Kristoff still has what it takes and sprints to number 98, leaving leader Strong behind

It was Strong who had captured the first leader's jersey in the Norwegian stage race on Thursday with a powerful sprint. On Friday, there were more opportunities for the New Zealander from Israel-Premier Tech in the second stage, as the 166.5-kilometer stage to Sørreisa did not present too many difficulties. However, the gravel sections in the final meant that another sprint was not a certainty.

Morthen Wang Baksaas (Norwegian national team), Storm Ingebrigtsen (Coop-Repsol), and Georg Rydningen Martinsen (Lillehammer CK Continental) were the three Norwegians who accelerated from the start. Josh Burnett (Burgos Burpellet BH) and Jelle Johannink (Unibet Tietema Rockets) managed to catch up after a short chase, forming a leading group of five riders.

Just like the day before, there was not much space. The breakaway riders were kept close by the peloton, at a distance of about 2 to 3 minutes. The weather, on the other hand, was very different from the day before. The rain had stopped, and the sun was shining, so we no longer saw rain jackets, just short-sleeved jerseys on most of the riders.

At the front, the cooperation was not working well, and the pace set by Israel-Premier Tech and Uno-X in the peloton meant that the lead of the four front riders quickly decreased. We had already seen Johannink drop out of the leading group, but with 77 kilometers to go, Eirik Vang Aas (Coop-Repsol) was determined to make it a group of five again.

The Norwegian did indeed catch up with the four leaders, as the gap at that point was only one minute. The peloton was quite happy with five men at the front, and so the gap to the leading group grew to more than two minutes again. Arriving at the final circuit, the riders had to tackle the gravel section at Sorreisa three times, with the last time coming a good 20 kilometers from the finish.

With 20 kilometers to go and two of the three gravel sections behind them, Israel-Premier Tech had everything under control. The leading group of four—Baksaas had been dropped—had only a 20-second lead over the fast-approaching peloton. Surely a mass sprint was inevitable?

Abram Stockman tried to prevent this on behalf of the Tietema team, and Kevin Vermaerke of Picnic PostNL joined the Belgian on the final gravel section. There was no cooperation on the uphill section, as Vermaerke had some energy left in the tank and left Stockman behind.

The American, who finished third in the last two editions in Norway, made a brave attempt to stay away, but Uno-X Mobility eventually closed the gap. And it was worth it, because Kristoff clearly had good legs and was put in an ideal position. With Strong out of contention after a crash on the left, the Norwegian won by a bike length in front of his home crowd.