Arctic Race of Norway: Thomas Silva holds off Lennert van Eetvelt on steep uphill sprint to win stage 3 and takes race lead
Alessando Pinarello takes third on ‘Norwegian mini-Mont Ventoux’ climb of Storheia
Thomas Silva (XDS-Astana) countered an attack by Lennert van Eetvelt (Lotto-Intermarché) in the final kilometre of the final climb up “Norwegian mini-Mont Ventoux”, Storheia, to win stage 3 of the Arctic Race of Norway.
Crossing the line nine seconds later, Alessando Pinarello (NSN Cycling Team) took third.
A dwindling peloton caught the final breakaway rider with five kilometres to go. From there, Picnic-PostNL took over the pacemaking on the steep narrow road, while more riders were shelled.
Van Eetvelt, who had stayed in fourth wheel on the lower slopes, made his move with one kilometre to go, on the brutal 15% steep pitch. Silva and Pinarello covered the move, and then Silva came around to push the pace, getting a small gap. The Belgium chased but was not able to close the metres separating the two before the finish line.
"Now I stay really happy. It's a really hard final," Silva said.
“We knew today's finish wasn't ideally suited to my characteristics because the final climb was long and very steep. But the team believed in me, I was feeling quite good myself, so we decided to go for the stage win, and the team gave me full support," Silva said.
"The pace on the final climb was very high, but I chose to ride at my own rhythm until the last kilometre. Marco Schrettl stayed with me the whole time, supporting me, which helped me remain in the leading group until the finale. Then I simply gave everything I had in the final acceleration, and it was enough to win."
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The first summit finish delivered the expected shakeup on the general classification with Silva having 10 seconds on Van Eetvelt, and 21 seconds on Pinarello.
The world’s northernmost road cycling race concludes with hilly stage 10, 190.5 kilometres from Sortland to Narvik.
After two days for the sprinters, it was time for the puncheurs to shine on stage 3, a hilly 146.5 kilometres from Stokmarknes to the race’s hardest climb, Storheia. Called Norwegian mini-Mont Ventoux, the finish ascent is 3.5 kilometres averaging 11.8%. But before that, the riders had to face two climbs and the important intermediate sprint and its associated time bonus sprint on the figure-eight-shaped course of the Queen Stage.
The peloton, with the NSN Cycling team lined up at the front, paused for a minute of applause to honour NSN’s Finlay Starling after his tragic death during stage 8 at the Volta a Portugal before the racing got underway.
Immediately after the flag drop, on a chilly day, as the rain started to fall with temperatures of 13 °C, five riders pulled away from the front and had a 1:22 gap after 10 kilometres. The all-Scandinavian break included Erik Vang Aas (Drali-Repsol), Thomas Eriksen (Lillehammer CK), Aksel Laforce (Ringerike) and Lucky Sport’s duo of Morthen Wang Baksaas and Finnish road champion Axel Källberg.
The battle for mountain points raged in the break with Aas able to close his deficit to 1 point to KOM leader Baksaas in the two KOM climbs. Aas and Baksaas then dropped out of the break, leaving the other three to continue on.
Meanwhile, Modern Adventures mostly, Pinarello-Q36.5 and XDS-Astana and Modern Adventures, but not race leader Giovanni Lonardi’s team Polti VisitMalta, took turns at the front to keep the gap manageable, under the 2-minute mark.
With 44 kilometres to go, the trio off the front had 1:23 gap as the skies cleared up, and riders took their rain gear off.
The peloton, with Modern Adventure on the right-side and Pinarello-Q36.5 on the left, brought the gap to 45 seconds with 15 kilometres to go.
NSN took over the front with seven kilometres to go, as Källberg took a last ditch flyer, with a gap of 17 seconds, but he was caught two kilometres later.
Teams jostled for position at the front, as the steep narrow road shelled riders off the back with four kilometres to go. TotalEnergies and then Picnic-PostNL set the pace at the front heading towards the 15% ramp to start the final kilometre.
