Arctic Race of Norway 2024 | Emotional Kamiel Bonneu wins queen stage in biggest result of his career

On the queen stage of the 2024 Arctic Race of Norway, 25-year-old Belgian of Team Flanders - Baloise, Kamiel Bonneu secured the biggest result of his career with an emotional victory.

With six riders attacking early to get themselves up the road and forming the day's breakaway, TDT - Unibet Cycling Team's Jelle Johannink was present again, extending his overall lead in the King of the Mountains classification. By the final 20km however, Johannink had dropped back to the peloton, leaving just the five up front, still over a minute clear.

Once the final climb of the day began, the remainder of the break were quickly swept up and race leader Alexander Kristoff was soon dropped. After a few riders tried their luck, the first counter attack to gain significant distance came from Davide De Pretto and Kamiel Bonneu.

With 3km to go, the duo had built up an advantage of around 20 seconds as the rest of the peloton bided their time. With the last kilometre having a notable sharpening towards the line however, victory wasn't in the bag for the leaders just yet.

As Bonneu upped the pace, De Pretto was distanced and the Belgian of the Team Flanders - Baloise had free air as he neared the finale. In the end, there was no catching the 25-year-old as he secured the biggest result of his career ahead of Magnus Cort Nielsen, leading home the GC group.