"We will do everything we can to defend the jersey" - Stephen Williams in Arctic Race of Norway lead after hilltop win
Cycling
The Arctic Race of Norway found once again a brutal set of conditions this afternoon but it favoured a Welshman who is fond of it. Stephen Williams proved to be the strongest on the day and has taken over the race lead ahead of the final day.
“The weather was very demanding and in the last hour and a half it was freezing cold, especially with all those descents. That's why it's nice to finish it after all the work the team has done," Williams said in a post-race interview. "We were in good position all day and I am happy to be able to pay them back like this. It is also my first victory for my new team. I was very confident for the final climb and Dylan Teuns did an excellent lead-out. The headwind was still difficult, but I am very happy that I was able to put my hands in the air.”
Williams was one of the few riders who managed to benefit from the harsh conditions. Despite being in the middle of August, the weather conditions are not too nice near the arctic circle. In the final ascent Israel - Premier Tech had numbers, Dylan Teuns rode in the front as the group slowly moved towards the finish, and in what ended up being a sprint finish Williams crossed the line first, beating Clément Champoussin and Christian Scaroni.
His gap to several riders is very small and can prove to be a challenge on the final day of the race, however he enters it in the lead. Williams has one second over Scaroni of Astana and Israel have a strong team to protect his ambitions. “One more day to go. We will do everything we can to defend the jersey. Hopefully everything will go according to plan," he concluded.
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Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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Stage win, and moving into the overall classification in style! 🇳🇴🏆 — #ArcticRace
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