Visma | Lease a Bike just misses out on victory in Norway: "The conditions made it extremely tough"

The Tour of Norway kicked off with what initially looked like a stage for the sprinters. At first, everything pointed that way, with Visma | Lease a Bike keeping the breakaway within reach to set up a sprint for Brennan. But strong winds changed everything, tearing the peloton apart into echelons. Almost all the breakaway riders were caught, except for Ingebrigtsen, who claimed the biggest win of his young career.

Brennan narrowly missed out on the win, but there was no regret afterward. The promising British sprinter said he had given it everything, as had his teammates. “The conditions made it extremely tough today. In the final, my hands were so cold I couldn’t shift gears properly. We went all-in as a team to bring back the break. Like the others, I gave it my all and entered the final corner at the front of the peloton. Unfortunately, Ingebrigtsen was just too far ahead,” Brennan said on the team website.

Team director Frans Maassen had no criticism for his riders afterward. “We saw early on that with the crosswinds, it might be tough to bring back the breakaway. So we put our guys on the front and gave it everything. We caught the break, except for one rider who stayed away. Unfortunately, we didn’t have quite enough power left after that. You hope to be able to sprint for the win with Matthew today. It’s a shame that didn’t happen, but we raced incredibly strongly.”

The Tour of Norway continues Friday with a hilly stage of nearly 210 kilometers. The finale includes two steep climbs, with the summit of the last climb also being the finish line. It’s a finish that suits the explosive Brennan very well once again. If it proves too tough for him, the Dutch team also has Jørgen Nordhagen and Atilla Valter as strong alternatives.