1. Etappe: Bodø – Rognan – 157 Km

Uno-X’s Alexander Kristoff took the win by storm in the first stage of the 2024 Arctic Race of Norway between Bodø and Rognan, the latter being the same city on which he already netted the maiden stage of the 2016 edition of the northernost professional road cycling event. The Norwegian legend put the icing on the cake to an excellent performance by his whole team, which led the bunch from start to finish to control and catch the five-strong breakaway that enabled Jelle Johannink (TDT-Unibet) to take the Peacock jersey as leader of the Mountains classifications. Kristoff finished off the amazing work of his fellow Uno-X riders with a powerful sprint to score his sixth stage win in the Arctic Race of Norway and become the first overall leader of this year’s edition ahead of the second stage between Beiarn and Fauske, to be raced on Monday over a 178,1-kilometre course that includes four categorised climbs spread over the journey and a gravel sector just inside the final 20 kilometres.

1 KRISTOFF Alexander NOR Uno-X Mobility 03:43:32
2 FRETIN Milan BEL Cofidis 00:00
3 VAN ASBROECK Tom BEL Israel – Premier Tech 00:00
4 JEANNIÈRE Emilien FRA TotalEnergies 00:00
5 BIERMANS Jenthe BEL Arkéa – B&B Hotels 00:00
6 KANTER Max GER Astana Qazaqstan Team 00:00
7 CORT Magnus DEN Uno-X Mobility 00:00
8 CHRISTEN Fabio SUI Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team 00:00
9 DE WILDE Gilles BEL Team Flanders – Baloise 00:00
10 KOPECKÝ Matyáš CZE Team Novo Nordisk 00:00

108 riders took the start in the first stage of the 2024 Arctic Race of Norway, held between Bodø and Rognan over 155,3 kilometres, at 14:21. The course was mostly flat on its first half, yet turned lumpy on its second one with no less than three categorized climbs ahead of a gentle descent to the finish. It was 5 kilometers into the race that Mikel Retegi (Equipo Kern Pharma), Jelle Johannink (TDT-Unibet), Pascal Eenkhoorn (Lotto-dstny), Nathan Smith (Team Novo Nordisk) and Kalle Petter Kvam (Coop-Repsol) went clear from the bunch. Eenkhoorn led the five-strong breakaway thru Øyjorda (IS, km 20,1), where the front group enjoyed a 1’20” advantage on a peloton led by Uno-X with Rasmus Tiller and Jonas Abrahamsen undertook the lion’s share of the work.

A relatively short-lived breakaway
The biggest gap between the break and the peloton was 2’20”, clocked at kilometer 49. At the summit of the climb to Kvikstadheia (Cat 2, km 93,5), where Johannink was first across, the advantage of the five riders at the front had decreased down to 2’00”. Their lead came down to nothing at Enge (IS, km 111,5), with Eenkhoorn still leading the race. Shortly after, Kvam took off on his own. At the bottom of the climb to Misvær (Cat 3, km 119,3), his teammate Eivind Broholt Fougner attacked to overtake him and be first across the summit with 10” on Johannink and 15” on Retegi, who led the peloton there. Both Fougner and Johannink were brought back by the main group on time for the Kåsmo (IS, km 126,3) intermediate sprint, where Magnus Cort (Uno-X) took the best off Mauro Schmid (Jayco-AlUla) and Kevin Vermaerke (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL).

Uno-X pulls it off
The third and last categorized climb of the day to Ljøsenhammeren (Cat 2, km 137,2) saw many attacks take place, with TotalEnergies’s Thomas Bonnet starring the main one. He was caught a few hundred meters shy from the summit, first reached by Johannink to confirm his hard-earned lead in the KOM standings. Uno-X drove the peloton all the way to the end of the stage, where its sprinter Alexander Kristoff was the fastest in the final straight defeating Cofidis’ Milan Fretin and Israel-Premier Tech’s Tom Van Asbroeck.

2. Etappe: Beiarn – Fauske – 175 Km

The Norwegian team Uno-X mobility echoed his excellent performance in the opening stage of the Arctic Race of Norway with yet another amazing display in the second one, controlling the unfolding of the events all day long to set the scenario for another mass sprint on which its fastest rider, Alexander Kristoff, raised again his arms in victory. The local legend scored his seventh-ever stage win in this race and secured himself a second outing in the midnight sun jersey. The landscape will change on Tuesday, as the third stage between Tverlandet and Sulitjelma is set to finish atop Jakobsbakken, a seven-kilometer climb on which light riders will come to the fore.

