The 2021 Arctic Race of Norway was a road cycling stage race that took place between 5 and 8 August 2021. Though the race took place mostly in the Norwegian

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Troms og Finnmark Troms og Finnmark (; sme, Romsa ja Finnmárku ; fkv, Tromssa ja Finmarkku; fi, Tromssa ja Finnmark, lit. Troms and Finnmark in English language, English), is a Counties of Norway, county in Northern Norway, northern Norway that was established ...

, the race also made a brief appearance in Finland, marking the first time that the race ventured outside of Norway. It was the eighth edition of the

Arctic Race of Norway The Arctic Race of Norway is an annual multiple stage bicycle race held in northern Norway. The first edition was in 2013, from 8 August to 11 August, and lasted for four days. The organising partners are Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) and Arcti ...

, which was rated as a 2.Pro event on the

2021 UCI Europe Tour The 2021 UCI Europe Tour was the 17th season of the UCI Europe Tour. The season began on 24 January 2021 with the Trofeo Luis Puig, Clàssica Comunitat Valenciana 1969 – Gran Premio Valencia and ended on 24 October 2021 with the Ronde van Drent ...

and the 2021 UCI ProSeries calendars. This edition was the race's first in the

UCI ProSeries The UCI ProSeries is the second tier men's elite road cycling tour. It was inaugurated in 2020. The series is placed below the UCI World Tour, but above the various regional UCI Continental Circuits. Development In December 2018, the UCI announ ...

; the 2020 edition was expected to feature in the

inaugural In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugur ...

UCI ProSeries but was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Teams

Seven

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, ten UCI ProTeams, one

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 ...

team, and the Norwegian national team made up the nineteen teams that participated in the race. With five riders each, , , and were the only teams to not enter a full squad of six riders; 111 riders started the race. UCI WorldTeams * * * * * * * UCI ProTeams * * * * * * * * * * UCI Continental Teams * National Teams *

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 ...

Route

The 2021 edition of the race used the same route as the one planned for the cancelled 2020 edition; this route was first revealed on 12 November 2019. On the second stage, the race made its first venture outside of Norway for a stage finish in

Kilpisjärvi Kilpisjärvi (; se, Gilbbesjávri ) is a village in the municipality of Enontekiö, Lapland, Finland. It is located in Finland's northern "arm" near the very northwesternmost point of Finland. Although Kilpisjärvi is one of the largest villages ...

, Finland.

Stages

Stage 1

;5 August 2021 –

Tromsø Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø. Tromsø lies ...

to Tromsø,

Stage 2

;6 August 2021 –

Nordkjosbotn or is a small village in Balsfjord Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The village lies about southeast of the city of Tromsø. Two major highways, European route E6 and European route E8, meet in this village, making it a majo ...

Storfjord Storfjord ( se, Omasvuotna ; fkv, Omasvuono) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hatteng. Other villages in Storfjord include Elvevoll, Oteren, and Skibotn. T ...

(

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

Stage 3

;7 August 2021 –

Finnsnes Finnsnes () is a small List of towns and cities in Norway, town that is the administrative centre of Senja Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The town is located on the mainland part of Norway, just across the Gisundet strait from ...

(

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 ...

) to

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 ...

(Alpine village),

Stage 4

;8 August 2021 –

Gratangen Gratangen ( sme, Rivttága suohkan) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Central Hålogaland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Årstein. The municipality ...

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 ...

Classification leadership table

* On stage 2,

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� ...

, who was second in the points classification, wore the green jersey, because first placed

Markus Hoelgaard Markus Hoelgaard (born 4 October 1994) is a Norwegian racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He rode at the 2013 UCI Road World Championships. He is the brother of fellow racing cyclist Daniel Hoelgaard. Major results ;2012 : ...

wore the midnight sun jersey as the leader of the general classification. * On stage 3, Markus Hoelgaard, who was second in the points classification, wore the green jersey, because first placed Alexander Kristoff wore the midnight sun jersey as the leader of the general classification.

Final classification standings

General classification

Points classification

Mountains classification

Young rider classification

Team classification

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arctic Race of Norway, 2021

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...