The 183 kilometer third stage of Arctic Race of Norway from Finnsnes on the Island of Senja to the uphill finish to Målselv was dominated by six riders who did what they could to maintain a lead over the chasing pack. But the GC was up for grabs and the breakaway doomed. CULT Energy Pro Cycling's Rasmus Guldhammer delivered a strong performance and moves to 8th overall.
With 40 kilometers to go, the escapees had a gap of 2.30 minutes and the constant battle for position in the field took its toll on the pack and the pace kept going up towards the finale. The break kept fighting heroically to stay in the front of the race but the last standing escapee was back in the field with 9 kilometers remaining.
Hitting the foot of the uphill finish, the pace was fierce. A few hundred meters up the 3.7 kilometer climb with an average gradient of 7.8, CULT Energy Pro Cycling’s Christan Mager moved to the front and upped the pace. Soon the pack exploded and Rein Taaramae (Astana) leaped up the climb. It all looked like an Astana stage win but Ben Hermans (BMC) slowly and surely narrowed down the gap and in the final hundred meters, he overtook the Astana rider to take the stage win.
Behind, CULT Energy Pro Cycling’s Rasmus Guldhammer delivered a classy performance to finish just outside the top-10 but overall he climbed to 8th. Tomorrow's final stage contains a demanding local circuit with a 2 kilometer steep climb.
"It was a tough day for everyone out there today. The battle for position started fairly early as everyone wanted to enter the uphill finish in front position. We moved up in a relatively good position for the finale and as the attacks started flying, Rasmus moved up through the field and kept his rhythm to finish 11th in the stage, which is a good result considering the strong riders in the field. BMC are probably the strongest team here but they are going to get a hard time controlling things tomorrow. The time differences between all riders in the top-10 are only marginal so it's going to be attack upon attack as nothing's settled," concludes CULT Energy Pro Cycling DS Michael Skelde.
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