"I attacked at 2 to go and again at 1.5. Nobody could follow me anymore. The last k was a headwind and at 500m to go the other guy had recovered and caught me so I finished second."

Those were the words of Astana's Rein Taaramäe after stage three at the Arctic Race of Norway. Taaramäe finished three seconds behind stage winner and race leader Ben Hermans of Belgium and is now second overall by seven seconds.

The stage unfolded strongly, with teammates Maxat Ayazbayev, Daniil Fominykh and Tanel Kangert all working in the front to reduce the number of riders in an elite group of leaders at the finish. Taaramäe was strongest but a headwind in the final sector of the final climb proved too strong and his strength faded.

“I have no complaints because we did it the right way. Maybe Hermans was just a bit more clever because when I attacked he waited and there was a headwind. He was able to recover, and when he caught me he was able to go again and beat me,” Taaramae told Cyclingnews at the finish

“I knew that as soon as he caught me that I wasn’t going to win because I wasn’t going to be able to follow. It was an intensive effort on a tough climb.”

Sunday's circuit race around Narvik will have intermediate sprints and several time bonuses.