Amgen Tour of California: Kristoff 6th on final stage

The Amgen Tour of California concluded on Saturday in Sacramento with Alexander Kristoff sprinting to 6th place. The stage was very fast and ended with 3 laps of a circuit of 3.5 kilometers around the California State Capitol in downtown Sacramento.

“It was a hot day out there,” Alexander Kristoff said. “Heading into the sprint, I was on Caleb Ewan’s wheel, but then Quick-Step came up on the left side. I tried to jump on their train, but rubbed shoulders with one of their leadout guys and lost a bit of momentum.

“I had to sprint to get back up and never fully got on their wheels. I had to start my sprint early and it cost me a little.”

Kristoff continued, “I enjoy racing in California. It’s been a good week and nice weather.”

Kristijan Durasek and Edward Ravasi animated the race throughout the week for UAE Team Emirates in the general classification. Durasek finished the race 9th in the general classification and Ravasi was 12th.

Sven Bystrom was involved in a crash with 3 kilometers to go on the final stage. He fell on his right side and suffered road rash on his shoulder, arm, hip, and leg. Our medical team believes the crash will not affect his training and he will only take a couple of days off the bike, which is normal already after a week-long stage race.

UAE Team Emirates finished the Amgen Tour of California with 4 different riders powering to a total of 7 top-10 places.

On Monday, May 12, the team will travel back to Europe to continue the season.

Stage 7 results:

1. Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors) 3:07:39

2.Max Walscheid (Team Sunweb) s.t.

3.Caleb Ewan (Mitchelton-Scott) s.t.

6.Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) s.t.

Final General Classification:

1.Egan Bernal (Team Sky) 24:34:19

2.Tejay Van Garderen (BMC Racing) +1:25

3.Daniel Martinez (EF Education First-Drapac) +2:14

9.Kristijan Durasek (UAE Team Emirates) +3:59

12.Edward Ravasi (UAE Team Emirates) +6:11