Tom Pidcock claimed the queen stage of the Arctic Race of Norway. On the steep final climb, he was just a bit stronger than Corbin Strong. The latter finished second and thus retained the overall lead.
On day three of the Arctic Race of Norway, the better climbers had to make their move. The stage finished on the Målselv climb, a nearly four-kilometer ascent averaging close to eight percent gradient. The stage began with some hilly terrain, but was followed by a long flat approach leading into the ultimate finale.
Husøy) Målselv)On the first climb of the day, four Norwegians immediately broke away. Morthen Wang Baksaas was first over the steep ascent and secured a prize of 100 kilograms of salmon. Storm Ingebrigtsen, Georg Rydningen, and Sebastian Veslum missed out on the fish but, thanks to their effort, found themselves in the early breakaway. The quartet built a gap of just over five minutes and would color the otherwise not very eventful stage for hours.
The Arctic Race of Norway always delivers stunning images – photo: Cor Vos
Only in the finale did things start to happen. While Veslum left his breakaway companions behind and went solo against the peloton. We saw a few punctures in that big group. Dylan Teuns and Tom Pidcock both suffered mechanical problems, but both were able to return well before the start of the final climb. Meanwhile, Christian Scaroni snatched a second at a bonus sprint. Shortly after, with nine kilometers to go, Veslum was caught as the last escapee. It would be a battle among the favorites heading to Målselv.
Battle on the final climb
Once on the final climb, XDS Astana pushed the pace. They stretched out the peloton, but then Milan Vader took over to support Pidcock. The Dutchman from Q36.5 led the group up to one and a half kilometers from the finish. When he dropped back, Pidcock didn’t accelerate immediately. The Brit let the pace ease briefly, but then launched an attack. Only one rider could follow him: yellow jersey wearer Corbin Strong. The two started the slightly less steep final kilometer together.
Pidcock stayed on the front and launched his sprint from far out. Strong managed to hold his wheel, came up alongside, even seemed to go past, but ultimately had to concede defeat. Pidcock took the stage win, but Strong maintained the overall lead. The gap between the two is now six seconds. One hilly stage remains.
Arctic Race of Norway| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 04:43:16 | |
| 2 | " | |
| 3 | + 12 | |
| 4 | + 16 | |
| 5 | + 17 | |
| 6 | + 19 | |
| 7 | + 21 | |
| 8 | " | |
| 9 | " | |
| 10 | " |
