Stage 3: Stokmarknes -> Storheia Summit
Stage 3 of the Arctic Race of Norway was the first opportunity for the punchy riders and climbers to show their hand, with the finish coming atop a 3.4-kilometre climb averaging 10.8 percent. Five riders went clear early in the stage and built an advantage of just over two minutes, but the peloton kept the breakaway on a short leash. By halfway through the stage, only three riders remained at the front.
The final breakaway rider was caught with five kilometres to go, while Team Picnic PostNL moved up towards the front ahead of the decisive climb. On the steep gradients, stagiaire Bert Bolle set a strong pace for Robbe Dhondt, who stayed towards the front throughout the climb. With the race coming down to the final few hundred metres, Silva launched his attack with 300 metres to go and held on for the win. Dhondt battled all the way to the line, finishing fourth after a strong team performance.
After the stage, Dhondt said: “As a team, we really delivered a perfect performance today. After seeing Bjorn abandon following the opening stage, we had to reset and decided to play me as the finisher today. The previous stages hadn’t gone entirely to plan, with things going wrong in the sprints, but today everyone did an incredible job. Casper brought us to the foot of the climb, Dillon then did a great job on the climb itself, and everyone was so motivated to make it work. Finally, our new rider, Bert — or ‘Bertje’, as we call him — also did a fantastic job. I felt like I had to deliver a result for the team. It’s a little disappointing not to have taken third, but fourth is still a very good result. I felt really good today, and there’s another opportunity tomorrow, so we’ll try to carry this momentum forward. We’re extremely motivated to fight for another strong result.”
