Nikolay Trusov took sixth place on the opening stage of Tour of Norway, while Alexander Kristoff proved the fastest in the gradual uphill sprint. Team DS Nicki Sørensen notes that Tinkoff-Saxo can be fairly satisfied with round one in Norway, as all three Tinkoff-Saxo riders aiming for the GC finished in front of a gap that split the peloton.
 
In a close catch, the escapees of stage 1 were reeled back on the dying meters. Nikolay Trusov, Tinkoff-Saxo’s designated sprinter, took sixth, while the team’s GC riders crossed the line with the front bunch.
 
“It was okay today, not an ideal sprint for Nikolay Trusov as the sprint was a bit uphill, which is not his strongest discipline. But I think we can be satisfied with the general effort that the guys made, they all tried to do their best and they worked dedicatedly to execute the team strategy”, says Tinkoff-Saxo sports director Nicki Sørensen.

Stage 1 from Årnes to Sarpsborg presented the riders with a fairly flat 182km parcours. The peloton controlled the breakaway, but an attack 50k from the finish line nearly threw a spanner in the works for the sprinters.
 
“As usual, a breakaway got away at the start of the stage. The peloton asserted its control fairly well over the five riders out front but with 50k to go Lotto attacked from the bunch with two men, who worked up a three-minute lead. The peloton had a hard time catching them again and we sent both Juraj Sagan and Petrov to the front, as we wanted Trusov to get a chance to sprint”, explains Nicki Sørensen, who adds:
 
“In the end, it was extremely close, as the two guys were caught just before the line. Overall, it was also fine from a GC perspective as Brutt, Hansen and Chris Anker stayed well positioned throughout the stage and came home with the front bunch. There was a gap of 13 seconds after the 35th rider so several favorites lost time today. Tomorrow is quite like today and we might try to send out Pavel Brutt, while Trusov will continue to aim for the sprints”.