Arctic Race of Norway 2019 – Stage 2 [FULL STAGE]

August 16, 2019

Arctic Race of Norway 2019 – Stage 2 – Henningsvaer – Svolvaer : 164 km

In a busy week of racing, from America to Belgium and Spain, the Arctic Race of Norway takes us above the Arctic Circle for the northern-most race in professional cycling. It is surely among the most picturesque, too, and this year the headline act is the all-new summit finish on Storheia, which is being dubbed ‘the Norwegian Mont Ventoux’. At 3.5km in length, and 504m above sea level, it’s some way short of ‘The Giant of Provence’, but shares an exposed mountainside with panoramic views and a susceptibility to strong winds, not to mention a weather station tower at the top. With gradients that average 11.8 per cent, it will be decisive in terms of the race as a whole, appearing on the third of the four stages. In keeping with the traditional format, there is one other ‘hilly’ stage – replicating the 2017 stage in Narvik won by Dylan Teuns – along with two flatter days for the sprinters at the start of the race. In terms of location, the race returns to its roots for its seventh edition, with a return to the Lofoten archipelago that was used for the inaugural edition back in 2013. “This seventh edition of the Arctic Race of Norway will again be spectacular and undecided just until the last day in Narvik,” says race ambassador Thor Hushovd.

Bryan Coquard (Vital Concept-B&B Hotels) won stage 2 of the Arctic Race of Norway, beating overall leader Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon-Circus) into second place in a bunch finish in Svolvær.

Mindful of the headwind in the finishing straight, Coquard parked himself on the wheel of Christophe Laporte (Cofidis) ahead of the final corner and allowed his fellow countryman to open his effort from distance before careering past him in the final 100 metres.

Van der Poel, such an impressive winner of Thursday’s opening stage, tried gamely to get back on terms, but the Dutchman was unable to overhaul Coquard, who claimed his eighth victory of the season. Laporte held on for third ahead of August Jensen (Israel Cycling Academy), while Louis Bendixen (Team Coop) took fifth.

“For the finale, we had only Kevin Reza and Jeremy Lecroq, but Kevin is amazing for the lead-out. He put me on the wheel of Christophe Laporte, and I opened my sprint after the last corner,” said Coquard.

“Mathieu van der Poel is very, very strong but today, I was sure that if I was in a good position, then it was going to be possible to win and to beat Van der Poel.”

Thanks to the six-second time bonus he picked up for placing second on the stage, Van der Poel extends his overall lead to nine seconds over Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Pro Team). Markus Hoelgaard (Uno-X Norwegian Development Team) moves up to third overall, also at nine seconds, while Andrea Pasqualon (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) is a further two seconds back in fourth.

How it unfolded

After the carnage of Thursday’s opening stage, when a group of 33 riders forged clear following a viciously fast opening two hours, there was a rather more structured feel to stage 2 of the Arctic Race of Norway.

The day’s early break forged clear without undue fuss in the opening 10 kilometres, when a group of four Norwegian riders established a gap over the peloton. Tobias Mørch Kongstad (Riwal Readynez Cycling Team), Erik Resell (Uno-X Norwegian Development Team), Håkon Lunder Alrust (Team Coop) and Henrik Evensen (Joker Fuel of Norway) were granted their freedom, and they built up a maximum lead of 3:30, while the sprinters’ teams – eventually – struck up a working alliance behind.

“It was a very tactical today, we had a little poker between different teams,” Coquard said. “We had only Patrick Müller working the first part of the stage. It was very difficult for Patrick, but I’m very happy to have won the stage.”

The break’s advantage gradually dropped in the final 50km, and when their advantage fell to 30 seconds with 15km remaining, Alrust and Ressell clipped away from their erstwhile companions.

Ressell would in turn rid himself of Alrust but despite his determined laid solo effort, he was swept up by the peloton just shy of the intermediate sprint with 5km to go. Van der Poel’s Corendon-Circus team, and Stijn Devolder in particular, had been prominent in leading the peloton to that point, but instead the bonus seconds were snaffled by Ressell’s Uno-X teammate Hoelgaard, who continued his effort to open a small gap over the peloton.

Cofidis took up the reins in the run-in, and their pursuit ensured that Hoelgaard was caught with 2km to go. The stage was set for a bunch sprint, though it would take place without the unfortunate Danny van Poppel (Jumbo-Visma), who was forced off the road ahead of the finish. The Dutchman managed to stay upright as he rode onto a grass verge, but he endured the frustration of missing out on the chance to contest the win.

After missing the split on stage 1, Coquard was eager to make up for lost time here. His turn of speed was enough to defeat Van der Poel, who, in the absence of a lead-out man, had flitted from wheel to wheel in the finale.

