Attack Jansen strands in sight of finish in Fjords

Amund Grondahl Jansen has shown his strength in the final of the second stage in the Tour des Fjords. The 24-year-old Norwegian attacked on the final climb in the last five kilometres of the stage and was able to hold on for a long time. In the end, Jansen sprinted to fifth place in the bunch sprint. Timo Roosen finished in sixth place.

“I was feeling very good today. And that climb was perfect for me”, Jansen said. “The last time on the climb, I attacked with someone from Mitchelton. We had a reasonable lead, but eventually a larger group came back. I tried to save some energy for the sprint, but I wasn’t fresh enough anymore to finish it. Albasini was way too strong and in the last twenty metres three men passed me. Tomorrow there’s a new chance. The stage is much more difficult than today’s. It’s not going to be easy, but Timo and I certainly have a chance to battle for the victory.”

Roosen had seen a very strong team. “The whole team was very strong. Amund and I got well positioned by the other guys. In the final we couldn’t find each other anymore because it was narrow and very twisty. I did a good sprint, but then I couldn’t reach the first guys anymore.”

“Today was a very fast race”, sports director Jan Boven said. “Lars Boom, Tom Leezer and Pascal Eenkhoorn did a great job for the team. Amund attacked with five, six kilometres to go. He got seven strong riders with him. Eventually, it became a sprint where Amund just missed that extra bit of strength. Timo was too far behind and arrived too late. But the team was very strong today”, Boven said.

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