Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) won the uphill finish on stage 3 of the Arctic Race of Norway to Målselv but failed to crack Corbin Strong (Israel-Premier Tech), who finished in the same time to keep the leader's jersey, leaving the general classification finely balanced before Sunday's final stage around Tromsø.
The Kiwi jumped on Pidcock's wheel when he attacked with 1.2km to go and then suffered in the slipstream. Pidcock tried to surge twice but Strong hung on. He even tried to win the two-rider sprint but ran out of power in sight of the line, meaning Pidcock edged ahead to hit the line first.
Christian Scaroni (XDS-Astana) finished third on the stage at 12 seconds. Strong now leads Pidcock by six seconds in the GC, with Scaroni third at 23 seconds.
Pidcock was happy to win after a long break from racing but was hoping to distance Strong to set-up overall victory. How he faces a battle for seconds on Sunday.
"I'm happy but we also wanted to try to get the jersey but Corbin did an incredible climb for a sprinter," he said.
"I'm happy with a stage win. It's been a while since I was racing on the road after a long training block. I feel the freshness coming back after a long part of the season."
Stage 4 on Sunday is a rolling 135.3km stage around Tromsø with the second category 1.2km Prestvannet climb covered eight times, with other climbs on each lap.
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"It'll still be a big race tomorrow but will be tricky, he's strong and going well," Pidock said of Strong.
"It's going to be a tough race but we've got a strong team. Let's see what we can do."
How it unfolded
(Image credit: A.S.O. / Aurélien Vialatte)
The 182km third stage of the Arctic Race of Norway was expected to shake-up the GC standings before Sunday's hilly final stage, with the 3.7km, 7.8% climb to the finish in Målselv offering a chance to create time gaps.
The stage started in Husøy, inside the Arctic Circle and headed south from the edge of the Norwegian sea via fjords and stunning country roads.
The stage was ideal for a long breakaway attempt and four local riders took their chance and got away soon after the start.
Morthen Wang Baksaas (Team Ringerikskraft), Sebastian Veslum (Norway), Storm Ingebrigtsen (Team Coop-Repsol) and Georg Rydningen Martinsen (Lillehammer CK Continental Team).
Wang Baksaas was the first to top of the early Husøy climb and so won 100kg of salmon. His surge also helped the break get a gap and so the narrative of the stage was set.
Ingebrigtsen and Baksaas fought for the mountains points during the stage as Veslum fought for the intermediate sprints.
The quartet opened a lead of 1:30 after a few kilometres and their work and lack of chase in the peloton meant it increased as the stage evolved. Only Q36.5 were willing to put a rider on the front to make the chase, the peloton convinced that Tom Pidcock was the favourite for the stage victory.
The gap was timed at 2:20 with 60km as the chase increased the pace and tried to keep the attackers under control. With 30km to go, it was down to 1:30, as the four riders attacked each other rather than working smoothly together. Ingebrigtsen even sat on, perhaps under team orders, which slowed the attackers even more.
Q36.5 rode on the front and lined-out the peloton on the rolling forest roads, with other teams finally joining the chase. That quickly reduced the gap and so with 20km to go, only Veslum remained out front by a few seconds. In another twist, rain began to fall on the race, further raising the tension.
Veslum was eventually caught with nine kilometres to go, after a 173km attack.
Pidcock was strangely at the back of the peloton after suffering a mechanical problem with 10km to go. The Q36.5 leader was forced to chase in the cars but was back in the peloton as the pace accelerated to the foot of the climb to the finish.
Stage 2 winner Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X) did a big turn for his teammates and then the climb began to hurt as the riders passed the parked convoy of their team camper vans. The Arctic Race of Norway is so far north of central Europe that teams do not send their usual team buses.
Davide Ballerini (Astana-XDS) hit the front with three kilometres to go, riding for his teammate Christian Scaroni. Q36.5 soon took over with Milan Vader leading Pidcock. The Yorkshireman was expected to attack but instead hesitated, letting Strong catch his breath.
Pidcock finally made his move with 1.2km but Strong got on his wheel, as everyone else was distanced. Strong suffered and suffered even more in Pidcock's slipstream but it was worth it. The two finished together and so Strong kept the Midnight sun leader's jersey for the final day.
Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
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