Ben Hermans (BMC) won the third stage of the Arctic Race of Norway in a dramatic finish, catching and passing late-race soloist Rein Taaramae (Astana) on the hilltop finish in Målselv. Mathias Frank (IAM Cycling) finished the day in third place.
"i was always 150 metres behind," Hermans said. "I knew there was a headwind at 1.5 kilometres to go and I could have jumped across but I would have exploded myself, so I waited on the wheels of my teammates. In the last kilometre it was a tailwind, I attacked full gas. Maybe I could have exploded with 250 metres to go, but I had to do it if I wanted to win. Finally, I didn't explode and I had really good legs.
"It is amazing, especially knowing that if you win, you take the 10 seconds bonus and the jersey. It's really incredible."
ADVERTISEMENT
Hermans gained enough time in his pursuit for the stage victory to also move into the race lead, taking over from Alexander Kristoff (Katusha). The BMC rider now leads the race by seven seconds ahead of Taaramae and 24 seconds to Edvald Boasson Hagen (MTN-Qhubeka).
"Of course I can win this race, I just need the same legs tomorrow," Hermans added. "I have a strong team, and normally we can control it. We still have to race but I think it is possible to win."
How it unfolded
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest Race Results http://ift.tt/1JacTPp
No comments:
Post a Comment