Leading up to the Norwegian stage race, many eyes were on Van Aert, who was at the start of a race for the first time since his crash in Dwars door Vlaanderen. The 29-year-old Belgian tempered expectations beforehand, hoping above all to build confidence for the remainder of the season. "My main goal is to test myself and see how I do in a race," Van Aert said earlier.

In the first stage from Voss to Voss Resort, Van Aert had a successful comeback. On the final climb, the Belgian brought his teammates to the front and climbed with the best for a long time. Only at two kilometers from the finish he had to let go the reduced peloton. "I'm happy with today's performance," Van Aert responded afterwards. "On the bike I didn't suffer from anything, so I hope I can recover well."

Conditionally, Van Aert says he doesn't feel like his old self yet. "I wanted to keep up with the guys at least until one and a half kilometers from the line, but I soon noticed I was on the limit. I felt at my lungs that I had gone deep. Of course I had hoped not to suffer, but that's something I have to get through. A tougher stage awaits tomorrow and then we'll see how long I can hold out."

Lemmen competed for the stage win for a long time, but ultimately had to settle for fourth place. Thibau Nys won the stage. "I am very satisfied with this. I knew beforehand: if I reach my level, I should compete for the podium. After my collarbone fracture I just didn't know if I would have the same top form as in the Tour Down Under and the UAE Tour. It was wait and see, but I felt good all day. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's stage already."