Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) won the opening stage of the Tour Of Norway this afternoon.
it was a rainy day on the 190.3km stage from Fredrikstad to Sarpsborg which saw six riders take a lead of 6.15.
They were hauled back thanks to work from Team Sky working for Edvald Boasson-Hagen, Katusha and Blanco and eventually swept up before final 6.6km finishing circuit in Sarpsborg.
The bunch sprint that the big teams wanted duly happened and it was Alexander Kristoff who took the victory ahead of Boasson-Hagen, Matteo Pelucchi (IAM Cycling) and Theo Bos (Blanco Cycling).
Speaking to his team's website, Team Sky Sports Director Servais Knaven said; “It all went all right today. "We can’t complain. Obviously, winning is better, but now it also good that Edvald took some bonifications.
“The team worked all day, so we took control of the race together with Blanco. “At the end, Eddie has three guys in front of him, so that was a perfect lead-out, but Kristoff was just a little bit faster today."