The 26th. of April it is time for the Launch Party for our new WorldTour-race Tour of Scandinavia, and what will be better than hosting this party in the same city where the race will start in August – Copenhagen in Denmark!

The City hall of Copenhagen will be the place, and there is invited many representatives from both the host cities, sponsors, the cycling associations in the three countries and other cooperation parters to an afternoon in the name of cycling. And where the guests will get a proper insight in what to expect from the new and exciting WorldTour-race, which will have stages in all the three Scandinavian countries.

To ensure that all who is interested in following the event will be able to do it, the party will be live streamed directly on our YouTube-channel.
The streaming will start 17:00, and you will find the link below.

Tour of Scandinavia – the biggest cycling news in Scandinavia:

6 stages through 3 countries
– with the whole world´s elite

From the King’s Nytorv in Copenhagen via the beautiful west coast of Sweden to Norwegian mountains at Norefjell and flatland to the finish in Halden.
Nearly 1.000 kilometers, 6 stages in 6 days, the whole world´s elite riding, TV-coverage to the whole world and domestic professional teams.
Tour of Scandinavia (Battle of the North) is the big news for cycling fans in Scandinavia. The new World Tour-race on the 9th through the 14th of August will take over from the Ladies Tour of Norway.

Finally the time has come for the by far biggest cycle race for women in Scandinavia. All the best in the world are expected to be on the starting line in the center of Copenhagen for the first edition on August the 9th.

Historical race with wonderful nature
This is the first ever World Tour-race for ladies in Denmark and the interest is great in the country who have produced some of the world´s best female riders. The race is tightening the bands between the three countries.
– We can with this race present a fantastic nature and several interesting places in all the three countries, says general director Roy Moberg, one of the men behind this new race.

This is a continuation of the Ladies Tour of Norway who has been Norway´s only World Tour-race the last years. The new name of the race is Tour of Scandinavia.
– I know that we can offer an interesting race that has attracted a lot of interest among the riders. We have a lot of requests from different countries and the race can also be follow on TV throughout most of the world, says Moberg.

Name change
The intention was to launch the new race under the name Battle of The North, but the name has been temporarily changed to Tour of Scandinavia with the subtitle Battle of The North. The reason for this is the war in Ukraine which has changed the world situation since the planning of this race started.
– We have spent several years building the brand “Battle of The North”, and significant resources have been invested in advance of the launch, but we do not want to use a name that can be linked to war as the world now appears. In respect with everyone who suffers as a result of the terrible war in Ukraine, we so far brand the riding concept as “Tour of Scandinavia” and tone down the use of the name Battle of The North, says general director Roy Moberg.

From Copenhagen to Halden
The race is built on the experiences and the people from the Ladies Tour of Norway, but it starts from the King’s Nytorv in Copenhagen, Denmark with the first stage crossing back and forth northbound on the island Sjælland to the finish in Helsingør

This is followed by a longer transport to the beautiful island Orust north of Gothenburg in Sweden. The Swedish stage takes the peloton north to the border city Strömstad. It’s partly following the Swedish west coast, one of the most popular holiday areas in the country. The riders will go through some of the famous holiday resorts at the coast.

The region of Østfold is the home of the previous Ladies Tour of Norway and where the whole race started. This is also where most of the race will be held when the riders are entering Norway.

First from Moss to Sarpsborg through Son, Våler, the coast by Saltnes and Onsøy to the outskirts of Fredrikstad and finishing with three local laps and a well-known finishline in Sarpsborg.

Fridays stage is the so called ”Indre Østfold-stage”. Just like last year in the LToN the start will be in Askim and the finish in Mysen. The route is a bit different but the riders will cross back and forth between Askim, Trøgstad, Mysen, Skiptvet and Spydeberg. There is one final lap, identical with the one from last years LToN.

