dauphiné. In 2011, he took his first win under the 1.2 classified La Roue Tourangelle. He broke away in the final 30 kilometers with Anthony Delaplace from the Saur–Sojasun squad; the pair cooperated well together to resist to the peloton's charge and Veilleux beat Delaplace to the sprint, while the bunch reached the finish line only 5 seconds after them. In the spring of 2012, Veilleux was part of a long breakaway in the monument Paris-Roubaix, composed of about a dozen units, they broke away at kilometer 70 and were joined well after the Forest of Arenberg, some 110 kilometres later. Leading to the Tour de France, it was announced that Veilleux was under consideration to participate in the race, but in the end he was not chosen, which drew considerable press coverage in his country.
In August 2012, Veilleux met success on the Mi-Août Bretonne, classified as a 2.2 race by the UCI. He won the opening stage after leaving his eight breakaway companions and riding the last 15 kilometres on his own, he and his team defended his leader's jersey for the remaining three stages and he pocketed the general classification victory by 57 seconds on his nearest competitor. In the same month, Veilleux took a great step forward in his career as he won the Tre Valli Varesine, an Italian semi-classic. Veilleux was part of a ten men escape group, dropped them with 17 kilometres to go, winning solo. In 2013, Veilleux won the first stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné after being the sole survivor of an early breakaway on the undulating stage, he held on to the leader's jersey until the fourth stage time trial. Shortly after the Dauphiné, Veilleux was confirmed by Team Europcar as a participant for the Tour de France, therefore becoming the first Québec-born rider in history to participate in the event.
In the meantime, Veilleux won the overall classification of the 2.2 race Boucles de la Mayenne. On 11 September 2013, he announced his retirement from professional cycling, saying he wanted to continue his studies in mechanical engineering at Laval University and to start a family. David Veilleux at Cycling Archives David Veilleux' profile on CyclingBase Europcar Profile David Veilleux personal website
Brandon McNulty
Brandon McNulty is an American cyclist, who rides for UCI Professional Continental team Rally UHC Cycling. In the 2016 UCI Junior World Time Trial Championships McNulty became the fourth American to become a junior world champion after Taylor Phinney, Jeff Evanshine, Greg LeMond, winning the time trial by 35 seconds. McNulty grew up in Phoenix and enjoyed riding mountain bikes in his free time with his father and his best friends, David and Lance. McNulty excelled from early on, winning every mountain bike race he entered while racing in the 11-12 junior categories. McNulty transitioned to road racing. After several wins in local races in Belgium in 2014, McNulty caught the eye of Bo Knickman, manager of LUX cycling. Knickman, realizing McNulty's talent, referred McNulty to coach Barney King. 2015 was a breakout year for McNulty, in which he won the Valley of the Sun Stage Race TT, averaging 30 mph on a standard road bike. McNulty won the junior national time trial championships that year and went on to compete at the UCI world championships in Richmond.
In 2016, McNulty had more success, winning the Tour de l'Abitibi and Trofeo Karlsberg, stage races, the junior national time trial championships for the second year in a row. He again competed at the UCI Road World Championships, became the fourth American to become a junior world champion after Taylor Phinney, Jeff Evanshine, Greg LeMond, winning the time trial by 35 seconds. McNulty turned professional in 2017, despite being offered numerous contracts with UCI WorldTeams, he chose to ride with the American UCI Continental team Rally Cycling, he won the under-23 national time trial championships and finished second in the World Championships that year. In 2018, McNulty continued to ride with Rally Cycling, who upgraded to UCI Professional Continental status that year. McNulty made his UCI World Tour debut in the Tour of California, where he finished fourth on stage 6, the queen stage, seventh overall, about three-and-a-half minutes behind winner Egan Bernal, he would head to Europe for the second part of the season, after finishing 3rd overall at Tour Alsace, McNulty would have a string of good results at his first Tour de l'Avenir where he would finish 2nd on a mountain stage to Colombian rider Iván Sosa, demonstrating his ability on the climbs.