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Results
Pos |
Rider |
Time |
|---|---|---|
1 |
Guillermo Thomas Silva Coussan (Uru) XDS Astana |
3:29:11 |
2 |
Lennert van Eetvelt (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché |
00 |
3 |
Alessandro Pinarello (Ita) NSN Cycling Team |
09 |
4 |
Robbe Dhondt (Bel) Picnic PostNL |
09 |
5 |
Felix Engelhardt (Ger) Jayco-AlUla |
15 |
6 |
Sebastian Berwick (Aus) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
16 |
7 |
Thomas Bonnet (Fra) Totalenergies |
19 |
8 |
Wouter Poels (Ned) Unibet Rose Rockets |
20 |
9 |
Joris Delbove (Fra) Totalenergies |
24 |
10 |
Fabio Christen (Swi) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
26 |
11 |
Johannes Kulset (Nor) Uno-X Mobility |
35 |
12 |
Cedrik Bakke Christophersen (Nor) Unibet Rose Rockets |
35 |
13 |
Marco Schrettl (Aut) XDS Astana |
45 |
14 |
Bert Bolle (Bel) Volkerwessels |
50 |
15 |
Kevin Andre Sandli Messel (Nor) Team Ringerike |
53 |
16 |
Mark Donovan (GBr) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
53 |
1:00 |
Ludovico Crescioli (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta |
Row 16 - Cell 2 |
1:00 |
Byron Munton (RSA) Modern Adventure |
Row 17 - Cell 2 |
1:05 |
Jon Agirre Egaña (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi |
Row 18 - Cell 2 |
1:11 |
Martin Tjøtta (Nor) Uno-X Mobility |
Row 19 - Cell 2 |
1:11 |
Gotzon Martin Sanz (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi |
Row 20 - Cell 2 |
1:22 |
Alexy Faure Prost (Fra) Picnic PostNL |
Row 21 - Cell 2 |
1:22 |
Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) Unibet Rose Rockets |
Row 22 - Cell 2 |
1:22 |
Joseba Lopez Cuesta (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
Row 23 - Cell 2 |
1:22 |
Vincent van Hemelen (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise |
Row 24 - Cell 2 |
1:22 |
Damien Howson (Aus) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
Row 25 - Cell 2 |
1:22 |
Xabier Berasategi Garmendia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi |
Row 26 - Cell 2 |
1:31 |
Anders Foldager (Den) Jayco-AlUla |
Row 27 - Cell 2 |
1:31 |
Louis Sutton (GBr) Euskaltel-Euskadi |
Row 28 - Cell 2 |
1:36 |
Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) Uno-X Mobility |
Row 29 - Cell 2 |
1:38 |
Georg Rydningen Martinsen (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team |
Row 30 - Cell 2 |
1:42 |
Magnus Kulset (Nor) Team Ringerike |
Row 31 - Cell 2 |
1:47 |
Vilmer Ekman (Swe) Lucky Sport Cycling Team |
Row 32 - Cell 2 |
1:50 |
Joel Nicolau Beltran (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
Row 33 - Cell 2 |
1:50 |
Alessandro Covi (Ita) Jayco-AlUla |
Row 34 - Cell 2 |
1:53 |
Dario Giuliano (Fra) Polti-VisitMalta |
Row 35 - Cell 2 |
1:55 |
Thomas Gachignard (Fra) Totalenergies |
Row 36 - Cell 2 |
1:55 |
Nicolas Alustiza Goenaga (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi |
Row 37 - Cell 2 |
1:58 |
Elias Maris (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise |
Row 38 - Cell 2 |
2:08 |
Teodor de Luca (Swe) Lucky Sport Cycling Team |
Row 39 - Cell 2 |
2:08 |
Alex Diaz Alvarez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
Row 40 - Cell 2 |
2:08 |
Toralf Rydningen Martinsen (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol |
Row 41 - Cell 2 |
2:13 |
Felix Ørn-Kristoff (Nor) Lotto-Intermarché |
Row 42 - Cell 2 |
2:16 |
Michiel Lambrecht (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise |
Row 43 - Cell 2 |
2:18 |
Darren van Bekkum (Ned) XDS Astana |
Row 44 - Cell 2 |
2:18 |
Simen Evertsen-Hegreberg (Nor) Lucky Sport Cycling Team |
Row 45 - Cell 2 |
2:29 |
Owen Geleijn (Ned) Unibet Rose Rockets |
Row 46 - Cell 2 |
2:34 |
Mathieu Kockelmann (Lux) Lotto-Intermarché |
Row 47 - Cell 2 |
2:34 |
Henrik Teslo Fjellheim (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team |
Row 48 - Cell 2 |
2:39 |
Andréa Mifsud (Mlt) Polti-VisitMalta |
Row 49 - Cell 2 |
2:44 |
Artëm Fofonov (Fra) Xds Astana Development Team |
Row 50 - Cell 2 |
2:46 |
Christopher Jensen (Den) Jayco-AlUla |
Row 51 - Cell 2 |
2:46 |
Samuel Leroux (Fra) Totalenergies |
Row 52 - Cell 2 |
2:46 |
Cole Kessler (USA) Modern Adventure |
Row 53 - Cell 2 |
2:52 |
Sander Granberg (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol |
Row 54 - Cell 2 |
3:10 |
Oliver Bleddyn (Aus) Team Brennan |
Row 55 - Cell 2 |
3:13 |
Halvor Dolven (Nor) Lotto - Groupe Wanty |
Row 56 - Cell 2 |
3:18 |
Karl Emil Kjeldsand (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol |
Row 57 - Cell 2 |
3:26 |
Hugo Lennartsson (Swe) Lucky Sport Cycling Team |
Row 58 - Cell 2 |
3:47 |
Mirco Maestri (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta |
Row 59 - Cell 2 |
3:47 |
Ward Vanhoof (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise |
Row 60 - Cell 2 |
3:51 |
Karsten Larsen Feldmann (Nor) Unibet Rose Rockets |
Row 61 - Cell 2 |
3:51 |
Ludvik Aspelund Holstad (Nor) Team Ringerike |
Row 62 - Cell 2 |
3:59 |
Herman Emil Eriksen (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team |
Row 63 - Cell 2 |
4:01 |
Even Thorvaldsen (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team |
Row 64 - Cell 2 |
4:14 |
Victor Vercouillie (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise |
Row 65 - Cell 2 |
4:42 |
Sébastien Grignard (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché |
Row 66 - Cell 2 |
5:02 |
Ronan Auge (Fra) Unibet Rose Rockets |
Row 67 - Cell 2 |
5:11 |
Hamish Mckenzie (Aus) Jayco-AlUla |
Row 68 - Cell 2 |
5:26 |
Henrik Pedersen (Den) Uno-X Mobility |
Row 69 - Cell 2 |
5:30 |
Lionel Taminiaux (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché |
Row 70 - Cell 2 |
5:30 |
Ådne Holter (Nor) Uno-X Mobility |
Row 71 - Cell 2 |
6:04 |
Andreas Flaatten (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team |
Row 72 - Cell 2 |
6:16 |
Christian Alexander Klund (Nor) Team Ringerike |
Row 73 - Cell 2 |
6:23 |
Axel Källberg (Fin) Lucky Sport Cycling Team |
Row 74 - Cell 2 |
6:27 |
Iker Villar Galdeano (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
Row 75 - Cell 2 |
6:36 |
Lorrenzo Manzin (Fra) Totalenergies |
Row 76 - Cell 2 |
6:36 |
Jason Tesson (Fra) Totalenergies |
Row 77 - Cell 2 |
6:41 |
Thomas Eriksen (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team |
Row 78 - Cell 2 |
6:41 |
Ethan Vernon (GBr) NSN Cycling Team |
Row 79 - Cell 2 |
6:41 |
Dion Allan Smith (NZl) NSN Cycling Team |
Row 80 - Cell 2 |
6:41 |
Rotem Tene (Isr) NSN Cycling Team |
Row 81 - Cell 2 |
7:26 |