1 KRISTOFF Alexander NOR Uno-X Mobility 04:05:38
2 VAN ASBROECK Tom BEL Israel – Premier Tech 00:00
3 CORT Magnus DEN Uno-X Mobility 00:00
4 JEANNIÈRE Emilien FRA TotalEnergies 00:00
5 KANTER Max GER Astana Qazaqstan Team 00:00
6 TAMINIAUX Lionel NOR Lotto Dstny 00:00
7 CHRISTEN Fabio SUI Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team 00:00
8 BLOUWE Louis BEL Bingoal WB 00:00
9 DE PRETTO Davide ITA Team Jayco AlUla 00:00
10 GALVÁN Francisco ESP Equipo Kern Pharma 00:00

Plomi Foto

108 riders took the start in the second stage of the 2024 Arctic Race of Norway, held between Beiarn and Fauske over 178,1 kilometers, at 13:45. On top of the much anticipated 6,3-kilometer long gravel sector in Holtan (km 158,5), the riders were challenged pretty early in the stage with the climb to Beiarfjellet (Cat 1, km 15,6), the highest-ever summit in the history of the world’s northernmost road cycling race at 608 meters. Peacock jersey holder Jelle Johannink (TDT-Unibet), took off as the flag dropped, along with Simon Pellaud (Tudor), Eivind Broholt Fougner and Storm Ingebritsen (Coop-Repsol), to crest the first climb with a 5’00” advantage on the peloton. Johannink led the front group across the summit to further strengthen his position as leader of the Mountains classification. Ingebritsen drove the break through Enge (IS, km 39,3), where they held a 4’05” margin on a bunch where Uno-X was at the helm on behalf of overall leader Alexander Kristoff.

Simon Pellaud’s one-man show
After completing the Kvikstadheia (Cat 2, km 57,3) climb, first created by Johannink with the peloton 3’30” in arrears of the breakaway, the race entered a phase on which the gap gradually decreased down to the 2’05” timed at Fauske (IS, km 125,1), where Pellaud was first across. The climb to Seljeåsnes (Cat 3, km 144,3) saw Pellaud take off to claim maximum points, with only Ingebritsen managing to bridge back to the Swiss rider as the peloton rode across the summit 1’10” in arrears, driven by Equipo Kern Pharma. On the climb to Rødås (Cat 3, km 153,8), Pellaud accelerated for good to crest solo with 50” on the bunch and 10” on Ingebritsen, who was swept in shortly after.

‘Grey roads’ ahead of a textbook sprint
A dozen riders went down at the back of the bunch just ahead the gravel sector in Holtan (km 158,5), with white jersey Milan Fretin (Cofidis) crashing out of the race. Pellaud hit the ‘grey roads’ holding a 40”-gap that came down to 20” out of the gravel, only to be reeled back in by a frantic peloton with 8 kilometers to go. Mauro Schmid (Jayco-AlUla) led the bunch across Fauske (IS, km 169,7), with first Arkéa-B&B Hotels and later Uno-X taking over at its head. Into the final kilometer, the Norwegian team would pull off a near-textbook leadout for its star sprinter Kristoff to net a second straight stage win over Tom Van Asbroeck (Israel-Premier Tech) and fellow Uno-X rider Magnus Cort.

3. Etappe: Tverlandet – Sulitjelma (Jakobsbakken) – 155 Km

1 BONNEU Kamiel BEL Team Flanders – Baloise 03:51:55
2 CORT Magnus DEN Uno-X Mobility 00:02
3 VERMAERKE Kevin USA Team dsm-firmenich PostNL 00:02
4 BLACKMORE Joseph GBR Israel – Premier Tech 00:02
5 CHAMPOUSSIN Clément FRA Arkéa – B&B Hotels 00:02
6 SCHULTZ Nick AUS Israel – Premier Tech 00:02
7 CRAPS Lars BEL Team Flanders – Baloise 00:02
8 SCHMID Mauro ITA Team Jayco AlUla 00:02
9 IRIBAR Unai ESP Equipo Kern Pharma 00:02
10 CHRISTEN Fabio SUI Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team 00:02
11 LOOCKX Lander BEL TDT – Unibet Cycling Team 00:02
12 DE TIER Floris BEL Bingoal WB 00:02
13 POZZOVIVO Domenico ITA VF Group – Bardiani CSF – Faizanè 00:07
14 BRAMBILLA Gianluca ITA Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team 00:07

4. Etappe: Glomfjord (Meløy) – Bodø – 156 Km

1 CORT Magnus DEN Uno-X Mobility 03:19:01
2 CHAMPOUSSIN Clément FRA Arkéa – B&B Hotels 00:00
3 CHRISTEN Fabio SUI Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team 00:02
4 BERCKMOES Jenno BEL Lotto Dstny 00:02
5 SCHMID Mauro ITA Team Jayco AlUla 00:02
6 VERMAERKE Kevin USA Team dsm-firmenich PostNL 00:02
7 BURGAUDEAU Mathieu FRA TotalEnergies 00:08
8 BRAMBILLA Gianluca ITA Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team 00:08
9 DE TIER Floris BEL Bingoal WB 00:08
10 SCARONI Christian NOR Astana Qazaqstan Team 00:08
11 LOOCKX Lander BEL TDT – Unibet Cycling Team 00:08
12 BONNEU Kamiel BEL Team Flanders – Baloise 00:11
13 BLACKMORE Joseph GBR Israel – Premier Tech 00:11
14 FOLDAGER Anders DEN Team Jayco AlUla 00:14
15 CRAPS Lars BEL Team Flanders – Baloise 00:16

Endstand:

