Israel Start-Up Nation set up Rudy Barbier perfectly for the final sprint on stage 2 of Arctic Race of Norway with an impeccable leadout.

Knowing that Friday’s stage would be a good opportunity for the sprinters to shine, the ISN guys were the determined to get in the mix. The team helped set the pace in the peloton, bringing back the early breakaway for the expected bunch sprint in Kilpisjärvi (Finland).

At the end, Tom Van Asbroeck and Rick Zabel pulled off an incredible leadout for Rudy Barbier who sprinted to fourth place on the day. The Frenchman was aiming for more but unfortunately, he suffered a hard crash earlier on the stage, which held him back in the sprint.

Tomorrow, the queen stage of Arctic Race of Norway awaits with the uphill finish in Målselv. ISN will be banking on Ben Hermans to fight for a good result.

Sports director, Nicki Sørensen: “It makes me happy to see such a strong team performance as we saw today. Unfortunately, Rudy [Barbier] crashed hard halfway through the stage and landed up in a ditch. Taking that into consideration, I think this was a good result. The leadout was impeccable. Once again, Rick [Zabel] and Tom [Van Asbroeck] show how incredibly good they are at this. Also Guy Sagiv was very impressive today. He pulled a lot yesterday and today he was up there again. He’s really strong at the moment. We didn’t get the win today but I’m still very satisfied with the guys.”