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Ryder Hesjedal of Canada crosses the finish line ahead of Aberto Contador at the end of the18th stage of the Giro d'Italia, Tour of Italy cycling race May 28, 2015.Daniel Dal Zennaro/The Associated Press

The Tour of Alberta finally sets up well for Canadian cycling star Ryder Hesjedal. He just needs to recover his race legs to take advantage of mountain climbs and dirt roads.

The third edition of the Alberta's stage race opens Wednesday in Grande Prairie, Alta., with a team time trial. The six-day, 900-kilometre event includes 120 riders from 15 teams.

After two years of little elevation gain, the 2015 Tour of Alberta features mountain stages Friday and Saturday in Jasper National Park west of Edmonton.

The riders drop elevation Sunday as they head eastward, but a quarter of that stage will be spent churning over dirt and gravel roads. The race, which offers $125,000 in prize money, concludes Monday in Edmonton.

Hesjedal became the first Canadian to win one of cycling's three Grand Tours when he claimed the Giro d'Italia in 2012. The 34-year-old from Victoria is a powerful climber and grew up cycling unpaved roads in the Calgary area.

"Definitely the races in Jasper are exciting and I hope to be in mix, and, if not contesting the overall, looking at winning a stage and getting the most we can out of the race as a team," Hesjedal said.

"For me, I enjoy it any time the pavement disappears and it turns into dirt road. I simply grew up riding gravel road a lot, be it on a mountain bike or road bike. If you've only ever ridden on pavement and you've never touched gravel on a road bike, then it gets a bit complicated. For me, that's not the case."

But Hesjedal wonders how quickly he can recover his race rhythm after taking a break in August.

He built 2015 around peaking for both May's Giro, in which he finished fifth overall, and July's Tour de France. The one-day San Sebastian Classic in Spain on Aug. 1 marked his 77th day of hard racing this year.

Hesjedal went home to Victoria for a breather after the San Sebastian race. He began increasing his training again recently.

"To be honest, I'm not really sure about my condition right now," the three-time Canadian Olympian said. "I had to take a break after the Tour. I'm doing the best I can to be in the best shape I can and perform in Alberta."

Hesjedal finished 60th in the first Tour of Alberta in 2013, but his teammate Rohan Dennis of Australia took the inaugural crown.

The Canadian passed on Alberta in 2014 to compete in the Tour of Spain.

The first two years of the Tour of Alberta included stages around Calgary and as far south as Lethbridge, but this year's race is confined to the area around Alberta's capital city and west to the national park.

The world governing body of cycling, Union Cycliste Internationale, classifies road-stage races in four categories, with the highest having World Tour status. The Tour of Alberta ranks in the third category because the race includes a number of developmental race teams.

But 2015 Giro stage winners Michael Matthews of Australia and Davide Formolo of Italy are in the field, as is Tour de France stage winner Simon Geschke of Germany.

The host country will be represented by two Canadian-based teams – Silber Pro and H & R Block – as well as Canadian riders sprinkled throughout other squads.

Team Optum's Ryan Anderson was third overall in 2014 to repeat as the Tour of Alberta's top Canadian. South Africa's Daryl Impey outsprinted the 28-year-old from Spruce Grove, Alta., and Tom Dumoulin of the Netherlands on the final day to win last year's race.

The finish line of Sunday's fifth stage is in Anderson's hometown of Spruce Grove.

"I think it's going to be quite special," Anderson said. "I hope the day is hard so I have a better shot at the stage.

"You're proud of the race, you're proud of where you came from. My motivation is always extremely high for the Tour of Alberta."

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