The Arctic Race of Norway was an opporunity for our young stagiaires Michael Gogl and Antwan Tolhoek to show their talent and abilities and according to sport director Sean Yates they had a good start.

Commenting after the finish of the final stage, Yates noted: "Both of our stagiaires had a very good day and were in the front. It was a day with a hard finish circuit, a very fast start, at 52km/h in the first hour. There was a breakaway with Elmiger (IAM Cyclign) in it because he was only 52 seconds down in GC. So, BMC chased hard and when they hit the circuit of four, very hilly, laps, Astana put the hammer down.

"Our two young stagiaires were in the mix and Antwan Tolhoek had a very good result, finishing sixth in the stage and 12th overall. If he hadn't lost those 20 seconds in the first day when they made a time gap in the bunch, he could have been eighth overall.

"As we had said in our initial plan, our options in that race were limited and we went there to give our best shot. Stage 1 was always going to be a sprint and in Stage 2, Michael Kolar finished fourth. That was a good result and good team work by Michael Gogl and Juraj Sagan. Yesterday, with the summit finish, Antwan was 21st which was another good result. Today, he claimed sixth in the stage.

"In my opinion, it was a very successful debut for Antwan Tolhoek while Michael Gogl confirmed what he had shown in Denmark. He is a good quality athlete who has matured beyond his riding experience. He blended well with the team and was always at the right place at the right time. They both showed talent and although I don't know what the future holds, I wouldn't be surprised if they signed pro contracts in the near future."