Jolien D'Hoore wins first stage of Ladies Tour of Norway

D'Hoore (Wiggle High 5) finished ahead of Gracie Elvin (Orica Scott) and Christine Majerus (Boels Dolmans) in a sprint finish on the 101.5km Halden to Mysen stage.

There were several breakaways on a demanding stage which looked perfect to make a well-timed escape from the peloton.

But no-one was able to get away from the peloton which kept the pace high throughout the stage.

Marianne Vos (WM3 Pro Cycling) snatched some bonus points at the first intermediate sprint, but no attacks proved decisive as the bunch worked their way back to different lead groups.

As the peloton prepared for a sprint finish, Luxembourg rider Majerus made her move but D'Hoore timed her charge superbly.

D'Hoore jumped out of Majerus' wheel to reach the finish line first with the Australian Elvin taking second.

With her stage win and the bonus seconds awarded at the finish line, D'Hoore now leads the way in the general classification standings.

D'Hoore is two seconds up on Vos and six ahead of another Dutch rider, Ellen van Dijk (Team Sunweb), heading in to Saturday's 140.4km second stage between Sarpsborg and Fredrikstad.