Kristoff 4th in Volta Algarve opener

Alexander Kristoff started his sprint from a long way back to clinch 4th place on the opening stage of the Volta ao Algarve (2.Pro).

The stage from Portimão to Lagos (195.6k) was won by Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck Quick Step) with Kristoff running out of road as he moved up on the left hand side of the road in the closing metres.

UAE Team Emirates were present at the head of the peloton throughout the day but were caught out slightly in the technical run-in to the line which saw many attacks from the GC favourites.

Tomorrow will see the GC contenders come into play as the race goes from Sagres to Alto da Fóia   (183.9k) with the summit finish set to favour the climbers.

Alexander Kristoff: “I had good legs again today but I wasn’t in a good enough position coming into the final straight. With a kilometre to go I was 20 riders back and with the high speed it was very hard to move up. We have one more stage here in Algarve where it should end in a sprint so I will try again to get my first win.”

Stage 1 results

1. Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck Quick Step) 4h55’37’’
2.Elia Viviani (Cofidis +0’’
3. Matteo Trentin (CCC) +0’’
4. Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) +0’’

General Classification after stage 1

1. Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck Quick Step) 4h55’37’’
2.Elia Viviani (Cofidis +0’’
3. Matteo Trentin (CCC) +0’’
4. Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) +0’’

De la Cruz nabs top-10 in hilly Andalucia opener

David de la Cruz put in a solid climbing display to place 8th on stage 1 of the Vuelta Andalucia (2.Pro) from Alhaurin de la Torre to Grazalema (173.8k).

The day was won by Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) who went clear with Mikel Landa (Bahrain-McClaren) on the final Cat.1 ascent.

Yousif Mirza did not start the stage due to coming down with a fever overnight.

Stage 2 will go from Sevilla to Iznajar (198.1k) which may favour a late attack with a Cat.3 climb in the closing kilometres before the descent to Iznajar.

De la Cruz: “It was a hard day. The team rode well, Brandon was very strong on the climb also but Landa and Fuglsang were on a different level today. The important thing was that we climbed well in the leaders group as the level is very high. This race has just started and there are many hard stages to come including the time trial. The feelings are good and if we stay concentrated we can definitely take a good result out of this race either with a stage or in the GC.”

Stage 1 results
1. Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) 4h11’08’’
2. Mikel Landa (Bahrain-McClaren) +6’’
3. Dylan Teuns (Bahrain-McClaren) +25’’
8. David de la Cruz (UAE Team Emirates) +1’03’’
General Classification after stage 1

1. Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) 4h11’08’’
2. Mikel Landa (Bahrain-McClaren) +6’’
3. Dylan Teuns (Bahrain-McClaren) +25’’
8. David de la Cruz (UAE Team Emirates) +1’03’’