The BMC Racing Team finished safely in the peloton Thursday at the Arctic Race of Norway as a bunch sprint finish decided the opening stage.

Alexander Kristoff (Team Katusha) out-dueled Norwegian national road champion Edvald Boasson Hagen (MTN-Qhubeka) for the win at the end of the 210-kilometer race.

"This was a day for the sprinters," BMC Racing Team Sport Director Yvon Ledanois said. "The last two days here will be the best two days for us. So we will concentrate on keeping position."

BMC Racing Team's Dylan Teuns overtook the last of the day's breakaway riders in the final six kilometers of the race and was first over the top of the final "king of the mountain" point.