”The Queen Stage” is on Saturday August 13th. Very near the worlds biggest skiflying hill Vikersundsbakken. After one lap around Åmot and back to Vikersund the route goes through Simostranda, the home of Olympic biathlon hero Ole Einar Bjørndalen and north to the lake Krøderen. Following this on the north side to Noresund where the 10 km long climb to the finish at Norefjell Ski & Spa starts. This is probably where the race will be decided.

The final goes from the city of Lillestrøm just east of Oslo to Halden. First southbound from Fetsund along the lake Øyeren on road 22, furter southeast through Hemnes and Ørje before following the beautiful lakes at Haldenvassdraget to the finishing city where there as usual will be three final laps. These laps are technical and difficult and it’s expected a lot of drama and big crowds for the final in Halden.

TV-coverage all over the world
– We are very satisfied with the TV-coverage for the first edition of Tour of Scandinavia, says chief of media Kjell-Erik Kristiansen, who is also the announcer of the race.
– Eurosport and Discovery will transmit on several platforms to most of the world. You can follow the race on both terrestrial channels and on digital platforms. In Norway the main channel TV2 will also transmit life and with both TV2 and Eurosport we do cover the two main cycling channels in Norway, says the well known Olympic and World Championships announcer.

In Denmark and Sweden the situation is similar with 6 Eren Danmark and Kanal 9 in Sweden as the channels where you can tune in the Battle of The North. Every stage will be covered by a two hours life production and the quality of the production is of the highest level as we are used to from the Ladies Tour of Norway.
– But of course we do hope that as many people as possible will get out along the roads and make a big party of the race when all countries now have opened again after the pandemic, says Roy Moberg.

The world’s best are coming
Last year the Olympic TT-champion Annemiek van Vleuten from Movistar won the LToN with a final attack on the climb to Norefjell. Earlier editions have been dominated by the Dutch superstar Marianne Vos, Jumbo-Visma who has been the big star on the Norwegian roads.

This year the organizers hope that both Danish, Swedish and Norwegian ladies also will play a part in the Battle of The North.

Denmark has several top riders looking forward to the first edition. Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig, FDJ, Emma Norsgaard, Movistar and the former world champion Amalie Dideriksen, Trek-Segafredo are only some of the top names from Denmark.

Sweden is hoping that Emilia Fahlin, FDJ is back in top form. The former 4th at the Worlds loves to ride on home soil. Beside this Sweden has some other young, promising riders.

It’s also very exciting with the new Norwegian World Team Uno-X with riders from all the three countries. Together with Team Coop-Hitec Products they attract local interest. And of course there are also several Norwegian professionals in different international teams.

The organizer is also working on having the national teams from Denmark and Norway at the start. Totally the race will have 21 teams with 6 riders in each.

News at the internet
With the launch of the Tour of Scandinavia the organizers are also launching a new homepage for the race..

The social medias are very important for all races today, and therefore Tour of Scandinavia is also launching new accounts on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

You will find the Tour of Scandinavia here:
Homepage: www.battleofthenorth.eu
Facebook: @battlenor.eu
Twitter: @battlenor
Instagram: @battlenor

PS! A launch with the exact routes, more info about the race and visit of some of the riders will take place in Copenhagen on Tuesday the 26th of April. More info about this will follow later, so follow our homepage for updates on this.

When Tour of Scandinavia now will be introduced as the biggest and most international race for women in Scandinavia, you will be able to follow it live all over the world.
– We are very satisfied with the distribution we have. In 2022 it will be possible to watch Battle of the North worldwide – either on a traditional TV or digital, says Kjell-Erik Kristiansen, chief of media.

In the organizers countries in Scandinavia the interest is big. If you are in Norway you can follow the race on the broadcaster TV2 and also at Eurosport and their digital platforms Eurosport Player or GCN (Global Cycling Network).

Even Denmark and Sweden will have similar distribution. Both countries through the Eurosport and Discovery platforms. In Denmark also live at 6 Eren Danmark and in Sweden at Kanal 9.

