Romain Combaud was the first of three riders across the line in the top 16 places for Team DSM on the tough opening stage of the Tour of Norway finishing 12th ahead of Andreas Leknessund in 14th and Mark Donovan in 16th.

The three riders finished as part of a small chase group that formed after the front of the race splintered on the final climb of the race once the day’s early breakaway of five riders had been brought back into the fold.

The rolling parcours of the 150.8 kilometre stage had already taken its toll on the bunch by the time it reached the lower slopes of the final climb with a much reduced group in the final stages. As the attacks started to fly the riders worked together to cover the moves with Leknessund moving clear in a dangerous move inside of the final five kilometres before a regrouping and final splits on the run in to the finish.

The result sets the team up well for the days to come following a strong team performance from all the riders throughout the stage.

Andreas Leknessund gave his thoughts after the finish: “It was a really hard finish today but we did what each of us could even if we lacked a bit in the legs to fight for a top result. Everyone committed and we can be happy with the way we rode as a team. We can also use this performance as motivation for the upcoming days to continue fighting and to keep going for top results here.”