Nordhaug wins Arctic Race of Norway opener in North Cape

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Lars Petter Nordhaug (Belkin) took his first victory in two years on stage 1 of the Arctic Race of Norway. Juraj Sagan (Cannondale) won the sprint for second place, with Nordhaug's teammate Steven Kruijswijk coming over for third.

"For a Norwegian to win a big race in Norway and especially in this place is really good. I was feeling super at the end of the race," said Nordhaug at the finish.

Nordhaug attacked twice on the final climb, before he distanced the remnants of the peloton in what was the most northerly stage finish in professional bike racing.

"The first one was to get rid of the sprinters, but Spilak came with me and we got caught and then I went again," he said.

Belkin were by far the strongest team in the finale and did much of the work to bring back the breaks. Kruijswijk set things up for his teammate with a strong drive up the final ascent. The Norwegian moved into the race lead, as Belkin put three men into the top five. "I think we are the strongest team overall with the climbs. There are other stages with the sprints but our goal is to do well in the overall. We are three in the top five so that is amazing."

The opening stage of the Arctic Race of Norway took the riders 204 kilometres north from the town of Hammerfest to Nordkapp. Thor Hushovd was ready to defend his title from 12 months ago, but the tough terrain at the finish meant that is was going to be a hard day in the saddle for the sprinters.

August Jensen (ØsterHus-Ridley) and Kevin Seeldraeyers (Wanty-Groupe Gobert), Luke Davison (BMC), Davide Frattini (UnitedHealthcare) and Morten Morland (Sparebanken Sør) escaped early on over the flatter terrain and took a maximum lead of 5:45 on the peloton. They were all together when they reached the North Cape tunnel, but it was Jensen who emerged alone on the other side.

After a sprint out of the tunnel, Seeldraeyers soon joined up with Jensen on the other side. The pair drove on as their former break companions were caught. Jensen looked the strongest of the two remaining escapees and it showed when he was able to drop Seeldraeyers on the penultimate climb. The Norwegian was finally engulfed by the dwindling peloton with 22km to go.

A spate of attacks ensued, with Mathias Brandle's the most convincing. The IAM Cycling rider's advantage grew to just over 30 seconds, but he too was passed and dropped when Nordhaug decided to make his first move on the final climb. The attack was designed to get rid of the sprinters and it did just that, as Hushovd and Kittel could be seen sliding off the back.

Simon Spilak (Katusha) joined the Belkin rider, but the two were caught with three kilometres to the finish. Nordhaug bided his time, before launching his killer move a kilometre further down the road.

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