And Eurosport is of course transmitting live to the other countries in Europe and it will be possible to find Battle of the North on a TV-screen in Africa, South America, New Zeeland and Asia.

And you can always follow the race live worldwide on the internet if you find the right channel.

Here are the channels transmitting from Tour of Scandinavia 2022 (can be more):

Norway:
TV2 Norge & Eurosport/Eurosport Player/Discovery + Global Cycling Network (GCN) live all stages.

Denmark:
6 Eren Danmark live* & Eurosport/Eurosport Player/Discovery + Global Cycling Network (GCN) live from all stages.

Sweden:
Kanal 9 Sverige live* & Eurosport/Eurosport Player/Discovery + Global Cycling Network (GCN) live from all stages.

Europe:
Eurosport 1 with digital simulcast at Eurosport Player/Discovery + Global Cycling Network (GCN) live from all stages.

South-America:
Claro Sports live*

Africa:
Supersport live*

New Zeeland:
Sky NZ live*

Rest of the world:
Eurosport Asia/Pacific with digital simulcast at Eurosport Player/Discovery + Global Cycling Network (GCN) live from all stages.

* Info about planned live transmission will be communicated as soon as the actual times for the transmissions are ready.

There will be 90-120 minutes live TV-production from each stage.

The first edition of Tour of Scandinavia will have the best startinglist ever for a Scandinavian cycle race for ladies. 13 av 14 World Teams are ready for start and for the organizers it’s also important that there are several local top riders.

It’s of course not clear which riders the different teams are sending to Scandinavia in August. There will also be added four more wild cards which gives a total of 21 teams with 6 riders each.

There will also be two Norwegian professional teams with the new Uno-X Pro Cycling Team and the well-known Team Coop-Hitec Products. The organizers are also working on getting the Norwegian and the Danish national team to start.

And several of the best Scandinavian female riders are riding for different top teams around the world. The Danish star Cecilie Ludvig Uttrup is in the French squad FDJ together with Sweden’s Emilia Fahlin and Norway’s Stine Borgli.

The Spanish Movistar team has both Danish star Emma Norsgaard and the Norwegian TT-champ Katrine Aalerud while the Norwegian veteran Emilie Moberg is in British Le Col-Wahoo and Denmark’s former World Champion Amalie Dideriksen is new in the American Trek-Segafredo.

Despite who is coming, it will for sure be a lot to look forward to. With all the best teams in the World at start there will be an incredible high level of the first edition of the ladies Battle of the North.

These are the teams ready today (the name of the participating riders will come later):

UCI Women’s World Teams

Movistar Team Women (ESP)
Won the Ladies Tour of Norway 2021 with the Olympic TT-champion Annemiek van Vleuten. The Spanish top team have many cards to play and they have strong Nordic hopes in Katrine Aalerud from Norway and Emma Norsgaard from Denmark.

EF Education – TIBCO – SVB (USA)
The American team have a lot of strong riders, but not the biggest stars. Mostly riders from USA, but also from Great Britain, Italy, Germany, Canada and Israel.

Canyon/SRAM Racing (GER)
Another top team with Polish Katarzyna Niewiadoma as one of the best stage races riders in the world. Sprinter Alice Barnes from GB has experience from LToN earlier. American Chloe Dygert is enormous in time trailing and there are other top names like Belarussian Alena Amialiusik, Swiss Elise Chabbey, German Lisa Klein, Italian Soraya Paladin and Australian Sarah Roy.

FDJ Nouvelle – Aquitaine Futuroscope (FRA)
The French team has its own Nordic group with the very strong Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig from Denmark, former World’s fourth Emilia Fahlin from Sweden and Stine Borgli from Norway. They have strong teammates in Grace Brown from Australia, Marta Cavalli from Italy and the French champion from 2019, Jade Wiel.

