UAE Team Emirates' Alexander Kristoff eyes fourth podium at Eschborn-Frankfurt

David Cooper - Writer 17:31 30/04/2018
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  • UAE Team Emirates’ Alexander Kristoff will step up as team leader once again at a race he has dominated during its last three editions.

    The Norwegian sprinter has now stood on the top step of the Eschborn Frankfurt podium three times, winning the race in 2014, 2016 and 2017.

    Kristoff will be supported by a strong team, which includes his fellow countryman Sven Erik Bystom, an Italian quartet of Filippo Ganna, Oliverio Troia, Simone Consonni and Roberto Ferrari along with the promising young Belarussian Alexandr Riabushenko.

    Commenting ahead of the one day classic, the 30-year-old said: “I think the race will be difficult for me to win this year as the course will be shorter and more demanding.

    “However, I have a good relationship with Eschborn-Frankfurt and I’d love to make history by becoming the first ever rider to take top spot four times in a row.”

    The Eschborn-Frankfurt Classic, which is the most iconic cycling race in Germany, sees riders take on the challenging Taunus Hills as they battle 212kms of road and over 3,500 vertical meters of climbing.

    Elsewhere, Roberto Ferrari raced to a podium finish on the final stage of the Tour de Romandie on Saturday and helped UAE Team Emirates win its first Team Classification of the season.

    Rui Costa, Daniel Martin and Kristijan Durasek closed out the General Classification in fifth, 10th and 15th respectively, with Slovenian rider Primoz Roglic (Lotto NL-Jumbo) clinching the overall title.

    Team leader Martin said: “It was a good week in view of my season’s goal, the Tour de France. As a team, we’re happy with the overall classification, and thrilled that we were able to get on the podium as the best team in this edition of the Tour de Romandie.”

    UAE TEAM EMIRATES LINE-UP: Kristoff (Norway), Bystom (Norway), Ganna (Italy), Troia (Italy), Consonni (Italy), Ferrari (Italy), Riabushenko (Belarus)

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