Tour des Fjords: Boasson Hagen wins final stage

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Two years after he claimed stage 3 at the Critérium du Dauphiné and the Norwegian time trial championship, Edvald Boasson Hagen (MTN-Qhubeka) made his comeback as a winner as he snatched the conclusive stage of the Tour des Fjords in a thrilling finale that saw Marco Haller making it for Katusha’s tactical mistake the previous day.

The Austrian took over from Søren Kragh Andersen (Tre For-Blue Water) to clinch the first stage race overall win of his career in the home of his teammate Alexander Kristoff, whose three initial stage victories have ensured the success of the event.

“I’m very happy to finally win a race after two years,” Boasson Hagen said. “I was feeling very good at the Tour of Norway last week and during the Tour des Fjords but I had to convert that into a victory. I’m glad it happens here in Norway before I’ll go to France to ride the Dauphiné.

“I had a perfect position before the last climb where I was able to accelerate and go away. Then, our group of four riders worked very well together. They let me sit back and save some energy for the sprint. I’m also happy with the way we changed my training. The transition [from Team Sky to MTN-Qhubeka] has worked well.”

In the steep and narrow climb officially named Sømarkbakken but commonly known by cyclists as Grisebakken – which means the pig’s hill – Boasson Hagen strongly attacked with 9km to go. Only Daryl Impey (Orica-GreenEdge), Haller and his teammate, Sven-Erik Bystrøm, managed to follow him.

“I was near the front of the peloton but some guys next to me didn’t ride fast enough,” Kragh explained. “At the same time, the breakaway was caught as we rode into the hill. I was feeling that I could go after Haller but it didn’t happen and the chase wasn’t strong enough as several teams came to the front but not for a long time.”

The escapees of the day were Rasmus Christian Quaade (Cult Energy), Etienne van Empel (Roompot), Pieter Jacobs (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise), Wouter Mol (De Rijke) and Audun Brekke Fløtten (Ringeriks-Kraft). They got up to six minutes lead but were brought back in the third and final lap of the finishing circuit around Stavanger where Boasson Hagen outsprinted Impey while Haller was full of praise for Bystrøm’s dedication.

“You hardly see neo pros who can pick the level so fast and have such a huge impact on the races,” Haller said. “He’s one of the most talented riders I’ve ever seen. With a bit of experience, he’s going to be world champion as a pro as well as a U23. Today I’m so happy that everything worked out. I owe my win to Team Katusha since we worked hard the whole week.

“I’m proud and happy to make it in front of the amazing crowd,” Haller said. “Actually, our plan was to try and make it in the sprint after collecting bonus seconds [Haller won the first intermediate sprint ahead of Kragh], but I had so strong legs today that I took the momentum on the steep hill and went for it with Impey, Hagen and Bystrøm. This was a hard race with some big names competing so it’s a great feeling to be the overall winner.”

The other name that’ll remain from the third edition of the Tour des Fjords is Kragh who ended up second on GC after taking the lead in the queen stage. “I’m very disappointed but also satisfied with my performance in the race”, the 20-year-old Dane said. “It’s frustrating to be so close to winning the overall. I had bad luck today but a lot of luck yesterday, so I’ll bring good memories home.”

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