Results :
1 Bryan Coquard (Fra) Vital Concept-B&B Hotel 3:31:11
2 Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Corendon-Circus
3 Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
4 August Jensen (Nor) Israel Cycling Academy
5 Louis Bendixen (Den) Team Coop
6 Herman Dahl (Nor) Joker Fuel of Norway
7 Emils Liepins (Lat) Wallonie Bruxelles
8 Nathan Haas (Aus) Katusha-Alpecin
9 Christophe Noppe (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
10 Jordi Warlop (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
11 Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Wanty-Gobert
12 Erlend Jordbrekk Blikra (Nor) Team Coop
13 Sondre Enger (Nor) Israel Cycling Academy
14 Colin Joyce (USA) Rally UHC Cycling
15 Warren Barguil (Fra) Arkéa Samsic
16 Amund Grøndahl Jansen (Nor) Team Jumbo-Visma
17 Olav Hjemsæter (Nor) Team Coop
18 Jose Daniel Viejo Redondo (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias
19 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Dimension Data
20 Otto Vergaerde (Bel) Corendon-Circus
21 Rasmus Bøgh Wallin (Den) Riwal Readynez Cycling Team
22 Thimo Willems (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
23 Trond Håkon Trondsen (Nor) Team Coop
24 Benjamin Declercq (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
25 Hugo Houle (Can) Astana Pro Team
26 Mads Schmidt Würtz (Den) Katusha-Alpecin
27 Bert Van Lerberghe (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
28 Lilian Calmejane (Fra) Total Direct Energie
29 Jonas Iversby Hvideberg (Nor) Uno-X Norwegian Development Team
30 Aritz Bagues Kalparsoro (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias
31 Adam De Vos (Can) Rally UHC Cycling
32 Quentin Pacher (Fra) Vital Concept-B&B Hotel
33 Connor Swift (GBr) Arkéa Samsic
34 Brenton Jones (Aus) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
35 Tom Wirtgen (Lux) Wallonie Bruxelles
36 Rein Taaramäe (Est) Total Direct Energie
37 Preben Van Hecke (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
38 Aksel Fischer Aasheim (Nor) Joker Fuel of Norway
39 Jérémy Lecroq (Fra) Vital Concept-B&B Hotel
40 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Dimension Data
41 Kim Magnusson (Swe) Riwal Readynez Cycling Team
42 Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
43 Dimitri Peyskens (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles
44 Juri Hollmann (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin
45 Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Israel Cycling Academy
46 Kevin Ledanois (Fra) Arkéa Samsic
47 Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) Israel Cycling Academy
48 Brandon McNulty (USA) Rally UHC Cycling
49 Kenny Molly (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles
50 Frederik Backaert (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
51 Magnus Cort Nielsen (Den) Astana Pro Team
52 Guy Sagiv (Isr) Israel Cycling Academy
53 Kevyn Ista (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles
54 Floris De Tier (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma
55 Lucas Eriksson (Swe) Riwal Readynez Cycling Team
56 Yoann Offredo (Fra) Wanty-Gobert
57 Krists Neilands (Lat) Israel Cycling Academy
58 Øivind Lukkedal (Nor) Joker Fuel of Norway
59 Kristoffer Skjerping (Nor) Uno-X Norwegian Development Team
60 Bjørn Tore Hoem (Nor) Joker Fuel of Norway
61 Markus Hoelgaard (Nor) Uno-X Norwegian Development Team
62 Romain Combaud (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
63 Julen Irizar Laskurain (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias
64 Sindre Skjøstad Lunke (Nor) Riwal Readynez Cycling Team
65 Dmitrii Strakhov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin
66 Ryan Anderson (Can) Rally UHC Cycling
67 Krister Hagen (Nor) Riwal Readynez Cycling Team
68 Ander Barrenetxea Uriarte (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias
69 Franck Bonnamour (Fra) Arkéa Samsic
70 Pavel Kochetkov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin
71 Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin
72 Danilo Wyss (Swi) Dimension Data
73 Erik Nordsaeter Resell (Nor) Uno-X Norwegian Development Team
74 Enzo Bernard (Fra) Total Direct Energie
75 Alessandro Fedeli (Ita) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
76 Jonas Gregaard Wilsly (Den) Astana Pro Team
77 Daniil Fominykh (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
78 Tom-Jelte Slagter (Ned) Dimension Data
79 Yuriy Natarov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
80 Andreas Vangstad (Nor) Joker Fuel of Norway
81 Kristian Aasvold (Nor) Team Coop
82 Maxime Bouet (Fra) Arkéa Samsic
83 Fabien Grellier (Fra) Total Direct Energie
84 Kristian Kulset (Nor) Uno-X Norwegian Development Team
85 Håkon Lunder Aalrust (Nor) Team Coop
86 Mauro Finetto (Ita) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
87 Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Total Direct Energie
88 Stephen Cummings (GBr) Dimension Data
89 Simon Carr (GBr) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
90 Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) Wanty-Gobert
91 Julien Mortier (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles
92 Tobias Mørch Kongstad (Den) Riwal Readynez Cycling Team
93 Bryan Nauleau (Fra) Total Direct Energie
94 Loïc Vliegen (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
95 Pascal Eenkhoorn (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
96 Pit Leyder (Lux) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
97 Mathias Van Gompel (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
98 Patrick Müller (Swi) Vital Concept-B&B Hotel
99 Kevin Van Melsen (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
100 Jimmy Janssens (Bel) Corendon-Circus
101 Emmanuel Morin (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
102 Alan Riou (Fra) Arkéa Samsic
103 Przemyslaw Kasperkiewicz (Pol) Delko Marseille Provence KTM 0:00:15
104 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
105 Henrik Evensen (Nor) Joker Fuel of Norway 0:00:22
106 Svein Tuft (Can) Rally UHC Cycling
107 Kevin Reza (Fra) Vital Concept-B&B Hotel 0:00:27
108 Loic Chetout (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:00:32
109 Thomas Leezer (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:00:35
110 Johan Le Bon (Fra) Vital Concept-B&B Hotel 0:01:06
111 Lasse Norman Hansen (Den) Corendon-Circus
112 Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:01:19
113 Dries De Bondt (Bel) Corendon-Circus 0:01:44
114 Lars Saugstad (Nor) Uno-X Norwegian Development Team

