Ahead of the queen stage, Remco Evenepoel remains in contention for the overall victory.
Remco Evenepoel started the day – his 32nd leading the general classification of a stage race since turning pro – in the orange jersey which he donned following his impressive victory in Voss, but without Zdenek Stybar, who was forced to abandon after not feeling well. Despite being in just five, the Wolfpack remained prominent at the front, immediately assuming pace-setting responsibilities once the peloton exited the neutral zone.
Things remained calm until they hit the long Dynarut climb, where a change of pace dropped all the pure sprinters, who reacted by kicking off a mad pursuit to rejoin the now depleted peloton. Things complicated with around 40 kilometers to go, when savage crosswinds caused more splits and whittled down the bunch, leaving only some 20-odd men there, including Remco, French Champion Rémi Cavagna and last season’s Ronde van Vlaanderen winner Kasper Asgreen.
As well as protecting Evenepoel, the team worked for Kasper in the closing kilometers of the stage to Geile, and the Dane got involved in the sprint, taking sixth behind Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers). Due to the bonus seconds game, Remco dropped to third overall, but only one second separates the best young rider of the Tour of Norway from the top of the GC ahead of the hard uphill finish to Stavsro.
Photo credit: ©Bas Czerwinski / Getty Images
