Just before the Tour des Fjords started, many riders headed to Bergen, where stage one began to recon the World Championships Course for the 2017 race which takes place in the Norwegian city.

First impressions reveal that the course suit sprinters who can do well in the Classics. Names like Matthews, Degenkolb and home hero Kristoff instantly spring to mind.

"We have wanted a course that gives Norwegian cyclists a chance to win", said Harald Tiedemann Hansen, the president of the Norwegian cycling federation.

The 18.6km course includes a 3.5km long climb on Mount Ulriken from kilometre 5 to kilometre 8.5 with an average gradient between 6 and 7%. "It's hard but not very hard," commented former pro and TV2 Norway cycling expert Dag-Otto Lauritzen. "I remember Thor Hushovd didn't want to take part in the World's in Lisbon [Portugal, 2001] because it was a very hard course, but it was a sprint of sixty riders at the end. The race is always as hard as the riders make it hard, but on paper, this course in Bergen suits riders like Kristoff, [John] Degenkolb, [Philippe] Gilbert, maybe even Marcel Kittel and why not Caleb Ewan because that'll be in two and half years time and he might have physically improved a lot by then. Florence [in 2013] and Ponferrada [in 2014] weren't too hard for him in the U23 category, so Bergen should be good for him as a pro."

Kristoff himself admitted that the course suits him and he could conceivably become World Champion on home soil, potentially becoming the first rider to win in their home country since Alessandro Ballan took the infamous jersey in Varese, Italy in 2008.

"It can be something for me," Kristoff told Cyclingnews right near the fortress where concerts will be organised from 16 to 23 September 2017 to entertain the crowds not only with bike races. The headquarters and UCI official hotels will be located less than 200 metres away from the finishing line in the city centre.

"The course includes a hard and long climb," described Kristoff after riding it on Tuesday. "But it's not too steep and there's a possibility to be drafted back in the wheels after the climb, which is a benefit for us [the sprinters]. It's not designed just for me. Other [Norwegian] riders can do well there too. But if I'm in my best shape, I can survive the difficulty of the route."

"From the top of the climb to the finish, there are nine kilometres and it's quite technical in the city centre," added Bergen's head of project Erik K. Halvorsen. "We expect a popular week of activities in the city because there are more people taking part in bike races than ski races in Norway now and after two world championships outside Europe, it'll be very easy for cycling fans to access Bergen, which is only two hours flight from the main airports in Europe."