"I thought I would not be alone, somebody would come with me. But like you saw, nobody took the initiative."

Those were the words of Astana's Arman Kamyshev after stage one at the Arctic Race of Norway. Kamyshev attacked solo out of the peloton with less than 3km to the finish on a brilliant day of spectacular and unusual landscapes across the high northern islands of Norway.

Into a technically difficult finishing circuit with good roads but the continuous appearance of speed-killing turns and curves, Kamyshev built a 10-second lead over an anxious group anticipating a steep but short hill sprint finale. Kamyshev rode to take the initiative and test his legs, as well as reduce pressure on teammates ahead of the sprint, in the end won by Alexander Kristoff of Norway.

Teammates Tanel Kangert, Rein Taaramäe and Daniil Fominykh finished in the same time as Kristoff, who assumes race leader's responsibilities with four stages to go.

Astana Pro Team riders watched with interest as an experimental prize for Most Combative Rider was played out on the roads into Harstad - 500kg of fresh-frozen salmon caught in Norwegian waters, delivered free of charge to any European address - and promise to add this incentive to their race objectives in the days to come.