Tobias Lund Andresen sprints to 2nd on uphill finish in Hovden

Due to adverse weather conditions with freezing temperatures and heavy rain, today’s Tour of Norway stage was shortened to 85 kilometres and instead started in Røldal. Climbing from the flag drop, it was an intense day in the saddle with several attacks and a strong pace set in the peloton; becoming more a race of attrition. No group was able to build up a substantial lead and heading onto the shorter but steeper second climb Lorenzo Milesi put in a strong attack which caused a reaction in the peloton, thinning out the group even more.

Well represented in the reduced peloton with five riders, Team DSM rode cohesively as a unit on the tough parcours and under grizzly weather conditions but the day seemed destined to come down to a reduced group sprint. On the slight descent before the kick up to the line the bunch was strung out through some wet and sharp corners, with Tobias Lund Andresen moving up well and following the wheels. Coming out and delivering a strong kick, he almost made it past everyone on the drag to the line with only one rider managing to hold off the fast-finishing Dane who took a very respectable second place on the stage.

“Today was super short and intense,” explained Lund Andresen. “We started straight into a long climb with attacks from the bottom and later there was a hard but controlled pace. After the first climb we came together and entered the steep one in a good place. Lorenzo went for a strong attack which put on a high pace, making a big split in the peloton with only a couple of fast guys left in the group, including myself. The finish was super hectic with wet sharp corners and in the end I had really good legs, but just not enough metres in the end to come around for the win.”