"A beautiful and well-organized race, with constant attacks, many escapes and an aggressive team that didn't get the just reward." That was the assessment of sports director Jean-Paul van Poppel after the Tour des Fjords. The five-day race in Norway was dominated by Team Katusha and for Roompot Orange Peloton Michel Kreder and Etienne van Empel stood out.

In the first three stages, the team had to fight against two tough rivals: Kristoff and rain. Under almost constantly wet conditions, the Norwegian was almost unbeatable. Nonetheless, Andre ​​Looij tried to challenge the local hero in stage 2. The sprint talent was a nice 5th in Haugesund.

Etienne van Empel was in the spotlight twice, by being in the break in the opening and in the final stage. The young Dutchman was close to conquering the mountains jersey. The Spanish veteran Amets Txurukka narrowly denied him the honour.

With an 11th place in the final stage in Stavanger, Michel Kreder too 16th in the final overall standings. "More was possible," said team manager Van Poppel. "Unfortunately, a large group got an advantage in stage 4 and Michel lost some places in the ranking because to that. It is too bad, because his shape was fine."

The final victory in the Tour des Fjords went to another rider of Team Katusha, Austrian Marco Haller.