At the UCI Road World Championships, McNulty would go on to finish 7th in the individual time trial event. In 2019, McNulty scored his first win as a professional at the newly revived Giro di Sicilia by winning the penultimate stage to Ragusa, taking the lead in the general classification. On the following day's fourth and final stage with a finish on Mount Etna, he managed to defend his leadership finishing 4th, thereby winning the general classification. Brandon McNulty at ProCyclingStats
Road bicycle racing
Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors and spectators; the two most common competition formats are mass start events, where riders start and race to set finish point. Stage races or "tours" take multiple days, consist of several mass-start or time-trial stages ridden consecutively. Professional racing has been most popular in Western Europe, centered on France, Spain and the Low Countries. Since the mid-1980s the sport has diversified with professional races now held on all continents of the globe. Semi-professional and amateur races are held in many countries; the sport is governed by the Union Cycliste Internationale. As well as the UCI's annual World Championships for men and women, the biggest event is the Tour de France, a three-week race that can attract over 500,000 roadside supporters a day. Road racing in its modern form originated in the late 19th century.
It began as an organized sport in 1868. The sport was popular in the western European countries of France, Spain and Italy, some of those earliest road bicycle races remain among the sport's biggest events; these early races include Liège–Bastogne–Liège, Paris–Roubaix, the Tour de France, the Milan–San Remo and Giro di Lombardia, the Giro d'Italia, the Volta a Catalunya, the Tour of Flanders. They provided a template for other races around the world. Cycling has been part of the Summer Olympic Games since the modern sequence started in Athens in 1896; the most competitive and devoted countries since the beginning of 20th century were Belgium and Italy road cycling spread in Colombia, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland after World War II. However nowadays as the sport grows in popularity through globalization, countries such as Kazakhstan, Russia, South Africa, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland and the United States continue to produce world-class cyclists. Single-day race distances may be as long as 180 miles.
Courses may run from place to comprise one or more laps of a circuit. Races over short circuits in town or city centres, are known as criteriums; some races, known as handicaps, ages. Individual time trial is an event in which cyclists race alone against the clock on flat or rolling terrain, or up a mountain road. A team time trial, including two-man team time trial, is a road-based bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock. In both team and individual time trials, the cyclists start the race at different times so that each start is fair and equal. Unlike individual time trials where competitors are not permitted to'draft' behind each other, in team time trials, riders in each team employ this as their main tactic, each member taking a turn at the front while teammates'sit in' behind. Race distances vary from a few km to between 20 miles and 60 miles. Stage races consist of stages, ridden consecutively; the competitor with the lowest cumulative time to complete all stages is declared the overall, or general classification, winner.
Stage races may have other classifications and awards, such as individual stage winners, the points classification winner, the "King of the Mountains" winner. A stage race can be a series of road races and individual time trials; the stage winner is the first person to cross the finish line that day or the time trial rider with the lowest time on the course. The overall winner of a stage race is the rider who takes the lowest aggregate time to complete all stages. Three-week stage races are called Grand Tours; the professional road bicycle racing calendar includes three Grand Tours - the Giro d'Italia, the Tour de France, the Vuelta a Espana. Ultra-distance cycling races are long single stage events where the race clock continuously runs from start to finish, they last several days and the riders take breaks on their own schedules, with the winner being the first one to cross the finish line. Among the best-known ultramarathons is the Race Across America, a coast-to-coast non-stop, single-stage race in which riders cover 3,000 miles in about a week.
The race is sanctioned by the UltraMarathon Cycling Association. RAAM and similar events allow racers to be supported by a team of staff. A number of tactics are employed to reach the objective of a race; this objective is being the first to cross the finish line in the case of a single-stage race, clocking the least aggr
Spruce Grove
Spruce Grove is a city, 11 km west of Edmonton, Alberta in Canada. The city is surrounded by Parkland County. With a 2016 population of 34,066, Spruce Grove is the ninth-largest city in Alberta; the mayor of Spruce Grove is Stuart Houston. Spruce Grove is home to the Horizon Stage Performing Arts Centre, a local theatre, the TransAlta Tri Leisure Centre, a recreation facility shared with Stony Plain and Parkland County. Jennifer Heil, the freestyle skier who won the first gold medal for Canada in the 2006 Winter Olympics games in Turin, a silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics is from Spruce Grove, as is Carla MacLeod, a member of the 2010 Canada women's national ice hockey team. Homesteaders in the area date back to 1879. Spruce Grove was incorporated as a village on March 14, 1907, but it was dissolved on August 30, 1916. Spruce Grove was re-incorporated as a village on January 1, 1955 and incorporated as a town on January 1, 1971, as a city on March 1, 1986. Spruce Grove is located near the province's geographical centre, at 30 kilometres from downtown Edmonton and 14 km from Edmonton's city limits.
