" It's a big relief for me to win early": Alexander Kristoff feels less pressure after his victory in the opening stage in Volta ao Algarve

Alexander Kristoff became the opening winner of this year edition of Volta ao Algarve. The veteran Norwegian rider that recently sign for Uno-X made his first victory with the team at the third race he rode with them.

"I've done this sprint in Lagos twice before, but this time it went really well. It's also the first time I've won in Portugal, It's a big relief for me to win early. That takes some pressure off anyway", said Kristoff in the post race interview for Eurosport.

Uno-X did a perfect leadout for Kristoff, specially his teammate Soren Wærenskjold who not only put Kristoff in perfect conditions to sprint but also, within the rules, didn't facilitate the sprint of Jordi Meeus of Bora-Hansgrohe who finished second place.

"Søren did a very good lead out. He still came third himself. That shows he's super strong. I had to take advantage of that because he set me off perfectly. It already went well in Almería (Kristoff finished fourth there, ed.) and we wanted to build on that. But now we are doing even better. The feeling to win here is indescribable", he continued.

Tomorrow will be a top mountain finish, so Kristoff will only get to wear his leader jersey for 1 day. Still in stage 3 there is also a strong chance for the sprinters, and Kristoff is actually thinking on giving it to the men who helped him win today Soren Wærenskjold.

"I haven't looked at the profile very closely yet, but that finish might suit me. It's also slightly uphill, I think. Maybe that suits Søren just a bit better, and he has shown that he is also very fast.", Kristoff concluded.