1 CORT Magnus DEN Uno-X Mobility 14:59:45
2 CHAMPOUSSIN Clément FRA Arkéa – B&B Hotels 00:17
3 VERMAERKE Kevin USA Team dsm-firmenich PostNL 00:19
4 SCHMID Mauro ITA Team Jayco AlUla 00:20
5 CHRISTEN Fabio SUI Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team 00:21
6 BONNEU Kamiel BEL Team Flanders – Baloise 00:22
7 BERCKMOES Jenno BEL Lotto Dstny 00:30
8 LOOCKX Lander BEL TDT – Unibet Cycling Team 00:31
9 DE TIER Floris BEL Bingoal WB 00:31
10 BLACKMORE Joseph GBR Israel – Premier Tech 00:34
11 BURGAUDEAU Mathieu FRA TotalEnergies 00:34
12 SCARONI Christian NOR Astana Qazaqstan Team 00:36
13 BRAMBILLA Gianluca ITA Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team 00:36
14 CRAPS Lars BEL Team Flanders – Baloise 00:39
15 FOLDAGER Anders DEN Team Jayco AlUla 00:42
16 MARIAULT Axel FRA Cofidis 00:45
17 WOOD Harrison GBR Cofidis 00:45
18 STORK Florian DEN Tudor Pro Cycling Team 00:49
19 SCHULTZ Nick SUI Israel – Premier Tech 00:50

MAGNUS CORT PUTS THE ICING ON THE ARCTIC FOR UNO-X

Bodø, Wednesday, August 7th 2024 – Uno-X Mobility topped off an extraordinary week in the Arctic Race of Norway by winning the last stage and securing the overall win through his Danish rider Magnus Cort, who raised his arms in victory to bring home the midnight sun jersey that he had already claimed on the eve, atop Jakobsbakken. The last outing in the world’s northernmost road cycling event was no walk in the park, though, as the Norwegian team had to pull with all its cyclists into the uphill finish in Bodø in order to bring back a strong breakaway led by Lotto Dstny, which was hoping to overhaul the overall classification with Jonas Gregaard Wilsly. Their brave effort, though, was frustrated by the ever-dominating Uno-X Mobility and its scorer Magnus Cort, who landed the team’s third stage win in this edition of the Arctic Race of Norway after Alexander Kristoff netted the first two earlier in the week. Arkéa-B&B Hotels’ Clément Champoussin and Team dsm-firmenich PostNL’s Kevin Vermaerke stood alongside Cort on the overall podium, while his teammate Andreas Leknessund finished as the best Norwegian rider and TDT-Unibet’s Jelle Johannink collected the peacock jersey as the winner of the Mountains classification.

104 riders took the start in the fourth stage of the 2024 Arctic Race of Norway, held between Glomfjord (in the municipality of Meløy) and Bodø over 157,1 kilometers, at 16:40. Magnus Cort (Uno-X) started the day as the overall leader, yet his midnight sun jersey was at stake with an uphill finish in schedule and no less than 22 riders within shooting distance of the Dane’s position as there were 19 bonus seconds up for grabs spread between three intermediate sprints and the finish line. A huge crash shook the peloton 4 kilometers into the race and forced Eivind Broholt Fougner (Coop-Repsol) and Antonio Soto (Equipo Kern Pharma) to withdraw. The day’s breakaway got established at km 15, as Andreas Stokbro Nielsen (TDT-Unibet) and Jonas Wilsly (Lotto-dstny) went clear and were joined by Logan Currie (Lotto-dstny), Arthur Kluckers (Tudor), Alessandro Perracchione (Novo Nordisk) and Karsten Larsen Feldmann (Coop-Repsol). The six men at the front enjoyed a 1’25” advantage on the bunch driven by Uno-X at Dalen (IS, km 21,5), where Wilsly was first across to collect three bonus seconds that brought him closer to Cort in the GC after starting the day in 37th position, 48” in arrears.

Several teams cooperate with Uno-X
The gap grew up to 3’40” when Wilsly led the breakaway through Skauvoll (Cat 3, km 50,1). His teammate Currie paced the six-strong front group at Ertenvåg (Cat 2, km 81,4), where their advantage peaked at 3’45”. The landscape at the head of the bunch changed slightly up the climb to Tuv (Cat 3, km 98,4) as Jayco-AlUla put Lawson Craddock to take turns along with Uno-X’s Rasmus Tiller and Markus Hoelgaard, bringing the margin of break down to 3’25” as Currie was again first at the summit. Later on, Flanders-Baloise, Israel-Premier Tech, Astana Qazaqstan and Team dsm-firmenich PostNL also contributed to the chase too.

Wilsly agonizingly close to pull an amazing victory
The escapees reached the final circuit in Bodo (km 129) with a sizable margin of 2’20” over the peloton. The three laps around the 9,8-kilometer course made for an exciting chase, with Uno-X at helm trying to reel in a breakaway where Wilsly claimed maximum bonus seconds in both the intermediate sprints at km 137,5 and km 147,1. The gap was down to 1’05” at the latter, with just 10 kilometers to go, enabling the men at the front to reach the final, 1,2-kilometer long climb with a slight gap. Wilsly tried to make the most of it, but he was caught for good with 200 meters to go as Cort sprinted for the win to thwart his courageous bid.