After sprinting to victory on Friday at the Tour des Fjords, Edvald Boasson Hagen took his second win of the week on stage 4. The Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka rider beat Torkhil Feyhe (ColoQuick-Cult) to the line with Andrea Pasqualon (Wanty Groupe Gobert) finishing in third.
Boassen Hagen’s team controlled the peloton for the first 30 kilometres, not allowing a break to get away until after the bonus sprint. Boasson Hagen won the bonus sprint to gain three seconds on the overall classification and only then, was a three-rider break allowed to go clear.
The break got up to a seven-minute lead before Dimension Data for Qhubeka committed to the chase. Coming into the closing stages, the peloton was split all over the final circuit, as we chased down the remaining breakaway rider with five kilometres to go.
With just four kilometres to go, the peloton were still 35-seconds behind the lead rider, Fehye. The Norwegian Champion then took matters into his own hands with a powerful surge over the final kilometres and managed to catch Feyhe with just 200 meters to go, going straight by him to take the stage win. The peloton came home three seconds later, ensuring Boasson Hagen narrowed the gap to just five seconds from yellow jersey leader, Dries van Gestel (Sport Vlaanderen).
Edvald Boasson Hagen – “It’s fantastic to take the victory again. The team was excellent all day and the guys worked really hard to pull the break back. At the end, nobody was willing to help us so I had to go. It worked out perfectly in the final. We also gained a few seconds on GC with the bonus seconds so there is still all to race for tomorrow. It will be a difficult day but the team is good so we will do our best.”
