Corbin Strong masters circuit to seal GC as Dversnes wins sprint in Arctic Race of Norway
With only six seconds separating 1st and 2nd in the GC at the start of the stage, Corbin Strong sealed the deal on a tactical circuit race to land the general classification on the fourth and final stage.
Corbin Strong withstood the pressure on a thrilling final stage to seal the GC at the Arctic Race of Norway after finishing 2nd on the final stage behind stage winner Fredrik Dversnes (Uno-X Mobility), with Davide Ballerini (XDS-Astana) in 3rd on the stage.
Having moved into the race leader due to winning stage 2, Strong was able to stick with Tom Pidcock on the race’s summit finish the following day, and managed to follow all the necessary moves to hold on to the six-second lead he held over Pidcock at the start of the stage. It marks the second GC success of Strong’s career, having won the Ethias Tour de Wallonie in July.
Tom Pidcock finished 6th on the stage after a valiant effort to dethrone Strong. In the end, the Kiwi's margin of victory in the GC was 11 seconds over Pidcock and 28 seconds over Christian Scaroni (XDS-Astana).
How it unfolded
A fierce battle unfolded to form the breakaway, with eight riders ultimately succeeding: Davide Ballerini (XDS-Astana), Jonas Geens (Flanders-Baloise), Asbjørn Hellemose (Jayco AlUla), Bjorn Koerdt (Picnic PostNL), Ulrik Tvedt (Lillehammer CK), Diego Uriarte (Equipo Kern Pharma), and Mattéo Vercher (TotalEnergies).
In the early part of the stage, there was a crash involving Milan Vader (Q36.5), Felix Ørn-Kristoff (Intermarché-Wanty), and Pau Miquel (Equipo Kern Pharma)
With about 50km remaining, the breakaway’s lead dropped below one minute due to aggressive moves in the peloton, led prominently by Tom Pidcock (Q36.5)
Shortly after, with 47km to go, Eddie Dunbar (Jayco AlUla) attacked on the Prestvannet summit, joined by Norwegian champion Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility).
The duo built a 15-second lead over the peloton while closing in on the breakaway, making the junction on the fast-flowing downhill main roads, with the peloton trailing by 25 seconds.
However, cohesion in the breakaway faltered as Holter briefly surged ahead but was soon tasked with pacing for Leknessund, as the other breakaway riders hesitated to contribute due to the presence of Leknessund and Dunbar.
A powerful move by Pidcock brought the race back together, crucially putting bonus seconds back into play as the breakaway no longer swept them up.
The British rider pressed on during the descent, aiming to pressure Corbin Strong (Israel-Premier Tech), who was further back. Ballerini countered, forming a group of about 15 riders, including Pidcock and Strong, just ahead of a larger chasing group.
Koerdt and Ballerini attacked before the next climb, where Pidcock unleashed a ferocious acceleration with 30km remaining, vying for bonus seconds. Strong stayed glued to his wheel, resulting in a photo finish for the bonus seconds behind Koerdt. Pidcock was awarded second, Strong third, narrowing the GC gap from 6 to 5 seconds.
As on every lap, numerous attacks followed the summit in the subsequent kilometres. Strong focused on marking Pidcock, while Strong’s teammate Nick Schultz (Israel-Premier Tech) neutralised moves from Stefano Oldani (Cofidis) and Hugo de la Calle (Burgos BH Burpellet), who had built a 20-second gap with 20km to go.
With 15km remaining on the climb, Vercher attacked, closing in on Oldani and De la Calle before Timo De Jong (Picnic PostNL) made his move.
Pidcock’s teammate Marcel Camprubí (Q36.5) then gained a significant gap. Vercher, in top form, surged from the back to bridge to Camprubí but couldn’t close it before the GC group reeled them in, remaining intact over the final climb’s summit.
Leknessund, active throughout, made a final move on the descent with 6.7km to go but was chased down by Jayco AlUla and Dunbar.
As the descent levelled off, Dylan Teuns (Cofidis), a former race winner, attacked with 4.5km remaining, joined by a TotalEnergies rider, but they were caught with 2.5km to go.
The stage’s chaotic nature made it hard to track the lead group, but it became clear that a sprint would decide the stage and possibly the GC.
Strong was well-positioned for the sprint, with Pidcock boxed in. However, Dvernes emerged from the pack, powering to a decisive stage win with a well-timed sprint. Strong took second, securing the GC, while Pidcock finished sixth on the stage.
