The 2015 Arctic Race of Norway was a four-stage

cycling stage race Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common ...

that took place in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

between 13 and 16 August. It was the third edition of the Arctic Race of Norway and is rated as a

2.HC The UCI 1.HC and UCI 2.HC are the second tier classification of road cycling races by the UCI, after the UCI World Tour (or its predecessor, the UCI ProTour). The races are part of the various UCI Continental Circuits. The 1.HC events are one-day ...

event as part of the

UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to expand cycling around the world. The five circuits (representing the continents of Africa, the ...

. The race is the northernmost race in the 2015 men's cycling calendar. The champion of the 2014 edition was

Steven Kruijswijk , birth_date = , birth_place = Nuenen, Netherlands , height = , weight = , currentteam = , discipline = Road , role = Rider , ridertype = Climber , proyears1 = 2006 , proteam1 = , proyears2 = 2007–2009 ...

, though he was not present to defend his title. The race was won by

Rein Taaramäe Rein Taaramäe (born April 24, 1987) is an Estonian road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Cofidis (2008–14) Taaramäe turned professional in 2008 for after riding for the team as a stagiaire in late 2007 and winni ...

() on the final stage, ahead of

Silvan Dillier Silvan Dillier (born 3 August 1990) is a Swiss cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . Career Amateur career Dillier was born in Baden, Switzerland. In 2008, he was the Swiss national junior time trial champion, Under-23 road champion in ...

() and

Ilnur Zakarin Ilnur Azatovich Zakarin (russian: Ильнур Азатович Закарин; born 15 September 1989) is a Russian racing cyclist, who rides for UCI ProTeam . Career Early career and doping ban In 2007, as a 17-year-old, he won the juniors tim ...

(), after the three riders broke away from the pack on the finishing circuit.

Alexander Kristoff Alexander Kristoff (born 5 July 1987) is a Norwegian professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He won the Norwegian National Road Race Championships in 2007 and 2011. His biggest victories have been the 2014 Milan ...

() won the first stage and the points classification, while the mountains classification was won by

August Jensen August Jensen (born 29 August 1991) is a Norwegian cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . Major results ;2012 : 1st Road race, National Under-23 Road Championships : 1st Stage 2 Tour of Jämtland ;2014 : 1st Mountains classification K ...

( Team Coop-Øster Hus). BMC won the teams classification.

Race schedule

Teams

22 teams were invited to take part in the race. Seven of these were

UCI WorldTeam A UCI WorldTeam (2015–present), previously UCI ProTeam (2005–2014), is the term used by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to name a cycling team of the highest category in professional road cycling, the UCI World Tour or UCI ProTour ...

s; 9 were

UCI Professional Continental The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to expand cycling around the world. The five circuits (representing the continents of Africa, the ...

teams; five were

UCI Continental The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to expand cycling around the world. The five circuits (representing the continents of Africa, the ...

teams. Each team entered six riders, so the

peloton In a road bicycle race, the peloton (from French, originally meaning 'platoon') is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close ( drafting or slipstreaming) to (particularly behind) other riders. The reductio ...

at the start of the race was made up of 126 riders.

Pre-race favourites

The principal stage in the general classification was expected to be the third stage, the summit finish at

Målselv Målselv ( sme, Málatvuomi suohkan) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Moen. The main commercial centre of the municipality is the Bardufoss area (including And ...

. This stage was expected to favour the

climbers Climber may refer to: *Climber, a participant in the activity of climbing *Climber, general name for a vine *Climber, or climbing specialist, a road bicycle racer who can ride especially well on highly inclined roads * Climber (BEAM), a robot that ...

, such as

(),

Louis Meintjes Louis Meintjes (born 21 February 1992) is a South African cyclist, who rides for UCI WorldTeam . He won the South African National Road Race Championships in 2014, and has finished 8th overall in the Tour de France, on 3 occasions in 2016, 2017 ...

() and

(), who were therefore the favourites for the overall victory. The other stages were expected to be won by sprinters. Two of the prominent sprinters in the race were the Norwegians

() and

Edvald Boasson Hagen Edvald Boasson Hagen (born 17 May 1987) is a Norwegian professional road racing cyclist, who rides for UCI ProTeam . He was ranked as no. 3 in the world by UCI as of 31 August 2009, when he was 22 years old. He is known as an all-rounder, havin ...

(). Other sprinters present included Sam Bennett (),

Bryan Coquard Bryan Coquard (born 25 April 1992) is a French cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He was a silver medalist at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the Omnium. Career Youth and amateur career Coquard began cycling in 1999 at the age of sev ...

() and

Niccolò Bonifazio Niccolò Bonifazio (born 9 October 1993) is an Italian cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Early career Bonifazio was born in Cuneo. Bonifazio's professional career began in 2013 when he rode as a stagiaire for UCI WorldTeam ...

and

Davide Cimolai Davide Cimolai (born 13 August 1989) is an Italian professional road and track bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Born in Pordenone, Cimolai has competed as a professional since the 2010 season, competing for the team ...

(both ).

Stages

Stage 1

13 August 2015 –

Harstad ( se, Hárstták) is the second-most populated municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is mostly located on the large island of Hinnøya. The municipal center is the Harstad (town), town of Harstad, the most populous town in Centra ...

to Harstad,

Stage 2

14 August 2015 –

Evenskjer Evenskjer is the administrative centre of Tjeldsund Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The village is located along the Tjeldsundet strait about south of the town of Harstad. European route E10 passes just to the north of the v ...

Setermoen Setermoen is the administrative centre of Bardu Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The village is located along the Barduelva river, about east of the village of Sjøvegan and about south of Bardufoss. The local council proclaim ...

Stage 3

15 August 2015 –

Senja or is an island in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway, Europe. With an area of , it is the second largest island in Norway (outside of the Svalbard archipelago). It has a wild, mountainous outer (western) side facing the Atlantic, and a mild ...

Stage 4

16 August 2015 –

Narvik ( se, Áhkanjárga) is the third-largest municipality in Nordland county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Narvik. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Ankenesstranda, Ball ...

to Narvik,

Classifications

The race included four main classifications: the

general classification The general classification (or the GC) in road bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for riders in multi-stage races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest cumulat ...

, the

points classification The points classification is a secondary award category in road bicycle racing. Points are given for high finishes and, in some cases, for winning sprints at certain places along the route, most often called ''intermediate sprints''. The points cl ...

, the

mountains classification The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a femal ...

and the youth classification. There was also an award for the most aggressive rider on each stage and a

team classification The team classification is one of the different rankings for which competitors can compete in a multiple stage cycling race. It differs from the other usual rankings (general classification, points, king of the mountain and best young rider competi ...

References

Sources

Notes

External links

* {{Arctic Race of Norway Arctic Race of Norway Arctic Race of Norway Arctic Race of Norway