Arndt wins stage 3 of Arctic Tour of Norway

There’s more than just Thor Hushovd at the Arctic Race of Norway. The “God of Thunder” was fifth in the slightly uphill finish of stage 3 and lost the lead to Vacansoleil-DCM’s Kenny van Hummel who came second to Nikias Arndt of Argos-Shimano and secured enough time bonus to bounce back as the race leader.

Only a few weeks after Marcel Kittel crowned his fabulous Tour de France with a fourth stage win in Paris, Germany delivered a new powerful sprinter in the world of pro cycling. “It’s a good question but I don’t think that I’m the new Kittel”, Arndt said after claiming the first victory of his career in Stokmarknes.

“To sprint against Marcel is something crazy. For now, I’m very proud that I can win a stage at the Arctic Race and maybe I can get a second chance tomorrow.”

One of the ideas behind the Arctic Race of Norway is to encourage the future champions. Before the final stage in Harstad, young Norwegian girls and boys aged 17 or 18 will contest the Arctic Morgensdagens Helter Rittet (Arctic Heroes of Tomorrow Race).

One of Norway’s most promising riders made a household name for himself during most of stage 3: Sven Erik Bystrøm (Øster Hus-Ridley), a double national champion for criteriums who can also climb very well, made the main breakaway of the day that was initiated the 35km mark and comprised seven riders: Mathias Friedemann (Champion System), Tony Hurel (Europcar), Timofey Kritskiy (Katusha), Fabien Bacquet (BigMat-Auber 93), Sondre Hurum (Oneco) and Louis Verhelst (Cofidis) and Bystrøm.

The latter won the King of the Mountain prize at 63km mark.

With 25km to go, Bystrøm showed more of his talent and split the front group with only Hurel, Kritskiy and Verhelst able to go with him. As the peloton was close to reel the leading quartet in, Bystrøm rode offensively again and was followed by Kritskiy. In a similar scenario as the day before, the pack was all together again with 7km to go.

Sep Vanmarcke (Belkin) attempted to go solo over the second last bridge as he responded to an attack by Edwig Cammaerts (Cofidis) 5km from the finishing line. The runner-up of Paris-Roubaix was the last man caught while Argos-Shimano took over from BMC at the head of the bunch with 3km to go. The slightly uphill finish looked perfect for Hushovd but Van Hummel followed him closely and Arndt was perfectly positioned by his team-mates.

“We had a plan for the finish but we changed it with 5km to go and we gave everything”, Arndt explained. “My team was unbelievably strong and gave me a perfect lead out. That’s why it was possible to beat Hushovd today. I got a bit of luck as well. As we crossed the line, we didn’t know who had won. I said that I was in the top 3 for sure but I had no idea at which place. We had to come back to the line and ask. After the officials told us that I had won, I celebrated with my teammates.”

It was a very tight finish for a thrilling finale that excluded Hushovd from the top three positions awarding time bonus. Crossing the line in second place behind Arndt, Van Hummel received six seconds and took over from the Norwegian champion as the race leader. “I chose Hushovd’s wheel with the intention to win a second stage”, Van Hummel said. “I’m disappointed that I finished only in second place but I’m going to defend the leader’s jersey on the last day. I’m very motivated.”

Hushovd lacked teammates as Adam Blythe who led him out in the last kilometer the previous day produced an enormous effort with 3km to go. “After all the work the team did today, I didn’t expect to have someone up there to help me”, said a disappointed Hushovd.

“It’s a pity that I couldn’t keep the jersey but what counts really is to have it tomorrow. We won’t have to do the work this time.”

A thrilling finale is expected on Sunday for the final stage in Harstad with Van Hummel, Hushovd, best young rider Barry Markus and Arndt within six seconds in the overall classification.

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