Kristoff on the podium in Valenciana opener

Alexander Kristoff opened his season with a 3rd place in the bunch sprint of stage 1 at the Vuelta Valenciana (2.1).

On the first day of racing under the Spanish sun it was a fast and technical finale for the riders.
Jan Polanc made a move off the front inside 4km to go forcing the pace to rise and lining out the peloton.

Kristoff latched on to the wheel of Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck Quick Step) coming into the line though it would be the Dutchman Dylan Groenewegen who would take the stage with a throw a bike in the dying metres.

Stage 2 tomorrow from Torrent to Cullera (181k) will be a different story and will see the climbers come into play as the race finishes with the last 2km at an average of 8%.

Kristoff : “It was a hectic final with lots of roundabouts on the run-in. For the sprint I did a good job and was able to get in a good position, maybe even the best position. I got a bit boxed in with 600m to go and was stuck on the wheel of Jakobsen. Third is a good result today and marks a good start to the season. I felt good which is important and will look for chances again this week. I would like to get my first victory of the season sooner rather than later.”

Stage 1 Results
Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) 4h07’40’’
Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck Quick Step) +0’’
Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) +0’’

General Classification after Stage 1
Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) 4h07’40’’
Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck Quick Step) +0’’
Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) +0’’