LIV Racing Xstra (HOL)
Several experienced riders in this team. Alison Jackson from Canada was 6th at the Worlds in 2021 and 9th overall at last years Ladies Tour of Norway. Tereza Neumanova is a double champion in the Czech Republic and other strong riders are Eva Buurman, Valerie Demey, Marta Jaskulska, Jeanne Korevaard and Sabrina Stultiens.

Team Bikeexchange – Jayco (AUS)
The Australian team is hoping a lot in home star Amanda Spratt. A new signing is American Kristin Faulkner who surprisingly won the first stage of LToN last year and ended on the overall podium. Georgia Williams is a two times national champion of New Zeeland while Slovenian Urska Zigart is more famous for being the girlfriend of Tour de France-winner Tadej Pogacar.

Team DSM (HOL)
Top sprinter Lorena Wiebes is nearly always a guarantee for a stage win for Team DSM. She won earlier in LToN when she claimed the first stage in Horten in 2019. Other strong names are Canadian Leah Kirchmann, French Juliette Labous, German Liane Lippert and Dutch Floortje Mackaij.

Team Jumbo-Visma (HOL)
The Dutch super team with a Norwegian sponsor (Visma) is mainly built around the big queen of the Ladies Tour of Norway, Marianne Vos. She never seems to be too old for delivering top results. Last she was the World Champion in cyclocross. Promissing Anna Henderson from GB is a big talent worth looking out for.

Team SD Worx (HOL)
The former Boels-Dolmans is often called the world’s best women’s team. Anna van der Breggen has resigned and become sports director, but there are still plenty of top names. South African Ashleigh Moolman was No. 2 in LToN last year, Chantal van den Broek-Blaak became world champion in Bergen 2017 and Demi Vollering had a big breakthrough last season. The team has some very interesting new names: Marlen Reusser from Switzerland took Olympic silver at the time trial, and Hungarian Blanka Vas is a talent out of the ordinary. The sprint cannon Lotte Kopecky from Belgium is now also an SD Worx rider.

Trek–Segafredo (USA)
The new team for Denmark’s former world champion Amalie Dideriksen. Here she is accompanied by the reigning world champion Elisa Balsamo, the Italian is also new to the team. Former LToN winner and World Cup winner in cyclocross Lucinda Brand, Olympic trio Elisa Longo Borghini, great talent Letizia Paternoster, former world speed champion Ellen Van Dijk, former world champion Lizzy Deignan and sprinter Chloe Hosking are names that show that Trek-Segafredo is a top team no matter what race they participating in.

UAE Team ADQ (SUI)
A new team built of the old ALE Cipollini–BTC Ljubljana-lagene. Sprinter Marta Bastianelli is already on the winners list of this season. She has company in the team from Slovenian champions Eugenia Bujak and Ursa Pinter as well as the former Spanish champion Mavi Garcia and several strong riders.

Uno-X Pro Cycling Team (NOR)
Norway have a new WorldTour team also by the ladies. It’s built of mainly Nordic riders with some international additions like British riders Ellinor Bakrer, Hannah Barnes and Joscelin Lowden. Norwegian talent Susanne Andersen will now probably have her own chances in the sprints. Other Norwegians on the team are Amalie Lutro, Mie Bjørndal Ottestad and the very promising Anne Dorthe Ysland. And also Danish riders Rebecca Kørner and Julie Leth as well as the Swedish talent Wilma Olausson. This will be exciting.

Roland Cogeas Edelweiss Squad (SUI)
A Swiss team without the real big stars. Riders from Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Russia and the 41 years old super veteran Olga Zabelinskaya, now representing Uzbekistan.

UCI Women’s Continental Team

Le Col–Wahoo (GBR)
The Brittish team is by many known as the former DROPS team. Local rider Emilie Moberg from Halden is probably extra motivated for the first ever BtoN. Not as many stars as the big World Teams but always motivated to make a difference when racing in Scandinavia.

