Justine Ghekiere takes Norway opener

Justine Ghekiere takes Norway opener

The Belgian celebrated her maiden success of the season Saturday afternoon.

AG Insurance – Soudal started the Tour of Norway with a bang, taking the win on the uphill finish in Heja with Justine Ghekiere, whose powerful acceleration couldn’t be matched by any of her opponents. It was a victory that came after some superb teamwork, as our squad put the hammer down to make the race hard and create a selection before the last climb, where Sarah Gigante – in her first race with the team since last September – drilled it hard at the front and paved the way for Justine’s attack.

The 28-year-old – who came here after a strong fourth place at the Itzulia Women, just two weeks ago – powered clear on the 2.3km climb to score her maiden win of the season, one that put her in the leader’s jersey with a five-second gap on the next rider in the general classification ahead of Sunday’s stage.

“It’s a big relief to score my first victory of the year. I’m very happy to break the ice and finally get a win. It wouldn’t have been possible without the help of this incredible team, as they all did a great job, protecting me the entire day and putting me in a perfect position to launch my attack. Sunday another hard stage awaits, but we’ll take on it with a lot of confidence and motivation to do our best in order to keep the jersey”, said Justine, who was joined on the podium by Sarah, third in Heja.