It is part of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region. The population of the City of according to its 2017 municipal census is 34,881, a change of 3.7% from its 2016 municipal census population of 33,640. In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the City of Spruce Grove recorded a population of 34,066 living in 12,552 of its 13,109 total private dwellings, a change of 30.2% from its 2011 population of 26,171. With a land area of 32.2 km2, it had a population density of 1,058.0/km2 in 2016. In the 2011 Census, the City of Spruce Grove had a population of 26,171 living in 9,619 of its 10,105 total dwellings, a change of 33.9% from its 2006 adjusted population of 19,541. With a land area of 32.37 km2, it had a population density of 808.5/km2 in 2011. The Spruce Grove Art Gallery is located in the Melcor Cultural Centre and is operated by the Allied Arts Council of Spruce Grove; the gallery hosts ongoing shows for original art created by its members, made up of artists from the Spruce Grove, Stony Plain and Parkland County area.
Horizon Stage hosts many acts throughout the year, as well as a lot of community theatre. Spruce Grove has a 7 screen theatre complex which opened in the fall of 2007. Another cultural facility within the city is the Spruce Grove Grain Elevator Museum; the TransAlta Tri Leisure Centre, opened in 2002, provides a pool, soccer fields, a gymnasium, workout gym, ice rinks to the people of Parkland County. Spruce Grove has bike trails winding throughout the city, called the Heritage Grove Trail, where bike riders can ride for hours through lush forest. On June 7, 2008, Spruce Grove held the grand opening of the West District Park, which features two full artificial surface fields for football and other activities; the Edmonton Eskimos donated $10,000 towards the event and held practice at the facility as part of the first day activities. Spruce Grove has an abundant number of youths and adults involved in amateur sports, that run year round. Box lacrosse runs from March to July under the organization Parkland Posse, which pulls young people from the Tri communities of Spruce Grove, Stony Plain and Parkland County.
Hockey runs from September to April and rugby run from May to October, football runs from July to December and baseball runs from March to October. The Spruce Grove Saints are a Junior A hockey team that play in the AJHL. Highways Two highways pass through Spruce Grove, Highway 16 and Highway 16A. Highway 16 has no traffic lights but has two exits into Spruce Grove, while Highway 16A has several traffic intersections. Travelling east of either of these highways will lead to Edmonton. Travelling west on Highway 16A will lead to Stony Plain, going west on either highway will lead to Edson and Jasper. Local streets The majority of the streets in Spruce Grove use a standard naming system, their names share a first letter with that of its subdivision. For example, all streets start with M in Millgrove subdivision. Only in the original subdivision of Broxton Park and the downtown core is this naming convention not utilized. Rail The Canadian passenger train travels through the city three times a week, in each direction, between Vancouver and Toronto.
However, the nearest stop is at Edmonton. Transit Edmonton Transit System offers a commuter transit route from Spruce Grove to Edmonton, peak hours only. There is a local transit service run by the city for transportation within the city boundaries. Air Local air travel is provided by Villeneuve Airport. Public schoolsSpruce Grove is part of the Parkland School Division No. 70. The following public schools are located in Spruce Grove. Brookwood School Copperhaven School École Broxton Park School Greystone Centennial Middle School Millgrove School Parkland Village School Spruce Grove Composite High School Woodhaven Middle School Prescott Learning CentreSeparate schoolsSpruce Grove is part of the Evergreen Catholic Separate Regional Division No. 2. The following separate schools are located in Spruce Grove. St. Joseph's Catholic School St. Marguerite Catholic School St. Peter the Apostle Catholic High School St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic SchoolPrivate schoolsLiving Waters Christian Academy Spruce Grove receives all of its print and television media from Edmonton.
However, Spruce Grove has its own weekly newspaper, the Spruce Grove Examiner, delivered to all homes every Friday. This newspaper holds exclusively local news; the area has a radio station, 88.1 The One is dedicated to Spruce Gr
Canadian rider classification
Giro d'Italia
Tour de France
Vuelta a España
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