Remco Evenepoel will lead the team at the 11th edition of the Scandinavian race.
Taking place from 24 until 29 May, the Tour of Norway will get underway from beautiful Bergen – the host of the 2017 World Championships – with a hilly stage concluding on a 2.1km climb averaging 8.4% where the GC contenders are expected to emerge for the first time. Their second and most important opportunity of the week comes two days later, in Stavsro – in the form of a brutal 12km climb boasting a 16.8% maximum gradient which should be decisive in the fight for the orange jersey – despite the presence of a hilly local circuit that will be tackled in Stavanger on the final stage.
The sprinters will have three opportunities (Geilo, Kristiansand and Sandnes) to shine and go for the points classification and the blue jersey at this edition, although a question mark remains on the first of these stages due to the presence of a long climb in the first 70 kilometers, where some teams could try to drop the fast men.
The youngest rider in the last 54 years to win Liège–Bastogne–Liège, Remco Evenepoel will return to action for the first time since triumphing at “La Doyenne” one month ago, together with a strong Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl squad that is set to include 2021 Flanders victor Kasper Asgreen, French Champion Rémi Cavagna, Josef Cerny, Zdenek Stybar and neo-pro Ethan Vernon.
“Norway is not an easy race. Those two uphill finishes are really hard and we can expect some significant gaps there. We’ll see what Remco can do on those two ascents, he’s our man for the GC and will have a good squad to support him. Concerning the bunch sprints, we’ll try to be in the mix with Ethan, who proved earlier this season in Catalunya what he can do. The confidence is there, the determination is there, so we can’t wait to get things underway in a couple of days”, said Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl sports director Tom Steels.
Photo credit: ©Bas Czerwinski / Getty Images
