Team Sunweb won the Ladies Tour of Norway Team Time Trial. Eleven months after winning the world title in Bergen, the Dutch team was again fastest in Norway, covering the 24.3-kilometre course in 29:53 minutes. Mitchelton-Scott finished as runner-up, 38 seconds slower, and Cervélo-Bigla rounded out the podium 1:09 minutes behind. Unlike 2017, the Ladies Tour of Norway did not start with a prologue, instead organisers held a stand-alone team time trial on Thursday before the stage race gets underway on Friday. Starting in Aremark, the 24.3-kilometre course was mostly flat until the second intermediate time after 17 km. Descending into Halden, the third time check was taken after 22 km just before the start of the climb to the finish line at the fortress of Fredriksten.ADVERTISEMENT Starting third after the Norwegian and Swedish national teams, Lotto Soudal Ladies set the first benchmarks at the time checks, eventually finishing in 32:45 minutes. Team Virtu Cycling improved on the Belgian squad's times at every intermediate split and posted a new best time of 32:26 minutes at the finish. Despite trailing at the time checks, the Movistar Team finished faster than the Danish squad in 32:15 minutes, showing that this TTT was not only about speed, but also about planning the race well and leaving enough in the legs for the finishing two-kilometre climb. Wiggle High5 set new best times at all intermediate splits and were the first team to beat the 32-minute mark. Finishing perfectly, with all four remaining riders abreast, they set a new benchmark of 31:37 minutes.
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