General Classification after Stage 2 :
1 Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Corendon-Circus 3:31:11
2 Louis Bendixen (Den) Team Coop
3 Christophe Noppe (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
4 Jordi Warlop (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
5 Erlend Jordbrekk Blikra (Nor) Team Coop
6 Colin Joyce (USA) Rally UHC Cycling
7 Amund Grøndahl Jansen (Nor) Team Jumbo-Visma
8 Olav Hjemsæter (Nor) Team Coop
9 Jose Daniel Viejo Redondo (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias
10 Otto Vergaerde (Bel) Corendon-Circus
11 Rasmus Bøgh Wallin (Den) Riwal Readynez Cycling Team
12 Thimo Willems (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
13 Trond Håkon Trondsen (Nor) Team Coop
14 Benjamin Declercq (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
15 Mads Schmidt Würtz (Den) Katusha-Alpecin
16 Jonas Iversby Hvideberg (Nor) Uno-X Norwegian Development Team
17 Connor Swift (GBr) Arkéa Samsic
18 Tom Wirtgen (Lux) Wallonie Bruxelles
19 Aksel Fischer Aasheim (Nor) Joker Fuel of Norway
20 Jérémy Lecroq (Fra) Vital Concept-B&B Hotel
21 Juri Hollmann (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin
22 Brandon McNulty (USA) Rally UHC Cycling
23 Kenny Molly (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles
24 Guy Sagiv (Isr) Israel Cycling Academy
25 Lucas Eriksson (Swe) Riwal Readynez Cycling Team
26 Krists Neilands (Lat) Israel Cycling Academy
27 Øivind Lukkedal (Nor) Joker Fuel of Norway
28 Markus Hoelgaard (Nor) Uno-X Norwegian Development Team
29 Julen Irizar Laskurain (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias
30 Dmitrii Strakhov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin
31 Franck Bonnamour (Fra) Arkéa Samsic
32 Erik Nordsaeter Resell (Nor) Uno-X Norwegian Development Team
33 Enzo Bernard (Fra) Total Direct Energie
34 Alessandro Fedeli (Ita) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
35 Jonas Gregaard Wilsly (Den) Astana Pro Team
36 Yuriy Natarov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
37 Kristian Aasvold (Nor) Team Coop
38 Fabien Grellier (Fra) Total Direct Energie
39 Kristian Kulset (Nor) Uno-X Norwegian Development Team
40 Håkon Lunder Aalrust (Nor) Team Coop
41 Simon Carr (GBr) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
42 Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) Wanty-Gobert
43 Julien Mortier (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles
44 Tobias Mørch Kongstad (Den) Riwal Readynez Cycling Team
45 Pascal Eenkhoorn (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
46 Pit Leyder (Lux) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
47 Mathias Van Gompel (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
48 Patrick Müller (Swi) Vital Concept-B&B Hotel
49 Emmanuel Morin (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
50 Alan Riou (Fra) Arkéa Samsic
51 Przemyslaw Kasperkiewicz (Pol) Delko Marseille Provence KTM 0:00:15
52 Henrik Evensen (Nor) Joker Fuel of Norway 0:00:22
53 Lars Saugstad (Nor) Uno-X Norwegian Development Team 0:01:44