The Kelly Benefit Strategies hotel room in Sweden, complete with IKEA furniture.
Photo courtesy Neil Shirley

Stage 1- 140K
After a rainy morning the skies were clearing just in time to kick things off. Things were aggressive from the start with the Norwegian  teams looking to get up the road in their home race. We made sure to follow all the moves but to not try and force things early on. About midway through the stage David Veilloux was taken down in a wreck and wasn't able to continue. Losing David was a big blow to the team since he has been on killer form the second half of the season. As the race came into the finishing circuits the wind was kicking up so we put the team on the front to try to split the peloton. It worked but we still had around 25 riders in the front group. We didn't want to haul that big of a group to the finish so the guys set me up to launch an attack on a climb with 10k to go. I hit it as hard as I could and three other riders came across to me over the top. The four of us held a slim lead going into the finish but with a flat windy finish I managed to get 4th out of 4, bummer. The field had caught onto the back of us just as we crossed the line so I wasn't able to gain anytime on the rest of the peloton. Candelario had a good sprint to finish 7th on the stage.

Stage 2- 197K
This would be the true GC shakeup. The nearly 200 kilometer stage  finished with a 1.5K steep climb to the top of an old fortress including the final 500 meters on cobbles. Since Glud & Marstrand won Stage 1 they took control of the race early. Once a small group got away Glud & Marstrand set a tempo that would ensure the race would come back together before the finale. The five of us KBS riders sat back and tried to conserve our energy for the final few kilometers of the race. As we came into the final 10K the break was pulled back and all the teams were setting up their trains for the run-in to the climb. Candelario took Jesse and I into the base of the climb sitting in the top-5, perfect position to go for the stage win. The last kilometer was a max effort, everyone was going full tilt up the steep slope to the fortress. Jesse kicked hard with 500 meters to go and nearly pulled off the stage win but the former U-23 World Champion Kittel for Thuringer Energie Team passed him within the final 50 meters. I finished 4th again, frustratingly close to the podium. Jesse moved up to 2nd overall and I was a few seconds back in 3rd. We were disappointed to miss out on the stage win but really happy to have two riders within striking distance of the overall win.

Stage 3- 170K
The final stage featured the biggest climb of the race at the 50K mark. This would end up being a decisive point of the race. Thuringer Energie tried controlling the race for the overall leader, Kittel. It was game on early and Thuringer was showing some weakness. Everyone could smell blood and kept the attacks going. Once we hit the climb Glud & Marstrand smashed it from bottom to top which created a front split of 35 riders. The race leader lost his entire team and was completely isolated. We had all five KBS riders in the front group so along with a few other teams we rode on the front to make sure the race didn't come back together. Around ten riders kept the pace high for the next 100K until we hit the finishing circuits. The tough 5K finishing circuits had two steep climbs per lap would would offer the perfect launching grounds to attack the leader. On the second of five circuits I launched an attack to get things started. I went away solo  
but after a couple of kilometers I was brought back. Jesse countered my move and took two other riders with him. As the group was splitting apart behind, Jesse was riding for the overall win needing only one second on the race leader to take the jersey. I sat on the race leader and followed any attempts to bridge across. Everyone was at their limit and the leader was left to fend for himself. The gap to Jesse was hovering between 5-10 seconds but the group of three managed to stay away to the finish. Jesse took 2nd on the stage but earned the teams first European UCI victory. I took 6th on the stage and 5th on GC. It was a great day for the team, everyone rode incredibly to overcome the loss of David and still pull off the win. Up next is Marbriers, a tough 1-day race in France. The hilly circuit should be very selective so hopefully Jesse and I can keep our good leg rolling!