Norwegian legend Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Mobility) sprinted to victory on stage 4 of the Tour of Norway in his residence soil of Stavanger. Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe) couldn’t get round within the closing 50 metres and completed second. A late surge by Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) put him in third.
The general title went to Axel Laurance (Alpecin-Deceuninck), as he rode safely within the lead pack in sixth place, and held his 12-second benefit over Bart Lemmen (Visma-Lease a Bike). Adne Holter (Uno-X Mobility) was third general, only one second behind Lemmen.
The tempo was excessive on the ultimate day of racing, Stage 4 that includes six laps of a 19km circuit round Stavanger for a rolling 124km.
The Uno-X Mobility practice cranked up the velocity on the entrance of the peloton within the closing kilometre with a number of twists and turns. The Norwegian crew delivered Kristoff to the road for his third consecutive victory in Stavanger. It was the eleventh stage victory for Kristoff in his profession.
“I do know precisely the end, however right now was actually powerful, actually laborious to get it collectively. I’m happy to take victory once more this yr” Kristoff stated Sunday.
“I really feel good, however in fact, within the Tour is a unique degree, however a number of the guys are the identical. So if I can beat them right here, why not within the Tour.”
With slightly below 100km left to race, a gaggle of six riders took off and opened a fast 30-second hole on the fourth lap – Hannes Wilksch (Tudor Professional Biking Group), Laurent Gervais (Challenge Echelon Racing), Marcel Camprubí (Q36.5 Professional Biking Group), Natnael Tesfatsion (Lidl-Trek), Kim Heiduk (Ineos Grenadiers) and Jakub Otruba (ATT Investments).
With 57km to go, Jelle Johannink (TDT-Unibet Biking) bridged to the entrance group. Behind, Visma-Lease a Bike drove the tempo. With two laps to go, Van Aert got here to the entrance of the peloton and pushed the tempo together with teammate Koen Bouwman.
The utmost lead for the seven solely stretched to a bit of multiple minute, and their journey light after the fourth go of the Grisabakken.
On the penultimate climb, a small group shaped throughout the crest, with Carl Fredrik Hagen (Q36.5 Professional Biking) main Huub Artz (Inermarché-Wanty), Magnus Cort (Uno-X Mobility) and Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek), in the most effective younger rider jersey.
Vacek attacked over the climb with 7km to go, with all of the GC contenders matching the acceleration to stay on the entrance of the race. The twisting roads into downtown Stavanger restricted extra assaults and Uno-X Mobility then lined as much as transfer Kristoff into place for the dash end.
Outcomes
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