News: Arctic Race of Norway Stage 1

Dylan Teuns secured his sixth win in three weeks on the opening day of racing at the Arctic Tour of Norway

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News: Arctic Race of Norway Stage 1

Dylan Teuns secured his sixth win in three weeks today after powering away from the rest of the field to secure victory on the opening day of racing at the Arctic Tour of Norway.

From the moment the flag dropped on stage 1, the pace of the peloton saw riders spread out across the road before an initial four rider breakaway went clear after 10km of racing. However, the speed of the bunch never wavered with riders drawn out in single file behind the quartet before they were ultimately caught with 136km of racing still to come. The attacks continued to fly off the front of the peloton with a group of 15 riders, including Danilo Wyss, extending an advantage of more than 30 seconds but, once again, they were pulled back as more riders tried their luck at the front of the race.

Eventually, on the first of three categorized climbs, the Lavangseidet Summit, four riders were able to tip their advantage over the one-minute mark as the peloton finally sat up, allowing the action to settle down and the gap to grow further. The leaders’ advantage peaked at over five minutes with 70km to go and the peloton quickly reacted, pulling them to within a comfortable two minutes heading into the final 50km before the final chase began, and the race was brought back together with 13km to go.

More attacks started almost immediately and, as the peloton headed onto the 11km finishing circuit around Narvik, which included the final category one climb, two riders were holding onto a narrow advantage over the rest of the field. On the early slopes of the Skistua Summit, the steep gradient took its toll with the leading duo quickly pulled back before only a select group of 35 riders, including Teuns, was left in the main bunch heading onto the fast and technical run into the finish.

Going under the flamme rouge, the road began to kick up once again, and Teuns seized the opportunity to continue his recent run of success by launching an explosive attack off the front of the group. With his intentions clear, Teuns made it look easy as he powered away from the rest of the field before punching the air with delight as he took the stage win and the first leader’s jersey of the race.

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Dylan Teuns: “It was a bit of a surprise, but I knew that it wasn’t going to come down to a big bunch sprint. I was here in 2015 when it was the final stage and Silvan Dillier won. This year it was only one lap and two years ago it three or four laps, so it was much harder, but apart from that, I knew that I had a chance that it wouldn’t come down to the sprint.”

“Over the last 5km, I followed the good riders in front, but I didn’t do any of the work, and I waited for the right moment on the final climb. I wasn’t in the front at the beginning of the climb, I was maybe in a top ten position, but I moved to the front and then, I started my attack in the last few meters before the climb. I took the right corner and I saw I had a gap, so I just kept going until the finish line.”

“It’s too early to think about the win as there are still three more days of racing to come, but I will work hard to defend the leader’s jersey, and we will see what happens.”

Alexander Kristoff (from Norway) “I felt good during the day but in the end it’s really hard with the climbs. In the last k they attacked but I couldn’t manage to keep my position in front so in the end Teuns had a small gap that we could not close. Everybody was on the limit. The team rode well with Hollenstein and Michael (Mørkøv) controlling it alone. Near the end there was almost a crash for Sven Erik (Bystrøm) in the downhill and he had to work to keep the distance so it was up to me at the end but it was just a little too hard for me today, unfortunately”.

Stage 1
1. Dylan Teuns BMC Racing Team
2. August Jensen Team Coop :02
3. Andrea Pasqualon Wanty – Groupe Gobert
4. Olivier Pardini WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect
5. Fredrik Hagen Carl Team Joker Icopal
6. Markus Hoelgaard Team Joker Icopal
7. Alexander Kristoff Team Katusha – Alpecin
8. Eliot Lietaer Sport Vlaanderen – Baloise
9. Michel Kreder Aqua Blue Sport
10. Fabien Grellier Direct Energie

104. Daniel McLay Fortuneo – Oscaro 6:36
109. Matthew Brammeier Aqua Blue Sport

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