IAM Cycling's Leigh Howard dodged and weaved the traffic in Bergen to claim the opening stage of the Tour des Fjords after the peloton took a wrong turn but there was little celebration from the Australian and discontent in the bunch with how the day finished.
"I am very happy to have won this stage, but sorry to have won under these odd circumstances," Howard said of his second win in IAM Cycling colours for 2016.
The Bergen parcours served as a test for the 2017 World Championships but with the peloton receiving the wrong directions of the 20km section that will be used next year, Howard, Jesper Asselman (Roompot - Oranje Peloton) and August Jensen (Team Coop-Øster Hus) were the only riders in contention for the victory. The wet weather ensured it was already a difficult day in the saddle before the confusion in the finale.
ADVERTISEMENT
While Howard's victory equalled IAM Cycling's most successful season in the peloton with 18 in 2014, Roger Kluge added some cherries to the top of the cake as he won 500kg of salmon at the last king of the mountains. While Howard leads the race overall, he is keen to take another win in better circumstances.
"Frankly, I don’t want to lounge on this success today. I just have to highlight the incredible work that Roger Kluge did in the final. I was extremely happy to have him with me. And now we have to demonstrate the strength of the team for the rest of the event through till Sunday," Howard added.
While Howard was measured in his comments post-stage, Team Coop-Øster Hus sports director Olav Benjaminsen explained that he did not expect such a scenario at a high level race.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://ift.tt/2ceqWb6
No comments:
Post a Comment