A few weeks ago Michael Valgren (Tinkoff-Saxo) proved his great potential when he finished third in the Four Days of Dunkirk behind Arnaud Demare and Sylvain Chavanel. Today he was again in the mix when he finished 2nd in the third stage of the Tour des Fjords.

In Tour des Fjords, Tinkoff-Saxo’s faced the hardest and 163 kilometer long third stage in the beautiful Norwegian landscape and the riders were all set to make a difference in the mountainous terrain between Hjelmeland and Forsand.
 
In the first break, Jesper Hansen represented the team colors but Team Katusha were eager to settle the stage in a sprint and brought them back. However, both Michael Valgren and Bruno Pires insisted on eloping the field, created the crucial break but brought a Danish rider, Magnus Cort (Cult Energy-Vital Water) who won the stage ahead of his former teammate, Valgren.
 
“I’m happy with the way we handled ourselves out there today. We wanted to dominate the stage and so we did but in the sprint, we just couldn’t beat the young Dane. This was the hardest stage of the Tour and we expect a chance for sprinters tomorrow,” said DS, Tristan Hoffman after the stage.