Lonardi making Myre-mories in Norway
August 13 th 2026 - 18:29 [GMT + 2]
A sprint was expected in Myre, new stage town hosting the first finish of the 2026 Arctic Race of Norway. That did not stop five brave riders from attacking from the very start, forming the first breakaway of the 13th edition. Although the final survivors were caught with 3 kilometres to go, the efforts were not in vain for Morthen Wang Baksaas (Lucky Sport), the 10th Norwegian in history to pull on the Northern Lights jersey of the mountains classification. The Midnight Sun jersey goes to Giovanni Lonardi (Polti VisitMalta), who becomes the third Italian to lead the overall classification. The sprinter claimed his first victory of the year, beating Frenchman Jason Tesson (Total Energies) and Canadian Riley Pickrell (Modern Adventure) to the line, securing Italy’s fourth win in the race. It is also Polti VisitMalta's first win here, as the team is discovering the Arctic Race of Norway. Lonardi will be aiming to make it back-to-back wins tomorrow in Andenes, where another sprint finish is expected.
The sun is shining on the 108 riders at the start of the 13th edition of the Arctic Race of Norway. “The most beautiful day of the summer,” says a local as the peloton leaves Evenes. While the route is relatively flat, three Category 2 climbs add some spice to the course. This gives the Norwegians Morthen Wang Baksaas (Lucky Sport), Eirik Vang Aas (Draal-Repsol), Henrik Teslo Fjellheim (Lillehammer CK) and Ludvik Aspelund Holstad (Ringerike) hope as they go clear from kilometre zero alongside Belgian Victor Vercouillie (Flanders-Baloise). His compatriot and teammate Vincent Van Hemelen tries to bridge across, but his efforts are not enough. The first five attackers become the first breakaway of the week.
Fighting for the Northern Lights jersey
Aiming to contest the stage victory in Myre, the teams with sprinters – NSN for Ethan Vernon, Uno-X Mobility for Erlend Blikra – take control of the race and stabilise the gap at around three minutes, after allowing it to grow to 3'25". The difference remains around that mark for a long time before beginning to come down after around 100 kilometres of racing, between the Karingen climb (km 87.8 / Baksaas first over the top) and the Storvatnet one (km 139.8 / Aas first over the summit). One minute and 30 seconds still separate the breakaway from the peloton after this second categorised climb, with 42.1 kilometres remaining to the finish.
As the peloton closes in, Finnish rider Axel Källberg and his Swedish teammate Teodor De Luca (Lucky Sport) join the leaders. By taking the third and final climb at Storeidet (km 155.6), Baksaas secures the Northern Lights jersey, becoming the 10th Norwegian to wear it on home soil and continuing the work of compatriot Storm Ingebrigtsen (Uno-X Mobility), who won it last year. De Luca takes the intermediate sprint on the first passage across the finish line before the peloton brings the breakaway back with three kilometres to go.
Lonardi springs a surprise
Among the sprint specialists, favourite Ethan Vernon (5th) does not benefit from ideal positioning. This plays in favour of others, including Giovanni Lonardi (Polti VisitMalta), who proves the strongest in the final metres. He claims the fourth Italian victory in the history of the Arctic Race of Norway and the first for his team, which makes a flying debut in the Norwegian race. After two podium finishes this season, Lonardi finally raises his arms in 2026, securing his first win since Stage 2 of the 2025 Tour of Istanbul. He also becomes the third Italian to wear the Midnight Sun jersey.
Lonardi’s victory denies Frenchman Jason Tesson (TotalEnergies), Canadian Riley Pickrell (Modern Adventure), local rider Blikra and Vernon, who complete the top five, but they will have every opportunity to get their revenge tomorrow. Another sprint is expected in Andenes, where the Arctic Race of Norway will finish for the first time.
