The penultimate day of racing at the Tour of Norway saw the peloton take on the flattest stage of the race, with only a few rolling hills and one main climb to contend with throughout the afternoon. As expected, the sprint teams took control at the front of the bunch, setting off in pursuit of the break that had formed out front.
Riding well as a group, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL bubbled up in the peloton and supported each other, with the main goal of setting up fast finisher Pavel Bittner for the finale. Biding their time, the team came forward en masse once the break had been caught inside the closing five kilometres, bringing Bittner forward and dropping him off in a position from where he could launch his sprint. Opening it up at around 200 metres to go Bittner powered past everyone with a ferocious kick but unfortunately was passed by Meeus, who had cannily followed him through a gap, just before the line. Nonetheless, it was a strong second place for Bittner and the team after a good performance throughout the day.