Huffman extends with Rally for two more years

Evan Huffman is the first Rally Cycling rider to confirm he has extended his contract with the team as it jumps to the Pro Continental level next season.

Huffman, who won stage 1 at the Tour of Alberta on Friday and took the first overall lead, told reporters in the post-stage press conference that he had signed on for two more years with the US team.

“I personally am going to be with this team the next two years,” Huffman said. “It’s perfect timing. I had a really, really good season this year, and with the team moving up to Pro Continental it was just really good timing for me and a good opportunity, so I was really happy to stay here.”

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Huffman has indeed had a really, really good season this year. He started with the overall win at the Tour of the Gila, and then knocked off two stage wins at the inaugural WorldTour edition of the Tour of California in May. He won a stage at the Cascade Cycling Classic in July but then suffered at altitude at the Tour of Utah and the Colorado Classic.

The 27-year-old Californian, who rode for Astana in 2013 and 2014 before moving to SmartStop and then Rally last year, took Friday’s opening stage at the Tour of the Alberta by the horns, wrestling his way into a 14-rider breakaway with teammate Sepp Kuss and then jumping away from the move at the bottom of the final 14km climb to Marmot Basin Ski Resort.

Huffman, who was third overall in Alberta last year, finished 15 seconds ahead of teammate Sepp Kuss on Friday and 28 seconds ahead of Cannondale-Drapac’s Tom-Jelte Slagter, who won the same stage in 2015.

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