Eirik Vang Aas (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol |
Row 82 - Cell 2 |
7:26 |
Dillon Corkery (Irl) Picnic PostNL |
Row 83 - Cell 2 |
7:58 |
Kiaan Watts (NZl) Nsn Development Team |
Row 84 - Cell 2 |
7:58 |
Casper Cornelis van Uden (Ned) Picnic PostNL |
Row 85 - Cell 2 |
7:59 |
Emils Liepins (Lat) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
Row 86 - Cell 2 |
8:01 |
Artuur Torney (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise |
Row 87 - Cell 2 |
8:40 |
Tobias Risan Nakken (Nor) Team Drali - Repsol |
Row 88 - Cell 2 |
9:03 |
Oscar Amey (GBr) Nsn Development Team |
Row 89 - Cell 2 |
9:03 |
Ezra Caudell (USA) Modern Adventure |
Row 90 - Cell 2 |
9:03 |
Mark Stewart (GBr) Modern Adventure |
Row 91 - Cell 2 |
9:06 |
Peder Wettre Andreassen (Nor) Team Ringerike |
Row 92 - Cell 2 |
9:09 |
Matteo Badilatti (Swi) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
Row 93 - Cell 2 |
9:13 |
Anton Kuzmin (Kaz) XDS Astana |
Row 94 - Cell 2 |
10:02 |
Andrea Pietrobon (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta |
Row 95 - Cell 2 |
10:02 |
Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta |
Row 96 - Cell 2 |
10:02 |
Marc Rubirola Vila (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
Row 97 - Cell 2 |
10:19 |
Brody Mcdonald (USA) Modern Adventure |
Row 98 - Cell 2 |
10:35 |
Paul Hennequin (Fra) Euskaltel-Euskadi |
Row 99 - Cell 2 |
10:47 |
Riley Pickrell (Can) Modern Adventure |
Row 100 - Cell 2 |
11:02 |
Erlend Blikra (Nor) Uno-X Mobility |
Row 101 - Cell 2 |
11:06 |
Henrik E. Farstadvoll (Nor) Lillehammer Ck Continental Team |
Row 102 - Cell 2 |
11:56 |
Nikiforos Arvanitou (Gre) Team United Shipping |
Row 103 - Cell 2 |
11:56 |
Joe Pidcock (GBr) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
Row 104 - Cell 2 |
12:53 |
Aksel Laforce (Nor) Team Ringerike |
Row 105 - Cell 2 |
12:53 |
Morthen Wang Baksaas (Nor) Lucky Sport Cycling Team |
Row 106 - Cell 2 |
Position |
Rider (Country) Team |
Time Gap |
|---|---|---|
1 |
Guillermo Thomas Silva Coussan (Uru) XDS Astana Team |
11:31:07 |
2 |
Lennert Van Eetvelt (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché |
0:00:10 |
3 |
Alessandro Pinarello (Ita) NSN Cycling Team |
0:00:21 |
4 |
Robbe Dhondt (Bel) Team Picnic PostNL |
0:00:25 |
5 |
Felix Engelhardt (Ger) Team Jayco-AlUla |
0:00:31 |
6 |
Sebastian Berwick (Aus) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
0:00:32 |
7 |
Thomas Bonnet (Fra) Team TotalEnergies |
0:00:35 |
8 |
Wout Poels (Ned) Unibet Rose Rockets |
0:00:36 |
9 |
Joris Delbove (Fra) Team TotalEnergies |
0:00:40 |
10 |
Fabio Christen (Swi) Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team |
0:00:42 |
Lyne has been involved in professional cycling for more than 15 years in both news reporting and sports marketing. She founded Podium Insight in 2008, quickly becoming a trusted source for news of the North American professional cycling world. She was the first to successfully use social media to consistently provide timely and live race updates for all fans. She is proud to have covered men's and women's news equally during her tenure at the helm of the site. Her writing has appeared on Cyclingnews and other news sites.
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