Michele Gazzoli took a commanding victory on stage 2 at the Arctic Race of Norway, as his team Astana Qazaqstan secured 1-2, with Christian Scaroni in second on the uphill sprint into Hammerfest. Jonathan Lastra (Cofidis) finished third on the day.
"For you, it is a surprise, but for me, I've worked hard for this goal. I'm hungry and totally excited to come back after one year. I worked hard for this, and I'm back," Gazzoli said.
The UCI gave Gazzoli a one-year suspension after he returned a positive test for a banned stimulant, Tuaminoheptane, a decongestant, during the Volta ao Algarve on February 17, 2022.
Gazzoli claimed the positive resulted from using a nasal spray to treat rhinitis, Rhinofluimucil. After the adjudication of the case, the UCI decided to issue a one-year suspension for Gazzoli from August 10, 2022, through August 9, 2023, and disqualified his results from the 2022 Volta ao Algarve em Bicicleta.
Upon his return to racing in August, he signed a short-term agreement with Astana Qazaqstan Development Team.
In the general classification at the Arctic Race of Norway, Noah Hobbs (Equipe continental Groupama-FDJ) moved into the overall race lead after picking up important time bonuses during the stage. He is now one second ahead of stage 1 winner Alberto Dainese (Team dsm-firmenich) and Gazzoli in third at the same time.
The second stage of the Arctic Race of Norway was 153.4km from Alta to Hammerfest, started with three mountains; Raipas Summit at the 9.5km mark, Sarves Summit at the 29km mark and Stokkedalen Summit at the 43km mark, before a long descent and undulating roads into the finish in Hammerfest.
Vincent Van Hemelen (Team Flanders-Baloise) picked up the points over top of the first climb, Raipas Summit, forming an early breakaway that also included Ronan Augé (Equipe continentale Groupama-FDJ), Peder Antoni Gravås (Norway), Gianmarco Garofoli (Astana Qazaqstan Team), Johan Ravnøy (Team Coop-Repsol)and Camilo Andres Gomez (Trinity Racing).
Van Hemelen went on to take points over the top of Sarves Summit but was second to Ravnøy over the third and final climb of the day Stokkedalen Summit, but it was enough to secure his top place in the mountains standings.
The move gained more than three minutes on the field led by Team dsm-firmenich, protecting overnight leader Alberto Dainese and Uno X Pro Cycling, as strong crosswinds forced echelons formed on the roads toward Hammerfest.
Uno-X Pro Cycling pulled the peloton through the sprint at Kvalsund and into 35km to go with a pace so high that they split the field, eight riders branching off the front and six of them from the Norwegian team. However, several kilometres later, as the race wound its way along the coast.
The time bonuses on offer were an essential part of the stage, with runner-up in the classification overnight, Hobbs, securing enough bonus seconds to take the virtual lead as the race head into Hammerfest.
The peloton was all together in the final kilometre and wound around the mountain into the Hammerfest toward finish line. Team Jayco AlUla led the field into the last few hundred metres, but the sprinters were also lined out with Dainese on the wheel of Hobbs. However, the day's winners were Astana Qazaqstan Team, which went 1-2 with Gazzoli and Scaroni.
"The last three kilometres were hard with a lot of turns and a small climb for the finish; last 2 kilometres was 4%," Gazzoli said. "I took this climb in a good position, and my legs felt good, my mind was good, this is the day. When I went full gas in the finish, I think I knew."
Results
Results powered by FirstCycling
