After netting fifth and seventh on stages of the Tour of Qatar and then placing eighth in Milan-Sanremo, where he outsprinted Mark Cavendish to lead in the chasing group, Norwegian sprinter Alexander Kristoff clocked up his first podium place of the season yesterday on stage one of the Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde.
Kristoff was also fourteenth in Gent Wevelgem and is hoping for a strong performance in the remaining stages and, if things work out, to ride well in Sunday’s Ronde van Vlaanderen.
“My shape is getting better day by day. I managed to jump into the decisive group, I spent some energy and perhaps, I was not at 100% for the last sprint,” the Katusha rider said. “So, I tried a long sprint, because it was a little bit downhill, but unfortunately it did not pay off completely.
“Anyway, I am quite satisfied with my performance today. Let’s see what will happen in the next days.”
The 25 year old has emerged as one of Norway’s best riders in recent years. National road race champion in 2011, he stepped up a level last season when he finished third in the Olympic road race, third in the World Ports Classic plus fourth overall in the Tour of Denmark, where he won a stage.
He also rode well in De Panne one year ago, taking stage 3a plus the points classification.