29.05.2025
This year’s edition of the Tour of Norway is the 15th since its inception in 2011, when Dutch rider Wilco Kelderman won the overall classification at just 20 years old. Seven teams from the top tier of international cycling were on the start line today as the first stage rolled out from Sola. Among them was the highest UCI-ranked team in the race: UAE Team Emirates-XRG, featuring Norwegian veteran Vegard Stake Laengen, ready to support his teammates. In addition, five ProTeams from the second tier were present, led by the Norwegian Uno-X Mobility team. The remaining five were continental teams, including two Norwegian teams: Team Coop-Repsol and a mixed team of Norwegian riders currently racing for foreign continental teams this season.
For the first time in Tour of Norway’s history, Sola played host as both the start and finish town. Experts expected the 179-kilometer stage to end in a mass sprint. However, strong winds along the Jæren beaches and the 8.4-kilometer-long Seldalsbakken climb, with an average gradient of 4.1%, could cause trouble for the sprinters — led by home favorite Alexander Kristoff. The 37-year-old faced high expectations after racking up numerous stage wins in previous editions. Kristoff has won no less than 11 stages in the history of the Tour of Norway. The Uno-X super veteran also has a chance during this year’s race to reach a remarkable milestone of 100 professional victories.
Five riders broke away from the peloton after just a few kilometers — four of them Norwegians: Daniel Årnes, Trym Brennsæter, Ludvik Holstad, and Storm Ingebrigtsen — along with Danish rider Joshua Gudnitz. Team Coop-Repsol’s Eirik Vang Aas bridged across to the breakaway, which quickly established a one-minute gap, steadily increasing it to over three minutes as they approached the first categorized climb: Seldalsbakken. Storm Ingebrigtsen claimed the first 6 points in the King of the Mountains competition, followed by Trym Brennsæter and Danish rider Joshua Gudnitz.
On the day’s second KOM sprint after 100 kilometers, Danish rider Joshua Gudnitz crossed first, securing 4 points. Storm Ingebrigtsen came second, adding 2 more points to his tally and thus securing the mountains jersey ahead of tomorrow’s stage.
As the race headed out toward the coast near Varhaug, crosswinds caused the peloton to split. Ineos was among the teams that lost several riders. A major crash — involving last year’s winner, Axel Laurance, who later abandoned the race — further splintered the group, reducing the chasing peloton to about 40 riders. Alexander Kristoff’s younger brother was also involved but finished the stage in a modest position.
Further north, near Orrevatnet on the exposed coast, fresh crosswinds again fractured the field, but it regrouped once more.
In the breakaway, Daniel Årnes took the first 10 sprint points, ahead of Storm Ingebrigtsen and Ludvik Holstad. The gap to the chasing field was still around 1.5 minutes with 20 kilometers to go. Just after the finish line was passed for the first time, Ludvik Holstad of Lillehammer slid out in a corner and lost contact with the breakaway, which then started losing time steadily on the run-in to the finish in Sola.
With two kilometers to go, Storm Ingebrigtsen was alone at the front — and the drama continued. The chasing peloton, struggling through the technical finale on wet roads, couldn’t catch the Team Coop-Repsol rider. The race saw a major shake-up already on Stage 1, and Storm Ingebrigtsen claimed all three jerseys on an emotional day for Team Coop-Repsol and everyone working with the team.
“It’s completely insane, I just went for it when I felt I still had something left in my legs,” said the visibly emotional 20-year-old.
“There was only one thing on my mind when I crossed the finish line,” he added, pointing to the jersey and the badge dedicated to his teammate André Drege, who tragically lost his life last year.