Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) won the second stage at the Tour des Fjords, beating race leader Leigh Howard (IAM Cycling) in a mad dash to the line. Tinkoff's Nikolay Trusov was third.

"That was a hard climb at the end and the attacks came quite early," Kristoff said of the tricky finale in Odda. "I should have tried to follow earlier because afterwards it was more flat, but I ended up doing it at my own speed.

"Nils Politt was the only guy left for me and he was pulling and pulling on the climb. He did an amazing job – he literally pulled for the entire climb. We finally got some help on the downhill, but he was pulling until 2km to go. He did a job by himself equal to a full team; it was amazing."

"In the sprint I felt quite strong, but I want to emphasize that I never would have come to the sprint without Politt pulling like he did. He brought me into perfect position. To do that alone was impressive. Without him today I would not be standing here as the winner. But also, I want to thank all the team for support today."

Following the confusion on the opening stage, where the peloton was led off course and Howard and two other riders escaped by going the correct direction, the UCI decided to nullify the gaps but keep the time bonuses intact from the first stage.

Howard now leads the race by two seconds over Kristoff, with stage 1's runner-up Jesper Asselman (Roompot) in third at 12.

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