MTN-Qhubeka heads into the Tour of Norway with a two-pronged attack. Gerald Ciolek will seek stage wins in the sprints while Dennis van Niekerk and Tsgabu Grmay will target the hillier stages.

The Tour of Norway gets underway on Wednesday and the UCI 2.HC race has attracted a rather interesting field this year with a number of a high profile names appearing on the startlist. Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung will hope to make its presence felt with Gerald Ciolek chasing stage wins and Dennis van Niekerk and Tsgabu Grmay looking to ride well on the hillier stages too.

The 5 stage race will see riders take in some of the most beautiful sights Norway has to offer, that is weather permitting though as overcast and inclement weather is often a fixture of this race. Nevertheless it is race that is growing in stature and prestige and this can be seen with the likes of Bauke Mollema (Belkin), Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) and Daniele Bennati (Tinkoff Saxo) all choosing to be part of the Norwegian race.

The 5 stages have something for everyone really with the first 2 stages being more for the sprinters while stage 3 incorparates a summit finish for the climbers. Stage 4 has a number of climbs before a flat run to finish, setting the stage up for an attacking race and then the final stage on Sunday will see the peloton finish with 5 laps on a challenging circuit course that should suit the puncheur.

Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung will start with Ciolek leading 5 of their African riders. Van Niekerk and Grmay will be joined by Johann van Zyl, Ferekalsi Debesay and Adrien Niyonshuti for the week in Norway.

"We will definitely be trying for a good stage result this week, especially on stages that may end in a bunch sprint," Directeur Sportif Manel Lacambra said. "To be fair our guys aren’t quite at there best now but we always try to show our colours in every race.

"The Tour of Norway is becoming a special race, mostly because of the people, scenery, the weather and organisation. All of these aspects make for a race that we look forward to."