Wednesday marked the first outdoor race for professional cyclists in Western Europe since the COVID-19 pandemic closed races in mid-March. The Kratlekongen Fuel of Norway race was won by Andreas Leknesund of the Uno-X Development team in the uphill individual time trial.

The 20-year-old, who will step up to the WorldTour next year with Team Sunweb, clocked 10:12 over the 4.1km course, which averaged 7.1 percent. He was 21 seconds ahead of Tobias Foss (Jumbo Visma), with Odone Holter (Joker Fuel, Norway) in third place, 34 seconds behind.

The race, which is not an official event on the UCI European calendar, was organized in secret by Team Ineos' directeur sportif Gabriel Rasch and Tour of Norway director Birger Hangerholt to avoid congestion.

Norway has been on lockdown since March 12, leaving 8,168 people infected and 229 dead. Earlier this month, the country's government announced an easing of restrictions; schools are open and will be further eased throughout June.

Organizers followed strict coronavirus protocols and took control measures, including starting riders one at a time and not allowing spectators from the roadside.

"The reason we are keeping it a secret is that we don't want to attract too many people here with the situation we have," Hungerholt said on the race website (opens in new tab). "So we try to keep it 'closed' so that we can do this in a proper and safe way."

World Tour riders such as the NTT Pro Cycling duo of Edvald Boasson Hagen and Rasmus Tiller and Carl-Frederik Hagen of Lotto Soudal will participate in the race.

Boasson Hagen is the most famous name on the start list with three Tour de France stage wins, but finished sixth in the hill climb, 43 seconds behind Recknessen.

"It was harder than I expected," he said. After the race, Leknesund told TV2: "It was harder than I expected. After the race, Leknesund told TV2: "I wanted to go fast. I wanted to go fast. I had a good preparation for the last few days. I was very motivated.