A month after quitting the Tour de France last year, Sam Bennett came back to win stage two of the Arctic Race of Norway. He will line up at the start again this Thursday intent on adding more wins to his growing palmarés.
By Brian Canty
Matt Brammeier and Sam Bennett are both in action this week at the Arctic Race of Norway.
The four-day 2.HC-ranked event that gets underway on Thursday and runs until Sunday.
It’s a race that should give both men chances but neither is likely to push for the overall as the penultimate stage on Saturday features a summit finish that climbs to almost 600 metres.
Still, stages one, two and four are good for a man like Bennett who has tasted victory here in the past.
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Brammeier's Dimension Data team have no outright GC man so it's likely he will try to be as aggressive as he can.
Last year, Bennett won stage two while he finished behind Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) and Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data) on the opening day.
The race will begin in Fauske on Thursday and the opening 176-kilometre leg features three categorised climbs, the latter reaching over 500 metres around 22 kilometres from the finish in Rognan.
The next day takes the riders south of the Arctic Circle for the longest stage of the race at 198 kilometres.
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The course winds its way along the coast, over one categorised climb before the finish in Sandnessjøen.
Crosswinds will be an ever-present risk throughout the day and the uphill slope in Sandnessjøen will make for a challenging finale, though if Bennett has the strength he can definitely challenge here.
On Saturday the riders tackle a 160-kilometre queen stage, beginning in Niesa.
Four categorised climbs are in store, the last of which is a summit finish to Korgfjellet.
This climb is likely to decide the overall winner of the race, although there is still an opportunity on the last day.
The final stage is the second longest at 193 kilometres and after a long descent there are three climbs in quick succession after the initial descent.
The peloton will enter the final circuit crossing the line three times before the final sprint for victory.
Bennett will be backed by Zak Dempster, Lukas Postlberger, Paul Voss, Andreas Schillinger and Dom Nerz.
Brammeier meanwhile, will be in the team alongside Tyler Farrar, Jay Thomson, Youcef Reguigui, Johann van Zyl and Songezo Jim.
Meanwhile, Brammeier has confirmed that he will not be doing the Vuelta A Espana this year, citing limited opportunities to do something in the race.
He will instead target the Tour of Britain, the Eneco Tour, Paris-Tours and the World Road Race Championships.
2016 Arctic Race of Norway
- Thursday 11 August, stage 1: Fauske – Rognan, 176 km
- Friday, August 12, stage 2: Mo I Rana – Sandnessjøen, 198 km
- Saturday, August 13, stage 3: Nesna – Korgfjellet, 160 km
- Sunday August 14, stage 4: Arctic Circle (Rana Kommune) – Bodø, 193 km
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