Lars-Petter Nordhaug will head to the Vuelta a Espana with the confidence that comes with his first win for Belkin, taken at one of his home races, the Arctic Tour of Norway. His last win was the 2012 GP Montreal, which he took with Sky, before signing with Belkin for 2013.

“It’s amazing for a Norwegian to win a race here in Norway, especially at this place it’s really good,” Nordhaug reacted after winning solo.

“I was feeling super but it looked like the sprinters [Thor Hushovd, Alexander Kristoff and Marcel Kittel] would maybe fight for the victory, so my first attack was to make a selection but it was only Spilak who came after me, then I went again. We are the strongest team at this race for the overall. It’s our goal to win the Arctic Race of Norway. That’s why we had two guys pulling at the front all day.”

His Belkin DS Michiel Elijzen, who directed Norhaug at the recent Tour de Pologne, was not surprised Nordhaug is beginning to perform again.

“He did very well in the last two days,” the coach said. “The results show it [eighth on the second last stage and third in the mountains classification]. He told us last week that he’d be very motivated for winning the Arctic Race of Norway, so he was our lone leader today, even though we have three riders up there at the end (in Poland).”

“We had high expectations when we hired him,” Elijzen continued. “He also had high expectation for himself. He has had ups and downs in those two seasons but now he’s motivated and in good shape. He’ll go to the Vuelta with the confidence of this win today. We’ll have two GC riders there: Wilco Kelderman and Robert Gesink but there are eight uphill finishes in Spain. At least one of them should suit him for a stage win. He’s got the skills for that.”