4 days in the Arctic
The Arctic Race of Norway is the northernmost race on the cycling calendar, and it brings some of the most spectacular natural scenery of the season, taking advantage of the wonderful nordic landscapes. The young Norwegian race, which this year reaches only its ninth edition, will deliver a beautiful show in four acts, from August 11 to 14.
Route
As we said, the race is made up of 4 stages, all of them with undulating profiles. Although categorized as flat by the organization, stages 1, 2 and 4 each include more than 2,000 meters of climbing (the first, more than 3,000), and even it is possible that we will see some sprints, these will undoubtedly be from a selected peloton or small groups. The third stage, which includes the final in Skallstuggu (5.4 km at 5%), completes the route and will be the one that will define the final GC.
Favorites
The general classification will go to riders who can withstand the final climb of stage 3 and perform well in the intermediate stages. Tobias Halland Johansen (400), Quinten Hermans (400), Patrick Bevin (400), Victor Lafay (400), Andreas Leknessund (400), Carl Fredrik Hagen (200), Kristian Aasvold (200), Valerio Conti (200), Kevin Vauquelin (200) or Mark Donovan (200) are some of the best climbers on the provisional list. For the sprints, Dylan Groenewegen (400), Cees Bol (400), Amaury Capiot (400), Luca Mozzato (400), Edvald Boasson Hagen (200), Arne Marit (200) or Patrick Bevin (400) himself are some of the fastest a priori.