Parkhotel Valkenburg (HOL)
A pur Dutch team with several young, promising riders not so wellknown to the public yet.

Team Coop – Hitec Products (NOR)
The Norwegian team from the area around Stavanger has been in all the editions of the Ladies Tour of Norway. Sprinter Ingvild Gåskjenn is a strong card. Several young Norwegian talents, some from Holland and Swedens Caroline Andersson, GB:s Jessica Roberts and German Christa Riffel are the riders for Team Coop-Hitec Products in 2022.

From Copenhagen to Halden – through Denmark, Sweden and Norway:

From the King’s Nytorv in Copenhagen to the harbour in Halden. Alongside the beautiful coast in Bohuslän, Sweden, crossing through the old region of Østfold in Norway, up the monster hill to Norefjell and following the lakes at Haldenvassdraget to the final. 958 km has to be ridden before the first winner of Tour of Scandinavia will be awarded in Halden on August the 14th.

The stages are built around the experiences from the former Ladies Tour of Norway and the rider will recognize some of the roads on the Norwegian stages.
But there are a lot of news, like the first stage at the island Sjælland in Denmark and the coastal stage in Bohuslän on the Swedish west coast. 6 stages through three countries is something totally new in the ladies World Tour.
The Queen stage will be the mountain stage to Norefjell with a 10 km long climb to the finish on the mountain.
But previous races have shown that the undulating stages in Østfold also can split the peloton. So with all the best riders in the world present there will for sure be 6 exciting and fast stages.

Here are the stages of the first edition of Tour of Scandinavia

August 9th. 2022, stage 1, Copenhagen – Helsingør (DEN), 147,7 km

Start at the famous square Kongens Nytorv in the Danish capital. Transport out of town through the city center to the coast at Charlottenlund Fort and Charlottenlund Strandpark. Riding through Bellevue and Taarbæk til Jægersborg.
At Skodsborg the riders are turning west and inland at Sjælland. Crossing the highway at Nærum and then a round in Holte and around the forrest at Geels and Holtekollen. Then back east och north. Back to the sea at Vedbæk Strand by Kattegat and a second turn to the west at Vedbæk Havn. Crossing the road to Helsingør for the third time and later turning north on road 207 at Ravsnæs.
The riders will continue north west at Isterød and before Hørsholm Golf turning southwest and following the lake Sjælsø on the north side. Following smaller roads northwest before cycling along Store Dyrehav at Hillerød and entering the center of Hillerød.
Again northeast and passing Freriksborg Slot and the great gardens belong to the castle. Efter a few kilometers on road 6 the course goes through Sørup and passing Fredensborg Golf Club and just south of the great castle Fredensborg Slot.
Now smaller roads through villages like Jonstrup, Tikøb, Harreshøj, Havreholm, Villingrød, Esrum, Gilleleje, Firhøj and Hulerød before entering the final city of Helsingøfir through Hornbæk and Hellebæk.
The finish is just outside the DBU:s (football federations) traning field and Helsingør Tennis Club. The stage will be finished with three local laps.

August 10th. 2022, stage 2, Orust – Strömstad (SWE), 153,4 km

A stage along the beautiful coast at Bohuslän, the inner filet of the Swedish Summer. The start will be directly by the sea at wonderful Möllesund on the island Orust. The riders will cross Orust on the way north and coming to the mainland over the bridge at Sundsandvik and the riding west of the city of Uddevalla.
The ladies will get in contact with highway E6 for the first time at Munkedal, but they are turning into road 172 towards the coastal town of Lysekil. They will see the sea again at Gerlesborg. Then they will follow the coast northbound through holiday resorts like Hamburgsund and Fjällbacka.
Next holiday destination is Grebbestad with Sportshopen, the biggest sports shop in Scandinavia. The last part will be inland from Tanumshede following the old E6 north all the way to the finish in Strömstad. The peloton will enter the border city from the south passing Daftö Camping, several times voted one of Sweden’s best.
The riders will turn right on the ring road not entering the center of the city. At cross between the ring road and Karlsgatan they’ll have a 90 degrees left turn before the 500 meters to the finish line just by the local sports stadium.
There are no final laps in Strömstad.

