Tour of Alberta: Dutch rider Bauke Mollema takes top spot

After a week of and stops in towns and cities across Alberta, Dutch cyclist Bauke Mollema rode away with the top spot at the Tour of Alberta.

And with it, the $13,000 purse.

"It was a great week for us," Mollema told the Canadian Press.

"It was really, really hard but the team time trial was the key."

Mollema finished the six-day, 865-kilometre race with a final time of 20:20:28.

The tour wrapped up its final stage Monday afternoon in downtown Edmonton, with German rider Nikias Arndt squeaking out ahead of Austrian Michael Matthews to cross the finish line first. Arndt finished the 124-kilometres stage in with a time of 2:44:57.

"It was a pretty hard finish with the climb before and I needed the team around, they supported me well," said Arndt. "We waited for the right moment."

Despite the sometimes cold weather and rain through the tour, officials deemed the race a success.

"It rains. Do you want thirty degree and sunny? Of course you do, but this is what we're getting and it's made for some great storylines," said Duane Vienneau, the tour's executive director.

Organizers said 45 million people tuned in to television coverage of the tour, giving it a chance to showcase the city and smaller centres across the province, including Grande Prairie and Spruce Grove.

The race had some surprises, including a rider who got turned around during the stage in Spruce Grove and ended up riding against the rest of the pack.

"That happens in cycling. We've seen it in major events like the Tour de France before, so it's one those little notches that makes us like them," he said.

Vienneau said the final standings were not affected.

He said this year's race was the first time the event went to the Rocky Mountains. There were two mountain-top finishes: one at the Miette Hotsprings and another in Marmot Basin.

Vienneau said the race will return to the province next year, although the route may be redrawn to pass through other parts of Alberta.