In a statement published on Saturday evening, new Uno-X Mobility manager Thor Hushovd was crystal clear that he believes the riders on the team are far too much at home in Norway, some even flying home between Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.
"Extremely bad charging," Hushovd called, among other things, Alexander Kristoff's seven-hour long session at the mill on Thursday - a session that had to be carried out inside due to all the snow in Stavanger, Norwegian TV2 reports.
"I've always lived in Norway, and I've won more races than him, so I don't know," Kristoff reacts. "He can say what he wants. I understand that it is not optimal when it is snowing. It doesn't usually snow in Stavanger, but it did now. I have gone many winters without a single snowflake in Stavanger, so in that way we have been a bit unlucky this year."
He believes that sour, Norwegian weather can be expedient to train in. "In the spring classics, there can be bad weather, and then I think Stavanger weather is the best preparation."