August 11th., stage 3, Moss – Sarpsborg (NOR), 118,8 km

Back in Norway the riders will meet well-known roads from the Ladies Tour of Norway. Stage 3 will mainly take place in roads in the west and south parts of the region Østfold.
The start by the canal in Moss has also been used for the mens Tour of Norway earlier. The stage starts northbound passing Kambo and Son before turning east by Såner church and then further on to Våler in Østfold.
From here they’ll ride on road 115 to Svinndal and then south to Missingmyr in Råde where they again cross highway E6 and continues through the center of Råde and turning southwest to Tomb agricultural school.
Coming to the coast by well-known summer resorts like Saltnes and Onsøy. From Onsøy church again inland till they’ll cross Norway’s largest river Glomma on road 109 between Fredrikstad and Sarpsborg.
The course turns directly north to Grålum and a new crossing of E6 before entering the city of Sarpsborg and the final three laps. A well-known finish line just by the town hall of Sarpsborg, this finish also used in 2021.

August 12th., stage 4, Askim – Mysen (NOR), 127,7 km

Crossing around in the inner parts of Østfold. Just like in the Ladies Tour of Norway last year, but not the same course. The start once again in Askim and the finish at Mysen where they’ll also come through earlier on the stage.
Slightly hilly terrain without the biggest climbs. This has proved to be enough to split the peloton before. And the one final lap also has a fairly tough climb that can make a difference.
From the start in Askim they’ll go through Trøgstad on the way to the first sprint in Mysen. Then a loop in east and south east direction through Slitu, Skiptvet, Mørk golf course, Spydeberg and Vamma power station where they’ll cross the river Glomma twice.
At the end there will be one more loop to the north through Trøgstad and back to the final lap at Mysen where the finish is in a slight uphill.

August 13th., stage 5, Vikersund – Norefjell, 132,9 km

The Queen stage with the final climb to the finish at Norefjell will probably decide the GC in the race. The start will be in Vikersund where they’ll also come through after a first lap.
The ladies will pass the World’s biggest skiflying hill (Vikersundbakken) just after the start and also on the second lap. The lap goes south to Åmot and just outside Blaafarveværket and Koboltgruvene, two of the most visited places in the area.
On the second lap they’ll continue on road 287 through Simostrand and the statue of the ”King of Biathlon” Ole Einar Bjørndalen who comes from here.
After having passed the lake Soneren they’ll turn north towards Sigdal motor center och further to the lake Krøderen. They follow this lake till Noresund where the climb to the finish starts.
On this 10 km uphill the Olympic TT-champion Annemiek van Vleuten made the move that gave here the overall victory in the Ladies Tour of Norway in 2021. The climb is steepest up to the Norefjell Skisenter but it flattens a little bit on the final kilometer to the finish next to Norefjell Ski & Spa.

August 14th., stage 6, Lillestrøm – Halden, 153,4 km

The city of Lillestrøm just east of Oslo is the starting place for the final stage of 153,4 km. The route follows road 22 through Fetsund and south next to the lake Øyeren. At the old border between the regions Akershus och Østfold they turn east and after Hemnes they’ll hit the border village of Ørje where they’ll cross highway E18 between Oslo and Stockholm.
From Ørje the ladies will have the beautiful view of the lakes in Haldenvassdraget on their way south to the finish. They’ll be able to see both Øymarksjøen, Aremarksjøen, Asperen and Femsjøen, all beautiful lakes in fantastic Norwegian nature.
The finish will be by the inner harbour in the border city of Halden. This is where the Ladies Tour of Norway was born and it’s the center also for Tour of Scandinavia. Normally the final gathers big crowd and there are often a lot of drama here. The final three laps are technical and difficult.

