Teunissen misses out on podium in fourth stage Tour of Norway
Mike Teunissen has finished fourth in the fourth stage of the Tour of Norway. In the stage to Kristiansand, a late attack by Nathan Van Hooydonck was nipped in the bud and Teunissen just missed out on his second podium place.
The last twenty kilometres were ridden on a local circuit. The pace went up in the last lap on the Gimlekollen climb. Van Hooydonck tried to get away when the peloton’s pace dropped, but he was caught in the final kilometre and subsequently, Teunissen sprinted to fourth place.
“It was an unfortunate sprint”, Teunissen said. “Timo Roosen put me in perfect position, but I came to the front early. Then you know they will come from behind. I didn’t dare to attack too early, and I couldn’t get passed them. That was a shame.”
Sports director Arthur van Dongen spoke of a hectic final. “It was a matter of fighting for positions. Michel Hessmann put David Dekker in an excellent position towards the last climb, but unfortunately David didn’t have the legs to get over the climb in the first group. We immediately switched to plan B and Nathan could get away thanks to a good move by Mike. He just didn’t make it. After that, through good teamwork, we guided Mike to the front. The peloton lost momentum in the final corner. For Mike, it was too early to start his sprint. As a result, the riders behind him came up with more speed and fourth place was the highest he could achieve. Still, the team rode a good final today.”