Abu Dhabi: UAE Team Emirates’ Alexander Kristoff secured top spot at the GP Du Canton d’Argovie in Switzerland. The sprint sensation thus took his tally to four wins for the season.
The European champion, who joined UAE Team Emirates at the start of this season, showed just why the team were so keen to obtain his services, as he unleashed a powerful surge to the finish to take the title.
“This is my fourth win of the season, but normally I’d have more already at this point, so I put a lot of weight behind this race. For me and the entire team, it’s important to show our jersey and promote cycling in the UAE — and there’s no better way to do that than to win. A big thanks to the team for controlling the race and taking me into the final kilometres in the best position for the sprint,” said an elated Kristoff adding that the finish was similar to that of his Tour de Suisse sprint finish in 2013.
“The Tour de Suisse is next for me and I’m heading there motivated. The race will be hard and with a high-level of competition, but the goal is to do well like I did in 2013 and 2015.”
Kristoff will now gear up for the Tour de Suisse (June 9-17) alongside teammates Roberto Ferrari, Filippo Ganna, Diego Ulissi, Oliviero Troia, Jan Polanc and Ben Swift.
The Tour de Suisse is seen as the last big challenge for riders ahead of this summer’s Tour de France, with a mixture of time trials, hilly stages and mountainous climbs. With three weeks to go until the Tour, and an extra week to rest up, the Tour de Suisse will be vital for riders looking to test their condition and could see the peloton push the limits like never before.
“In the past, when I’ve chosen to compete in the Tour de Suisse as an important prelude to the Tour de France, I’ve always gotten a lot out of it, so I’m excited at the prospect of riding in Switzerland; it could be a great chance to use the Swiss climbs to fine-tune my conditioning and try to make the most of any eventual opportunity to achieve a good result,” added Kristoff.
Results: 1. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates 4:18:24; 2. Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Androni-Sidermec; 3. Marco Canola (Ita) Nippo Fantini +0:01.
