The day began early, departing our accommodation for Zard at 7:00 AM. The journey to Rush Penn took just under two hours, allowing us to arrive comfortably and relaxed, about three hours ahead of our scheduled noon start.

Pre-Race Setup Our sports director, Martin Söderholm, smoothly handled team registration and attended the team managers' meeting, ensuring we were well-prepared despite the early wake-up call.

Race Start and Initial Chaos After team presentations, we lined up in the starting pen, positioned about halfway in the field. The race kicked off at 11:55 AM, beginning with a neutralized section of nearly 3 kilometers.

Unfortunately, there was an early crash at the back of the peloton during the neutral segment, briefly delaying the official race start. Shortly after noon, however, the race went green and we were off!

High-Paced Opening Laps The pace was blistering right from the start, with the peloton completing the first 26-kilometer lap in under 30 minutes! This rapid pace made it challenging for breakaways, and the main group remained mostly intact for the first four laps. However, activity significantly intensified on lap five.

Breakaway Dynamics Several small groups attempted to break free, and eventually, three riders successfully gained a gap of around 30 seconds. An additional chase group of eleven riders then joined the pursuit, creating a leading group of fourteen with just two laps to go.

Team Efforts and Chasing On the penultimate lap, Max Nielsen briefly dropped back to consult with Martin Söderholm in the team car, receiving instructions to ramp up our speed and chase down the breakaway since we had no riders represented.

Working closely with the DSM Development Team, who committed several riders after some persuasion, we formed an organized chase. Despite our determined efforts, the gap had grown to nearly two minutes before we could effectively coordinate, and ultimately we were unable to close it below 50 seconds.

Final Moves and Finish On the final lap, another small group of six riders broke clear, maintaining a half-minute advantage over the peloton.

The original breakaway group stayed clear to claim the top fourteen positions, with victory going to a rider from the Lotto Development Team.

The chasing group of six riders narrowly maintained their lead, finishing approximately 30 seconds ahead of the main peloton. Victor Lychou put in a huge effort to position Axel Källberg, who secured fifth within the chasing group, finishing 28th overall.

Looking Ahead While the result wasn't what we'd aimed for, the team is now fully launched into the season and highly motivated for our next challenge—the Olympias Tour in the Netherlands in two weeks.

On to the next one!