Alexander Kristoff believes going up against and beating the best sprinters in cycling proves he can do so on the sport’s biggest stages – like the Tour de France.
The Norwegian navigated his way through a packed bunch sprint in Madinat Zayed on Wednesday to claim the opening stage victory of the Abu Dhabi Tour – a poignant one for both him and his new team, UAE Team Emirates, at their home race.
Success follows on from teammate Rui Costa winning the penultimate stage at last year’s event which helped him race to the overall title at Yas Marina Circuit.
Unlike at the Dubai Tour earlier this month where he claimed four top 10 finishes but had to watch as Mark Cavendish won one stage and Elia Viviani two more as the Italian secured overall victory, Kristoff was crowned king of the Al Fahim Stage, clinging to Mitchelton-Scott rider Caleb Ewan’s wheel and stalking the Australian as he made his move before passing him close to the line.
Quick-Step Floors’ Viviani was fourth, while German duo Andre Greipel and Marcel Kittel lagged behind in 10th and 15th places respectively.
And Kristoff admitted victory gives him confidence going into the remainder of the season.
“For sure. It’s also a WorldTour race so there’s lots of good riders here. All the best sprinters,” said the 30-year-old reigning European champion.
“We were missing some guys and Cavendish crashed out. But apart from that all the best are here so if you can win here it shows you can win at the Tour de France too. That gives me confidence for the rest of the season.”
🥇🥇🎉🎉Congrats to @Kristoff87 wins stage 1 of @Abu_Dhabi_Tour 🇦🇪!
— @UAE-TeamEmirates (@TeamUAEAbuDhabi) February 21, 2018
📹 What a sprint !#UAETeamEmirates #RideToAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/b6RytAxQfN
Kristoff was celebrating a second success in just three days, his victory in the Western Region coming on the back of winning the final Stage 6 at the Tour of Oman on Monday.
And he admitted he could hardly have envisaged a more perfect start to life with UAE Team Emirates.
“Not really. I could have won already in Dubai, but the start is good. To get a win here in the home race is important for me and also the team,” he said.
“We were close in Dubai, I felt good there and in Oman. I found a good way to the front and at the front I know I can beat the best on my good days. It gives me confidence that I can race against the best guys and beat them.”
With the likes of reigning Abu Dhabi champion Costa and 2015 Vuelta a Espana champion Fabio Aru alongside him in Abu Dhabi, there seemed a conundrum for team officials to decide who to choose as the lead rider.
But Kristoff revealed the team has goals every day, and that the General Classification is the biggest one – suggesting that the stage is set for Costa or Aru to take charge.
“We have goals every day,” he added.
“It’s a relief to win and I hope for the same again tomorrow. Hopefully we will not lose too much time for the GC guys on the time trial and then hopefully they can take advantage on the last day and win the race. The GC is the most important thing.”
@Kristoff87 is the Stage 1 winner in Madinat Zayed. He’s delighted with that win - a second in four days - as are his team #AbuDhabiTour pic.twitter.com/H8bzamuAFr
— Matt Jones (@MattJones360) February 21, 2018
The stage itself got off to a calamitous start as race ambassador Cavendish collided with the race director’s vehicle in the neutralised zone – before the stage had even officially begun.
The Manx Missile and three other riders were floored when the vehicle in front appeared to brake suddenly. Cavendish, 32, re-joined the peloton only to call it a day 5km later, and the Team Dimension Data man has abandoned his Tour.
A five-man breakaway formed early on as Damiano Caruso (BMC), Vincenzo Albanese (Bardiani CSF), Nikolay Trusov (Gazprom-Rusvelo), Charles Planet (Team Novo Nordisk) and Toms Skujins (Trek-Segafredo) pushed the pace.
Italy’s Caruso made a break for it himself later on and led until he was finally reeled in with 13km of the stage’s 189km to go, with the late drama ensuing.
