The 2023 edition of the Arctic Race of Norway took place August 17-20. While this race always twists across Norway’s Arctic terrain, the course varies from year to year. For the 10th annual four-day stage race, teams of men’s professional road cyclists traversed the northernmost part of Norway in Troms og Finnmark county.
Photo Credit: visitnorway.com, Thomas Maheux / Amaury Sport Organisation
Starting in Kautokeino, the course weaved across coastal bridges, up steep mountain climbs and past roaring waterfalls, practically making the event a travel brochure for Northern Norway. This year’s finish line was at Nordkapp, the northernmost point of both Norway and continental Europe. Some of this race’s unique attributes are the higher percentage of Norwegian cyclists among the ranks, and the variety of jerseys that riders can win: there is the Midnight Sun jersey for the overall leader, the Peacock jersey for the best climber, and the Viking jersey for the most combative rider of the day. The decidedly less showy blue and white jerseys denote the day’s points leader and best young rider, respectively.
Also setting the race apart, the Arctic Race of Norway has always placed an emphasis on sustainability, adding more and more rechargeable electric cars to its fleet each year. Earlier this year, race officials announced that the 2023 competition would supply electric vehicles to all the teams, making it the first ever race on the ProTour to be supported by a fully-electric fleet.
Electric vehicle maker XPENG partnered with race organizers and local dealer Bil i Nord to supply 129 electric service cars to the team support crews and race staff. To ensure that none of the event drivers experienced rekkeviddeangst, known as “range anxiety,” a phenomenon since the dawn of electric vehicles, the company Kempower provided 18 movable chargers to allow for charging throughout the events.
This year’s winner was Stephen Williams of Great Britain, completing all 662 kilometers / 411 miles in 15 hours, 38 minutes. The highest-placing Norwegian cyclist was Tobias Halland Johannessen of Norway’s Uno-X Pro Cycling Team, who just missed the podium, taking 4th, just 9 cumulative seconds after the overall winner.