Nordhagen refuses to blame himself after major Yates blow and sharpens knives for final stage

After the breakaway riders were reeled in during Friday’s fourth stage, Visma | Lease a Bike increased the pace on the penultimate climb. When George Bennett (NSN Cycling Team) accelerated there, Anton Schiffer followed the move on behalf of the Killer Bees. In the end, however, the Dutch squad had to settle for second place after Yates rode clear on the steep final climb.

Nordhagen did not try to follow the Briton immediately. Instead, the Norwegian chose to ride at his own pace. He eventually reached the summit 46 seconds behind Yates. “Adam was the strongest today and deserved to win. That’s the honest story,” Nordhagen said afterwards on his team’s website.

“I can’t blame myself for anything,” the Norwegian continued. “On the final climb, I decided not to go full throttle straight away, because I knew I might burn myself out. I rode up at my own pace and tried to find my way into the climb. I think I can be satisfied with how I handled it.”

Sports director Robert Wagner agreed with that assessment. “Of course we wanted to win today and take the yellow jersey, but we also knew Adam would be a worthy opponent. He deserved to win today. I’m proud of the way we approached the race,” the German said.

“We made a plan this morning and executed it from start to finish. Some of the lads are really coming into their own here. It’s fantastic to see,” Wagner concluded.

The gap between Yates and Nordhagen in the general classification is now 34 seconds. In theory, that could still be overturned in Saturday’s tough final stage. “I’ve got nothing to lose tomorrow. I’m going to ride aggressively and try to make things as difficult as possible for Adam,” Nordhagen said.

“Adam has shown himself to be very strong, so I know it will be difficult to beat him. Nevertheless, I’m going to do my absolute best to win.”