"I started my sprint a little bit earlier than him to surprise Viviani and I was able to keep it up!" - Alexander Kristoff celebrates 7th victory of the season

Alexander Kristoff was the strongest in the sprint of the opening stage of this year's CRO Race (2.1). For the experienced Norwegian, this is his seventh victory this year, marking one of his best seasons in a long time.

"I didn't feel well today," a panting Kristoff begins the flash interview. "I'm a bit sick, a bit of a cold. So we didn't really want to work today, because I said I didn't feel well. At the end we still put a man in to catch the early breakaway back. We were actually lucky that they fell at the front. That made it easier to catch them back."

"The final was quite stressful," the now 37-year-old Norwegian continues. "Some narrow roads with sharp bends. We managed to stay in position quite well, and also to stay together quite well. In the last kilometers there were four of us. I knew that we lacked a bit of firepower compared to INEOS for example. They didn't do any front work during the stage and have a lot of strong riders."

With that in mind, Kristoff knew exactly what to do in the sprint. "So I looked for Viviani in the last kilometer, and I was able to get on his wheel. I started my sprint a little bit earlier than him to surprise him a bit. Luckily I was strong enough to keep it up, because it was quite a long sprint with a bit of headwind."

The climb in the middle of the stage was the big obstacle on Tuesday. "That was really tough, even full throttle for me. Last year I was second in the general classification here, but then I was maybe in better shape."

Kristoff is already satisfied in any case. "Now I have my victory, because I always came second last year. So I am already happy with this race. Compared to last year I am in worse shape, which will make a good general classification difficult. I will do my best to win more stages this week."