After his fantastic stage win in stage three, Magnus Cort took over the leader's jersey in the Tour des Fjords and he headed into yesterday's final stage with a slim 9-second advantage over Alexander Kristoff. As the Norwegian won the stage and scored 10 bonus seconds, the young Dane had to settle for second but was not too disappointed as he had expected the outcome.

After his two stage wins in last year's Tour of Denmark, Magnus Cort has agan mixed it up with the WorldTour riders in this week's Tour des Fjords. Three days ago he took a memorable stage win and headed into the final stage as the race leader.

With 10 bonus seconds up for grabs on the finish line and a 9-second advantage over Alexander Kristoff, however, he knew that it would be a difficult task to win the race. Kristoff won the expected bunch sprint and as Cort finished outside the top 3, he had to relinquish the lead by a tiny 1-second margin

"Of course it is a shame to lose the jersey," he said. "It would be a lie to say anything different but I had seen it coming and we have done such a fantastic race that it is hard to be too disappointed. We leave the race with much more than we had expected.

"These last days have been crazy. I am so proud of the stage we won. We were two from the team in a group with two Tinkoff-Saxo and two Cannondale riders but it is still Lasse [Bøchman] leading me out. We have really proved how strong we are as a team. According to me, we are one of - if not the - best continental teams in Europe.

"We have earned so much respect during these days. It is very special to have the yellow jersey that everybody respects. It is fantastic for a small continental team to see the WorldTour teams give you a bit more room because you have the yellow jersey. We go home with satisfaction even though we lost the jersey.

"I know that I am the one on the podium and the one in second on the results sheet but this had been impossible without the team. They have delivered an excellent performance, worked for me, taken care of, done everything for me. It is difficult when you only have four riders but they did all they could.

"A second place is not the same as a victory so my Tour of Denmark wins from last year are still higher on my personal list but this is a big result - one of the best in my career. It is a five-day stage race with a very high level and my worst result is 15th. That's not too bad."