Two Italian bikes have been speeding beyond the Arctic Circle these days for the Arctic Race of Norway: the Pinarellos of the homonymous team co-sponsored by Q36.5 and, for the first time in their history, the Drali bikes of Team Repsol which, from this year, has the Milan-based brand in its name and by its side.

Having replaced the historic sponsor Coop, the Italian bike brand has allowed the Norwegian team to continue its activities and keep alive its series of participations in the race organized by A.S.O. and Arctic Sport where it has always been present, allowing many promising Norwegian prospects to showcase themselves and compete with some big names in the international cycling scene.

"Drali definitely saved us", admitted to our microphones the sports director of the Scandinavian team at the ARN Øivind Lukkedahl, "and we are super happy about this collaboration. The bikes are really excellent and the support we receive from them is outstanding. We are truly grateful to them and we can't wait to work with them for at least the next two years".

Speaking about the bikes themselves, they have met the taste of the Norwegian riders who, as Lukkedahl explained to us, appreciated all their characteristics: "They have excellent handling, they are quite aerodynamic and perform well even on climbs. We and the guys are really satisfied with all the equipment that Drali has provided us".

While waiting to make this synergy even more fruitful with the feedback that will be given in Italy ("by working together, and with the opinions of our mechanic and the athletes who most often have the equipment in hand, we will try to improve further"), with the Iridio bikes branded Drali the riders in navy blue jerseys threw themselves with tenacity at the assault on the finishes of Nordland, where the results unfortunately did not however meet the expectations of the eve.

"We are happy with what we achieved but we started with bigger ambitions in terms of results, so at the same time, we are a bit disappointed" admitted Lukkedahl (determined to learn Italian better) not hiding a veil of disappointment.

The reference is especially to the general classification where Team Drali-Repsol aimed to perform well with Toralf Rydningen Martinsen, eighth at the last Tour of Austria but who appeared in difficulty on the steep finish at Storheia where he lost over two minutes, losing any chance in the standings.

Despite this, the Norwegian team did not cut a poor figure on the roads of home, animating on more than one occasion the breakaways of the day, fighting for first place in the climbers' classification and displaying at the head of the group colors and bikes that will certainly now be more known to the international public as well.

A public that may have also taken note of the names of some of their riders in action these days, an operation that is all the more opportune given that it is not excluded, as has happened in the past, that in a few years we will admire at the highest levels riders who came out of this small Continental team, which now even more so with the support of a vibrant Italian reality like Drali, wants to continue to refine and launch the next talents of Norwegian cycling.

Photo credit: Matteo Cicerone/Drali