Defending champion Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig almost started the Tour of Scandinavia as she left it in 2022, but the FDJ-Suez rider was caught on the line by a reduced peloton led by Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) and Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek). Wiebes kept her winning ways going to take the first stage and lead the overall, her 69th career victory with Balsamo close behind for second on the day.
How it happened
- The main breakaway of the day was a solo move from Team Coop-Hitec Products’s Tiril Jørgensen. Her attack went with just under 100 km to go and in the early stages Jørgensen was joined by Femke Beuling of EF Education-TIBCO-SVB, but the 23-year-old was dropped after only 9 km. Jørgensen was caught by the peloton as the sprinter’s teams started to set up for the finish, as the peloton entered Halden.
- On the first ascent of the circuit climb with 16 km to go, Ashleigh Moolman Pasio set a pace that broke the peloton apart and distanced a number of riders. The pace set by the AG Insurance-Soudal Quick-Step rider reduced the peloton and Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka took advantage of the moment to attack. With 12 km to go the Canyon-SRAM rider was able to get away from the peloton.
- The next attack came from Liane Lippert and Uttrup Ludwig. The duo who finished first and second in the 2022 edition worked well together but were chased down by Canyon-SRAM. When the German team brought the duo back Uttrup Ludwig kept the momentum going to stay out alone. Into the final 3 km, the group behind Uttrup Ludwig swelled, but the Dane kept a minor gap into the final kilometre.
- Unfortunately, the gap wasn’t enough for a stage victory, as Wiebes and Balsamo came into the final 300 meters too quickly for Uttrup Ludwig. The FDJ-Suez rider was able to hang on for third.
Brief stage results (doubles as GC)
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Quote of the day
When asked if she was confident that the reduced group would catch the solo leader Wiebes illustrated why her win rate is so high at only 24 years of age.
“Not really, but I always go for the sprint anyway and then I will see how the result is,” Wiebes said with a small laugh. “I am happy to be back sprinting after a period of sickness so for me it was also a question of how the legs will be, but they are good.”
Brief Analysis
- Even though she didn’t take the stage on Wednesday, based on her current form and her performance at the World Championships in Glasgow, Uttrup Ludwig is the rider to watch in this edition of the Tour of Scandinavia. Last year she came into the race fresh off a stage win at the Tour de France Femmes, it was a great indication of things to come.
- SD Worx has a GC rider in Niamh Fisher-Black but Wiebes has been climbing pretty well the last couple of months so it will be fascinating to see how the Dutch team manages Wiebes’ leader’s jersey on Thursday, if they defend it or focus on their young Kiwi.
- Movistar has two possible contenders in Annemiek van Vleuten and Lippert. Lippert’s attack in the later kilometres of stage 1 indicates the Spanish team is seeing how the cards fall, with both riders coming in with questionable form and the team on the brink of a massive change when Van Vleuten retires in a few weeks.
- Canyon-SRAM was yet again the most aggressive team on the day, but they will save their key player for tomorrow. Ricarda Bauernfeind will be hunting her first WorldTour leader’s jersey come stage 2.
Up next: stage 2
The 150.5 km second stage is the first real GC test of the race, with the finish in Norefjell after a 9 km-long ascent. In 2022 the same finish was won by Uttrup Ludwig and the effort secured the Dane the overall victory. It is also the longest stage of the race for the women so it will definitely test the peloton, and the current leader Wiebes, who will find it hard to hold onto the jersey on the final climb.
Live coverage for the stage can be found on GCN+ at 16:00 CEST.
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