This Saturday, Mike Teunissen took his first victory in the jersey of Intermarché-Circus-Wanty during the Tour of Norway. The Dutchman was the fastest in a sprint between strong riders at the end of the first stage, shortened to 85 kilometre due to the extreme weather conditions.
Mike Teunissen triumphed after a slightly uphill effort, passing Jordi Meeus in the final meters. It is the tenth success of the season for the team of Jean-François Bourlart and the first for Teunissen since his stage win in the Tour de France in 2019.
The evening before, Rune Herregodts took eighth place in a slightly uphill prologue on the slopes of Mount Fløyen. The Belgian rider, who’s returning into competition two months after his fourth place in the Volta Limburg Classic, remains in eighth place in the provisional classification.
"It has not always been easy to keep confidence in my capabilities the last couple of years, however, my stage win in the Tour de France of 2019 always reminded me of my qualities. For 2023 I made the choice to change environment to give my career a new impetus. Unfortunately, because of illness I didn't manage to let the jersey of Intermarché-Circus-Wanty shine in the spring classics as I hoped. Returning into competition in May, I was even more determined to show the best of myself." "In order to prepare the second part of the season in the best way, we went to Andorra for a team altitude camp of around three weeks. From experience I know that my body reacts quite well to these training camps . My performances the past week confirm that. In the Circuit de Wallonie, Veenendaal-Veenendaal and Rune um Köln I had the legs to battle for the podium. These races enabled me to gain some power."
"The weather circumstances in Andorra were quite similar to what we saw in Norway today. Luckily, thanks to Nalini, we are well equipped to face extremely wet and cold weather. Our plan for this shortened stage was to protect the GC position of Rune Herregodts and to organise a sprint for me. My teammates helped me a lot, especially Madis Mihkels and Rune who kept me in position until the final kilometre. Everyone was exhausted, the sprint was slightly uphill. The circumstances were perfect for me. In the end, I could show that I still know how to win after those four years!" "It makes me so happy to win again after such a long time! It is a big boost for me and for the team. It shows that we've worked well together the last months and that we can continue building on this. I'm pleased to reward the confidence of the team. We can look to the next months in an optimistic way. After a difficult classics period, our team is again in a winning mood and we will continue in this direction."
