Third place on the third stage of home Tour of Norway was not what Alexander Kristoff and whole Uno-X Mobility came for and that provided them with the extra motivation towards the final day of racing. However those unhappy with the overall standings were not going to make it easy for the sprinters on the punchy circuit in Stavanger.
For Kristoff, the hardest moment came at the last ascent with 7 kilometers to go. But he was able to keep his composure, catch back to the front and fight it out against Jordi Meeus in the final. "I felt that we got a little too far behind on that bump with two kilometers to go, but I got around and managed to keep left, so I got an opening," says the Uno-X rider to TV 2 right after the finish.
"It was close today. It was six hard laps. There was a bit of a split at the end, and there was a bit of danger for the GC of Adne (Holter). We were a little behind, but at the end it came together. Then I managed to block Jordi a bit, and when he had to slow down a bit, I realized that no one else got around," says Kristoff.
Lidl-Trek's Mathias Vacek attempted to turn around his fourth place overall with a desperate attack in the final. That was a hard test for all the sprinters. "I didn't have a chance to hang on to the front group. The same was true for Viviani and Meeus. Fortunately, we came together at the end," Kristoff sighs.
Kristoff's Uno-X Mobility remained in control of the situation, leading the reduced pack safely towards the sprint. "At least then I have more victories than last year, so that's good. In that sense, I'm satisfied, and I'm in a good shoal, so I hope to continue with that," Kristoff concludes, laughing.
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