The Tour of Norway Women wrapped up today. While the final result didn’t go our way, the effort and teamwork shown by our riders were never lacking.
Stage 2, a 108-kilometre loop starting and finishing in Stavanger, was once again a demanding one – featuring a short but steep climb and a technical city circuit in the finale.
Our team worked hard in the early part of the race. As the pace increased in the main group, Sofia Bertizzolo, Sofie van Rooijen, and Alena Ivanchenko remained in contention. Ivanchenko fought to defend her white jersey as the race’s best young rider.
The stage win went to Norwegian champion Mie Bjørndal Ottestad (Uno-X Mobility), who launched a brilliant solo attack and proved unreachable for the chasing group. On the final climb, the peloton split further. None of our riders managed to stay with the first chase group, which included Viktória Chladonová (Team Visma | Lease a Bike). She gained enough time to overtake Ivanchenko and take the lead in the young rider classification.
A positive note came from Sofie van Rooijen, who stayed until the last lap with the best and won the sprint of the second chase group – a promising performance to end the race.
(ph. Aymeric Lassak)
