Tinkoff-Saxo took the overall win at Tour of Norway with young climber Jesper Hansen, who laid the foundation for his victory with a solo win on the queen stage. Hansen won the race by 47 seconds to runner up Boasson Hagen after the team had managed to control the situation on the last two eventful stages. “I knew I was strong, but I’m still surprised”, says Hansen about his first GC win of his career.

After having crossed the line in Hønefoss as the overall winner, Jesper Hansen states that it is a big deal and thanked his teammates for the support.

“This is of course a big day for me. It’s a really great feeling to win Tour of Norway overall. The team has made a massive effort during the last days and today they once again controlled the attempts and breakaways while keeping me well positioned ahead of the final lap, where Boasson Hagen attacked. I followed him and bridged the gap on the top of the last climb. And by then I felt that the win was within reach. I am very happy”, says Jesper Hansen, who adds that he knew that the shape was good prior to the race.

“I was aware that my shape was good before travelling to Tour of Norway. I had done a series of promising tests in Italy and my performance at Tour de Romandie had also been good. So I knew that I was as good as ever, but I had not counted on winning the race. I believe that I’ve made some progress as a rider and it’s most likely because another year as a pro has given me more strength and endurance. I hope that I can maintain my shape until Dauphiné, where I want to perform. After that I can take a period of rest”.

Stage 5 from Flå to Hønefoss was the closing day of racing in Norway and saw several breakaways and attempts along the 175km parcours. In the end, it was Andreas Vangstad that soloed to victory 14 seconds in front of the decimated group of favorites. According to Tinkoff-Saxo’s sports director Nicki Sørensen the team had made a dedicated effort to support Jesper Hansen.

“Jesper had the full support of the team today. Everybody lived up to the expectations but it was certainly not easy today, especially not due to the fact that we only have six riders on the squad to control the race. But the team stuck to the script and controlled the stage, while keeping a cool head. Jesper knew that he came to Norway in shape, but to transfer a good shape into an overall win is another matter. He did very well and it is a stronger Jesper than ever”, underlines Nicki Sørensen before adding:

“It has been a good race for Tinkoff-Saxo. We have won the GC and a stage and the guys showed that they are improving ahead of the next challenges. Chris Anker did well as road captain and Trusov did a great work for the team after he had been our go to guy in the sprints during the first two stages. Everybody contributed and that is very important to me and the team”.