Alexander Kristoff: "I have a good feeling going into the classics"

Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux headed to Milano - Torino yesterday with high ambitions as they took a strong leadout to help Alexander Kristoff and Binian Ghirmay to a strong result. The plan didn't work out perfectly, however Kristoff managed to finish in third place and feature in the final podium.

Intermarché have had their leadout very well setup this year despite the new pieces that are a part of it. Yesterday at Milano - Torino they didn't manage to put the Norwegian in prime position for the sprint, however he nevertheless managed to do a strong sprint. "First, I'm satisfied that I have a good feeling going into the classics. In contrary to 2021, when I got sick after Paris-Nice, I recovered well from an intense week in Tirreno-Adriatico and feel that my form benefits from it. I didn't obtain promising results in the Race of the Two Seas, but I knew that I had the legs. This enabled me to finish on the podium today," Kristoff said in a post-race interview.

"It was a pity that we lost Georg Zimmermann in a crash, because he was an important element in our sprint train. Together with Loïc he was charged of positioning us in the final. After the analysis of the final kilometers, we can conclude that we could have done better in terms of cohesion. It was a pity that we lost each other and that we didn't manage to unite our forces, because also Andrea Pasqualon and Biniam Girmay had good legs. I believe in this team and I know that we are able to win this type of races. All of this is a good sign three days ahead of Milano-San Remo," he concluded.

Kristoff will be leading the Belgian team this weekend at Milano-Sanremo, where he will be attempting to take a second win after his first in 2014, and hope to count on an alliance between the sprinter teams to keep the race compact.