Ladies Tour of Norway (st. 1)

Movistar Team duo makes big effort to enter 40-rider group near the finish; Lorena Wiebes (PHV) wins bunch sprint.

Dutchwoman Lorena Wiebes (PHV) showed once again her quality as arguably the best sprinter in the UCI Women’s WorldTour with a strong display at the end of stage one in the Ladies Tour of Norway, a 125km route under the rain with two categorized climbs and a tricky final circuit in Horten.

Movistar Team did well into the splits created by the crosswinds and a strong push from Sunweb, just under 30km from the end, to put two of its main names into the 40-strong group ahead in the first echelon: Sheyla Gutiérrez and Aude Biannic. While the Frenchwoman entered some of the moves after the split, trying to keep the Blues at the front, the Spaniard -supported before the crosswinds by González, Oyarbide, García and Patiño- saved her energy for the sprint, where she took 7th place.

Another top-ten finish, the eleventh of the 2019 season for Gutiérrez, in a race with finished suiting her abilities, as well as a steep hill-top finish in Fredriksten on Saturday. Before that, Friday’s stage two will offer another difficult 133km, with some significant slopes in the final circuit in Askim.

Cover picture (c): Velofocus