Christmas greetings to all of you from all of us, and we look forward to see you in 2022💜

AIOCC (Association Internationale des Organisateurs de Courses Cycliste) is the international association which includes the world’s largest cycling organizers of the world calendar for men and women.

This week AIOCC has arranged their annual general meeting in Paris, and for the first time, Ladies Tour of Norway and our Technical Director Anders Eia Linnestad has been represented at this meeting. This due to that we are now one of the 16 new organizers to be a member of AIOCC.

Here your can read more about AIOCC.

Chloe Hosking took the tears after the victory on the last stage of the Ladies Tour of Norway. The Trek-Segafredo-rider is back after a long time of sickness with covid-19 and heartproblems. This was her first race since Gent-Wevelgem, but she outsprinted Corin Rivera (Team DSM) and Chiara Consonni (Valcar).

Rivera was the favourite to take the stage when the peloton caught the two breakaways of the day: Jule van der Berg (Jumbo-Visma) and Rosella Ratto (Bingoal). Team DSM worked hard to set it up for the American, but Lucinda Brand went to the front on the last 2 kilometers and brought Hosking to a perfect position for the last 300 meters.
And the Australian showed her old speed and held off Rivera and Consonni in a tight sprint. That got the tears on the face of Chloe who has fought her way back during what was nearly stopping her career.

Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) was well protected by her team and didn’t let Asleigh Moolman-Pasio (SD Worx) get away on the 141,5 km long final stage from Drøbak to Halden. The Olympic time trail champion won by 39 seconds on the GC.
Kristen Faulkner (Team Tibco-SVB) was third, but she lost the green points jersey to Canadian Alison Jackson (Liv-Racing) who outsprinted Faulkner on the two intermediate sprints on the stage.

Nina Buysman (Parkhotel Valkenburg) won the polkadot jersey as the best climber, while the big talent Niamh Fischer-Black (SD Worx) took the best young rider jersey. SD Worx also won the team competition.

Stage 4 :

No. 1 : Cloe Hosking
No. 2 : Coryn Rivera
No. 3 : Chiara Consonni

Further info and updated info to come.

The Olympic time trail champion Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) attacked within the last three kilometer of the 11 km long climb to the finish at Norefjell on stage 3 of the Ladies Tour of Norway.
She dropped Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (SD Worx) and took over the lead in the race in front of the last stage.

The big favourite waited till the last, long climb before they made any moves. The 145 km long stage from Drammen to Norefjell was considered the ”queen stage” of the race with an 11 km climb averaging 6,1% to the finish.

Brodie Chapman (FDJ) was the only attacker early on and she was later joined by the Norwegian champion Vita Heine. But they never gained a big gap and when the climb started it was firework from the first meter.

But it wasn’t until the last three kilometer the big favourite made the final move. On the step part to the 3 km mark van Vleuten dropped first Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ) and then Moolman-Pasio.

The Olympic champion went on to win the stage by 35 seconds. Uttrup Ludwig was really tired and was also passed by the two Alé BTC Ljubljana-riders Mavi Garcia and Marlen Reusser on the final meters.

Riejanne Markus (Jumbo-Visma) lost 1,15 minutes in the yellow jersey and van Vleuten took over the lead in the GC. She is now 39 seconds ahead of Moolman-Pasio in front of the final stage to Halden on Sunday. This is a fairly flat stage and probably a battlefield for the sprinters.

Kristen Faulkner (Tibco-SVB) is holding on to the points jersey with a two points lead over Alison Jackson (Liv Racing), while Nina Buysman (Parkhotel Valkenburg) has a good lead in the fight for the Queen of the Mountains jersey.
New leader in the fight for the white jersey, best young rider, is New Zeelander Niamh Fisher-Black (SD Worx) who is holding a 29 seconds lead over her teammate Anna Shackley.

Here you will find complete results from the third stage.