After six days of hard racing Alison Jackson and Liv Racing Xstra were rewarded with the green jersey. The purple squad showed itself in every stage, especially at the intermediate sprints and in the final stage.
With the sixth stage from Lillestrøm to Halden (153 km) there came an end to the Tour of Scandinavia. Alison Jackson was still riding in the green jersey and was on a mission to bring the jersey home. In the last days the whole Liv Racing Xstra contributed to that goal. On the final day Katia Ragusa carried the flag for the team in the day`s breakaway. In a group of five riders, which took a five minute advantage, Ragusa was the one that scored the maximum points at the intermediate sprints. In that way she more or less secured the green jersey for Jackson.
“The green jersey was a small goal in the beginning, but got bigger and bigger during the race. I had the whole team support to go for this goal. We worked hard every day to get points at the intermediate sprints. I am happy to finish it off. It is nice to be on the podium in the green jersey representing our Liv Racing Xstra team and our sponsors”, Jackson commented after the stage.
The breakaway with Ragusa animated a large part of the stage. With 70 kilometres to go the gap was two minutes and that stabilized for a while. A flat tire ended Ragusa`s presence in the front. At 20 kilometres from the finish the other escapees were caught as well. On the local circuit Jeanne Korevaar attacked. She took a nice gap and started the final lap 15 seconds ahead of the bunch. An counter attack of an other rider meant the end of Korevaar`s try. Eventually the stage win went to Marianne Vos. The overall victory was for Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig.
Sports director Giorgia Bronzini was satisfied with the performance of the team during this Tour of Scandinavia – Battle of the North. “The green jersey was a nice reward. We keep the jersey from the first till the last day. So that is a job well done by the team. In all the stages we were really active to get in the breakaways. Katia and Jeanne proved that in the final stage as well. The girls worked hard every day. Maybe we deserved a little bit more in terms of results, but I am really proud on the girls.”