Corbin Strong continued the most successful period of his career on Thursday as he won the opening stage of the Arctic Race of Norway, his third victory in just 12 days, just ahead of teammate Riley Sheehan.
Having claimed a stage and the GC at the recent Tour de Wallonie, Strong made light of a wet and cold day in Troms County to lead a dominant IPT one-two in the city of Harstad.
The 25-year-old’s win was somewhat similar to his victory in the opening stage in Wallonie, as the finish line came on an uphill and curving stretch of road. Having been dropped into position brilliantly by Tom Van Asbroeck, Strong took a career-best third win of the season, with American rider Sheehan just behind him in second.
Having lived up to his billing as one of the pre-race favorites, Strong says: “I enjoy the pressure, actually. I enjoy feeling the pressure of the guys really putting in their best to help me. Obviously, everyone in the sport trains really, really hard, so to see the work my teammates put in and then the way they sacrifice for me in a race, that really motivates me. I really like it when I can pay my teammates back.
“I had a nice reset in the middle of the season, and a good training came in Livigno. I’m really enjoying racing with the guys. The training camp was really nice on the bike, but off the bike as well, spending a lot of time with my teammates.
“I think we’ve had a really good environment since then, going to Wallonie and getting the win there, and then taking the first stage today as well. So yeah, things are going well, and I’m really enjoying racing my bike at the moment.”
Given the conditions, it was little surprise that Strong looked visibly cold as he conducted his post-race podium and media duties. It was reminiscent of when Stevie Williams won stage 3 of the race two years ago en route to the overall victory.
“It was really cold and wet,” Strong adds. “I started in quite a lot of clothes, and as we got closer to finish, I was like ‘oh, if I’m sprinting, I can’t really be sprinting in leg warmers and rain jackets’. Slowly, I had to take them off, but yeah, it was just doing a long, cold day.”
Having taken a season-best result, Sheehan also praised the work of his IPT teammates. “We’re super happy with today,” he says. “The team was fantastic, everyone did their role very well coming into the final. We had the right plan to leave it until late and then take the corners in the front with Tom – he did a fantastic job with Corbin in the wheel.
“In the final, I was on Corbin’s wheel – it was the perfect place to be, and I just had to sit back and watch Corbin do what he does best. We know that we’re super strong this week, and we’re looking forward to a big job now over the next few days.”
Time bonuses available on the line mean that Strong has a four-second gap over Sheehan on GC going into Friday’s second stage, which takes place between Tennevoll and Sørreisa and again looks well-suited to the sprinters.
Stage 1
- Corbin John Strong (Israel – Premier Tech) 4h02’22”
- Riley Sheehan (Israel – Premier Tech) +00”
- Rasmus Tiller (Uno-X Mobility) +00”
GC
- Corbin John Strong (Israel – Premier Tech) 4h02’12”
- Riley Sheehan (Israel – Premier Tech) +04”
- Fredrik Dversnes (Uno-X Mobility) +04”
