Alexander Kristoff: "I gave it everything I had. It was unbelievable suffering"

Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux made a major investment this year in Alexander Kristoff and on a leadout for the Norwegian, which quickly began to function properly. After winning the Clasica de Almeria, Kristoff took his second win of the season today at Scheldeprijs, albeit in completely different circumstances.

“We are having a great season. What's going to happen, I think we can be really happy with this year. This is also a very nice victory for myself, because I can't remember a victory in which I also arrived solo," Kristoff said in a post-race interview.

Scheldeprijs was a race blown up by the wind, which was strong and exposed from the start, with the decisive move taking off just over 20 kilometers into the race. Kristoff and Gerben Thijssen were part of the 14-rider move, but with Thijssen crashing out of the race whilst on the attack, the eventual race winner was left alone in front.

“I felt good all day. Normally I'm a slow starter, but today I was ready from the start. That is why I immediately sat down with Gerben. It's a shame he dropped out of the group, so I ended up having to do it alone," he added.

After the inevitable attacks started int he final 20 kilometers and the rain began to fall, Kristoff's form became evident as he made a move on the final cobbled sector and got a gap over the remaining survivors who resisted the over 48Km/h race that took place today throughout almost 200 kilometers. As he pointed out, perhaps the first solo win of his professional career, and a very important one as he has appeared to be on the decline in the last few years as the new generation took the peloton by storm.

“It was super tough with BORA - hansgrohe and Alpecin-Fenix ​​constantly attacking. After the cobblestones in the last lap I thought I should give it a try myself. No one followed, so I gave it everything I had. It was unbelievable suffering," he concluded.